On March 14, Moms Clean Air Force and Fairfax County Mothers Out Front hosted EPA Administrator Michael Regan at Flint Hill Elementary School in Vienna, Virginia, to meet with students, moms, school board members, and advocates. At the event, we discussed the benefits of replacing dirty diesel school buses with electric school buses. Administrator Regan also took a quiet, smooth, zero-tailpipe-pollution ride on an electric school bus currently servicing Fairfax County Schools, together with moms, students, school administrators, and others.
Electric school buses can help clean up the air for our kids while fighting climate change. An increasing number of school districts are integrating electric buses into their school bus fleets. With a $5 billion investment in clean school buses recently secured through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA is poised to help hundreds of school districts make the switch from highly polluting, diesel-powered buses to zero-emissions, electric buses. EPA’s new Clean School Bus program will distribute $1 billion each year over the next 5 years to clean up our nation’s school buses.
During the visit, in addition to riding the electric school bus, Administrator Regan participated in a roundtable conversation with Flint Hill Elementary School students in their school library, and delivered remarks alongside student and mom speakers.
Moms Clean Air Force Project Manager Julie Kimmel was one of the speakers at the event. Julie advocates for clean school buses on behalf of her 7-year-old daughter. “Diesel school buses spew pollution that can damage the lungs and heart and even interfere with a child’s ability to learn,” she said. “If we want to protect the health of my daughter and her peers, we have to switch our school’s fleets to all-electric.”
Student speaker Eddie Felber, 5th grader, and a member of Flint Hill’s “Green Team,” spoke about his love for his school’s chickens and how important environmental education is for him and his classmates.
Administrator Regan said that electric school buses will transform how millions of students get to and from school, cleaning up the air we breathe and protecting public health.
Moms Clean Air Force couldn’t agree more.
Phot0s/Gemunu Amarasinghe for Moms Clean Air Force
TELL CONGRESS: ELECTRIC BUSES ARE THE SMARTEST WAY TO GET TO SCHOOL