Of the 19 new green buses scheduled to be produced, 11 states will be recipients. These states are New York, California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Iowa, and Washington. Ventura Unified School District received the only new green bus planned for the state of California. The Community Environmental Council applied for funding through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.
These new buses are powered by a lithium ion battery pack, and are expected to improve fuel economy up to 30%. They are also expected to reduce emissions up to 40% over conventional gasoline-powered school buses. The system is designed to utilize both diesel and electric power in a highly efficient manner.
Superintendent of Ventura Unified School District, Trudy T. Arriaga said, "The bus reflects our commitment to being a green school district as we ensure safe and healthy learning environments for our students."
A neat resource to share with teachers …
Teacher's Lounge. This site has tons of links to green classroom activities and contests. This year's greenest school contest has ended, and the winner will receive a new hybrid school bus! But even though the contest is concluded, you can still download some great teaching resources and bookmark this link for next year. Perhaps your class will be among the top contestants in 2011.
Note: You will need to sign up in the "Teacher's Lounge" before you can view this site's green resources.
