Protect: Air / Implement a No Idling Policy
Project Steps:
- Require school buses to turn off engines except while moving on school property.
- Educate car drivers to turn off engines except while moving on school property.
- Improve dismissal procedure to minimize running engines.
- Encourage carpooling to help reduce vehicle traffic.
Protect: Air Resources:
- SCDHEC’s B2 (Breathe Better Air) Campaign
- B2 Guidelines
- SCDOT's Safe Routes to School Resource Center
- Six Common Air Pollutants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- "Why Is Coco Orange? Green day, great time to play. Learn what colors can tell you about the air" by the US EPA. Coco has a problem. He’s a chameleon, but he can’t change colors, and his asthma is acting up. Read how Coco and his friends at Lizard Lick Elementary solve this mystery as they learn about air quality and how to stay healthy when the air quality is bad. Ages 4-8. Click here, or on the title above, to download this 2010 publication.
- For more information about air quality contact Green Steps mentor Marian Nanney.
Facts about outdoor air quality and idling
- Studies done by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that 24 million children spend 2 billion hours on 600,000 school buses annually. More than 99% of these school buses use diesel fuel.
- The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 4.8 million U.S. children have asthma, symptoms of which are increased with exposure to diesel exhaust.
- About 91,000 South Carolina children have asthma, based on 2003 data (DHEC). It is the leading cause of children’s hospitalizations and a major cause of school absenteeism.
- Diesel exhaust can produce allergy symptoms including inflammation and irritation of airways. Pollutants in exhaust can worsen symptoms in people with chronic bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, and heart disease. It can also increase the risk of infections and cancer over time.
- Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution because their lungs are still developing and they breathe about 50% more than adults.
- The EPA has determined that diesel fumes contain 40 toxic chemicals, including 15 carcinogens. Pollutants in vehicle exhaust also contribute to environmental problems such as climate change, acid rain, and smog.
- Reducing air pollution outside a school also reduces air pollution inside that school.
- Unnecessary idling is a waste of fuel and money and can cause extra engine wear-and-tear over time. A single school bus driver could save $100 per year just by cutting out 15 minutes of idling each day (based on $4 per gallon diesel).
- Parent drivers can also save money by reducing their idling time. Contrary to popular belief, idling for just 30 seconds uses more gasoline than restarting the car.