The propane industry’s weird obsession with school buses, explained
The propane industry’s weird obsession with school buses, explained
Electric school buses are better for kids’ health. The propane industry has other ideas.
Highlights: America’s school bus fleet is on the cusp of a transformative shift: Historically and still predominantly powered by diesel fuel, the humble and iconic yellow buses expose some 25 million school-aged children to ultrafine particles, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides — all closely linked to asthma, respiratory illness, lung disease, and cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Cancer Society.
To make school buses better for the climate and for kids’ health, the federal government and states are pushing to electrify their fleets.
But even with federal subsidies, this shift to EV buses will be expensive, especially for public school districts, and the propane industry sees an opportunity to seize a share of the auto sector. Its representatives are working hard to convince public officials to switch to propane-fueled school buses, which they claim are “near-zero emissions” vehicles that are better for kids and the climate.
Except — that’s not true. Propane is still a polluting fuel: While it is refined differently than diesel and natural gas and combusted in uniquely styled engines, it still has a measurable impact on air quality and the climate. If PERC’s deceptive marketing to children, parents, and school administrators is successful, the propane industry threatens to lock in fossil fuels and their polluting emissions for another generation of schoolchildren.
Particulate matter, of which diesel combustion is a major source, contributes to roughly 15,000 premature deaths annually, according to EPA estimates. In some areas exposed to heavy diesel truck pollution, like near busy highways, the mortality levels from bad air are akin to those from traffic accidents and second-hand smoke. Emissions collect inside passenger cabins, elevating concentrations of particulate matter and air toxics somewhere between four and 12 times than would normally occur.
Diesel also causes students to miss more days of school. A randomized study published in the journal Nature Sustainability found replacing all pre-2000 school buses with newer models would lead to 1.3 million additional days of attendance from students each year.
But the propane industry sees a chance to grow its share of the auto sector by locking in school districts, and if you use a propane grill, fees on the fuel you buy are driving campaigns that don’t just include school assemblies, but other advertisements and influencers aimed at convincing kids, parents, and school officials to invest in the propane school bus.
The propane industry has targeted schools and public officials in a national campaign since at least 2018. Internal industry documents obtained by the renewables advocacy group Energy Policy Institute and reviewed by Vox show how propane, like other fossil fuel arms, has viewed the climate electrification movement as a key threat.
The Propane Education and Research Council, a federally created trade association, has a $47 million budget, funded from the half-cent fee it collects from every gallon of propane fuel sold, to support its public education campaigns. Beyond having a deep war chest to fuel its disinformation campaign, the industry has economics on its side, too: Propane-fueled buses cost significantly less than EVs, which come with a price tag of $350,000 and up.
What the Hank Hill is this shit?
I don’t understand the issue. EV buses have existed for decades. EV buses that run two routes a day and are parked the rest of the time sound like a perfect option for EV. Combustion of any sort results in pollution.
Big propane can eat their own accessories for all I care.
You can also have buses with overhead wires. Can even be a hybrid with a smaller battery to save on weight. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SB9EARKvCTc&pp=ygUQYnVzIG9lcmhlYWQgaXdyZQ%3D%3D
It's in the new version not a small battery. They cover the majority of the line on battery. They are using this possibility to electrify entire networks.
Propane is slightly better than sticking with diesel at least in terms of CO2 emissions according to the EIA. Can anyone find and share the particulate differences between the fuels?
Diesel is notoriously pretty dirty, so I'd be shocked if propane even comes close to diesel in particulate matter.
I did a bit of googling around, and it seems like propane should create little to no particulates.
A lot of the sites I found read a bit like propane/fossil fuel industry propaganda to me, so I don't want to share them and I advise anyone who goes looking for them to take them with a grain of salt.
I'm also sure that probably comes with some big asterisks about things like using the correct grade of propane, the engine being designed and maintained properly, etc.
I'd rather have electric busses still, but from what I can find I think I'd overall rather have propane over diesel buses.
I have had two vehicles that ran on propane, one of which I still own. They're definitely cleaner from a particulate emissions standpoint. I can run 15,000 miles between oil changes and when I drain the oil it's still clean. I recently had to take the engine apart on the propane vehicle I have, and even with 100,000 miles it was completely clean inside..
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Last year, the popular children’s magazine The Week Junior advertised a contest called “Be Like Jack” that would award $2,000 to the preteens or teens who submitted the winning ideas for an environmental project.
A randomized study published in the journal Nature Sustainability found replacing all pre-2000 school buses with newer models would lead to 1.3 million additional days of attendance from students each year.
You may remember: After it came to light that the company had installed illegal software on a half-million diesel-burning vehicles to trick emissions tests, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to federal charges, ultimately settling for $14.7 billion — a big payout that drove the first real evolution toward electrifying the school bus.
States got to decide how they wanted to use that money, with many opting for incremental gains: Arizona, for example, spent $38 million of its share of the VW settlement to replace 330 older diesel buses with more efficient, but still diesel-running, models.
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created a $5 billion EPA Clean School Bus program, establishing two pots of funding: one meant only for electric buses and a second that could apply for alternative fuels or EVs.
Internal industry documents obtained by the renewables advocacy group Energy Policy Institute and reviewed by Vox show how propane, like other fossil fuel arms, has viewed the climate electrification movement as a key threat.
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