By Todd Mouw, President
Each spring, students, parents and communities celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week. Let’s thank all of the teachers who work tirelessly to educate and nurture our kids. Teacher’s deserve more than a week of praise and thanks, as this is one of the most undervalued professions in the country today.
One way that to thank them throughout the year is by cleaning up the air around their schools and community. School districts can do this by replacing their aging diesel buses with cleaner-burning ones, like those fueled by propane autogas. In fact, if every school district replaced older, dirtier diesel school buses with propane autogas buses, the associated cost savings from fuel and maintenance would allow the nation to hire an additional 23,000 teachers, which represents a significant chunk of the currently estimated 100,000 teacher shortfall.
And, now there are even more nitrogen oxide-reducing choices. Recently, ROUSH CleanTech developed the first-ever high-volume production CNG Type-C school bus engine certified to California Air Resources Board’s optional low NOx emissions standard of 0.02 grams per brake horsepower-hour (g/bhp-hr). Like the company’s ultra-low NOx propane engines, these CNG engines are 90 percent cleaner than the Environmental Protection Agency’s most stringent heavy-duty engine standard of 0.2 g/bhp-hr.
Why all the hype around decreasing NOx emissions? They are a group of gases known to contribute to acid rain, smog and other air quality issues. According to the EPA, exposure to NOx exhaust can cause negative health effects, including eye, nose, throat and lung irritations, headaches and fatigue.
Want to learn more about alternative-fuel school buses and their impact on school districts? Read more in a recent case study, The Total Cost of Ownership for Propane School Buses.
To learn more about ROUSH CleanTech’s alternative-fuel vehicle technology that powers school buses and Ford commercial vehicles, please visit www.roushcleantech.com.