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 As school Administrators, your job involves many aspects of a child's well being. If you haven't already learned about the affects of the toxic emissions inside our nations school buses or how Biodiesel can help solve this problem please review these areas.
Scientific Studies
Biodiesel Benefits
You are not alone with figuring how Biodiesel can get into your school buses. Click on "School Districts using Biodiesel" to learn how other school districts have successfully been using Biodiesel since 1997.
As a school Administrator, you are also well award of budget challenges facing schools in the US. The following is school bus transportation funding history that if you don't already know about, will help you better understand the reasons behind lack of support for positive changes made to fleets.
"Prior to 1982-83 school districts would report their school transportation operational costs and recieve a reimbursement in the following year. In the 1982-83 school year, the State Department of Education froze what
school districts get reimbursed for school transporation. Over the years, that fund has occasionally recieved a cost of living adjustment (COLA), but it has not been funded at a level to keep up with the cost of salaries,
benefits, fuel, tires, air emissions filters, alternative fuels, etc. The fund has never been adjusted for school districts that have grown significantly over the past 24 years, or for those that have declined. Consequently, the State budgets pay an average of 45%
of school transportation costs with the remaining 55% coming from school district general funds, also know as classroom funds!!
Over the past 15 years there have been funds available for bus replacement and alternative fuels from the EPA, California Energy Commission or
local air quality districts, however these funds are highly competitive and those with grant writing staffs often get the funds. Historically state general funds do not pay for capital costs like buses, facilities or equipment."
-Mike Rea, Executive Director, West County Transportation Agency, Santa Rosa, CA
It is time our schools got as much support as the military does for these wars over resources.
 We need to collectively reach out to the American School Bus Council who was formed in 2006 to speak with one voice on Capitol Hill, and
throughout the country, on issues that impact the yellow school bus
industry. The Council’s mission is to educate parents, school officials
and lawmakers about the essential role the yellow school bus plays in
the safety, health, security and readiness of America’s schoolchildren.
The Council advocates for school transportation funding and advances
industry standards on driver training, clean diesel technology and
safety measures that are above and beyond state and federal law.
While the word safety refers specifically to physical safety, it is the health safety of our youth that the Biofuels4schools campaign is most concerned with. The campaign intends on reaching out to the Council along with other national school bus associations, agencies, and organizations to bring awareness to the issue of indoor air emissions and how Biodiesel can help solve these issues.
Please contact the campaign to get your school district involved in making changes to the Federal budget for school bus transportation services.
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Fleet Managers and Mechanics |
Dr. Rudolph Diesel made the engine to run on peanut oil in the 1890's. Fleet managers and mechanics are in a unique position to make decisions that support emissions reductions. Your knowledge, expertise, and experimental attitude toward Biodiesel is needed if we ever want to shift our dependence from foreign oil.
Here are the areas to be aware of when using Biodiesel
1) B20 is commonly used and supported by many state air boards
2) Who you purchase your Biodiesel from is very important and they should have
-An ASTM certificate for the fuel you purchase
-Knowledge as to what their feedstock was made from (ie. soy, palm, waste oil) and where
the oil came from
3) How you store your Biodiesel
4) Awareness as to the modifications, if any, need to be made to your fleet vehicles
5) Where you can buy Biodiesel
For further information on using a B20 to B99 blend, storing, transporting, etc, please go to the
NREL Biodiesel Handling and Use Guildline.
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 Bus drivers do a 200% job, they drive safely and help youth behave all the way to the back of the bus.
Bus drivers are often the first educator a child sees when they go to school and the last one so ensuring the bus driver breathes clean air, is essential for a good bus riding experience.
While youth are the main focus of this campaign for reducing air emissions, bus drivers spend many hours driving in these toxic conditions and would benefit from Biodiesel blended in the buses.
This is an area of the website that needs bus driver contribution. Please contact the campaign if you or anyone you know drives school buses and would like to share their stories.
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