School Bus Emissions

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends and Listmates:

The following is a copy of a letter I just sent to my local

newspaper. Maybe you will want to follow-up in your

city.....

March 1, 2002

Letters to the Editor

Wyoming Tribune Eagle

702 W. Lincoln Way

Cheyenne, WY 82001

Dear Editor:

Early in February, The Union of Concerned Scientists [uCS]

(2 Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02238; 617-547-5552; email:

ucs@...), released their POLLUTION REPORT CARD:

Grading America’s School Bus Fleets. It is the first

pollution analysis of school buses across the country. It

assigns each state fleet-wide grades based on the emissions

of soot particulates, smog-forming pollution and

heat-trapping global warming gases. Wyoming received grades

of C, D and D, respectively (in each of these categories),

earning a disappointing overall average grade of D+.

These school bus emissions can lodge deep in children’s

lungs, increasing the risks of asthma, chronic bronchitis,

coughing, choking, diminished lung capacity, heart disease,

and even premature death. The study found that

cost-effective investments could dramatically reduce

pollution by allowing school districts to switch to buses

that run on cleaner fuels, like natural gas. Another proven

strategy is to enforce strict limitations on idling bus

engines at pick-up and drop-off queue points.

, Senior Advocate for Clean Vehicles at UCS

said, “Going to school should not be hazardous to our kids’

health.”

What is being done in Wyoming to safeguard our

schoolchildren from the hidden dangers of our delinquent

school buses? Are we really putting our children first?

To safer schools and kinder classrooms,

Irene Wilkenfeld