Clean Air

LCV and Chispa LCV Statement on EPA’s Clean School Bus Grant Program Announcement

Contact: Kyra Madunich-Arevalo, kmadunich@lcv.org, 909-767-9743 Washington D.C. – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $400 million grant competition to help school districts buy electric school buses. This work builds on the longtime clean school bus advocacy of Vice President Harris, Senators Cortez Masto and Padilla, Representatives Cardenas and Hayes, and so many others. In response to today’s announcement the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Chispa LCV, and Chispa Arizona issued the following statements: “LCV is excited to see the Biden-Harris Administration launch greater investments to bring electric school buses to thousands more school districts across the country,” said Matthew Davis, Vice President of Federal Policy. “This historic program has already doubled the number of electric school buses hitting the road, reducing dangerous pollution in the air we breathe and making our communities healthier and cleaner for everyone, especially our kids. As we move towards the cleaner, healthier future that programs like the Clean School Bus Program make possible, we will continue to work with EPA to ensure their benefits reach the people that need them most, including low-income students, students of color, and school transportation workers that continue to breathe the dirtiest air.” “This latest funding opportunity from the EPA to deploy thousands of more electric school buses will help bring our communities healthier, cleaner air, reduce climate-changing pollution, and  save school districts money in fuel and operating costs,” said Senior Vice President of Community and Civic Engagement Sandra Pérez González: “Thousands of  electric school buses have already been deployed thanks to this historic program, which is the result of years of advocacy by parents, students, community members, elected leaders, and advocates. These added grant opportunities are crucial to ensuring that the communities that most suffer from health and climate-harming pollution, many of which are in school districts that were waitlisted in the inaugural 2022 Clean School Bus Program, are prioritized to receive the resources they need to stop preventable respiratory illnesses and other harms to public health as well as students’ academic performance and school attendance.” “Especially for our low-income, communities of color in Arizona who disproportionately suffer from preventable respiratory illnesses caused by dirty air,  these latest investments from the EPA are crucial to a cleaner, healthier future for all,” said Chispa Arizona Executive Director Vianey Olivarria. “We are excited that this historic program is expanding to deploy more electric school buses and we look forward to working with the EPA to ensure that our country’s transition to electric school buses is equitable and just.”   ###

LCV and Chispa LCV Statement on EPA’s Clean School Bus Grant Program Announcement Read More »

LCV and Chispa LCV Statement on EPA’s Heavy Duty Trucks Rule and Updated Clean Car Standards

Contact: Kyra Madunich-Arevalo, kmadunich@lcv.org Washington D.C. – In response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) releasing proposed rules to reduce emissions from heavy-duty vehicles and light- and medium-duty cars and SUVs, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and Chispa LCV issued the following statements: “This is a positive step and LCV appreciates that EPA is limiting emissions from cars, SUVs, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which harm public health and disproportionately impact low-income communities and communities of color,” said Matthew Davis, Vice President of Federal Policy. “We’re all in to ensure the final rules are even stronger – the EPA must do more to address harmful emissions from cars and trucks, the largest source of climate pollution. Federal clean energy investments are spurring the innovation we need, and stronger final rules will ensure that vehicle manufacturers go farther and faster to drive us to a zero-emissions transportation future. Now is the time to ensure that federal regulations are made as strong as the climate crisis and public health crises require.” “Chispa LCV welcomes this new proposal and more must be done to strengthen clean car standards and better regulate the deadly emissions that heavy-duty trucks emit,” said Senior Vice President of Community and Civic Engagement Sandra Pérez González. “Communities of color and low income communities living near the shipping, freight, and delivery industries’ hubs are especially burdened with the devastating effects diesel trucks have on respiratory health. In order to deliver on President Biden’s commitments, EPA must finalize stronger rules to help ensure that all communities, especially those on the frontlines of environmental injustice, have access to clean air.” # # #

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Chispa Nevada and Clean Air Advocates Applaud $10 Million EPA Award for  Clark County School District to Purchase 25 Electric School Buses EPA Clean School Bus Rebates Funding a Clean Ride for Kids In All 50 States

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Today, the U.S. EPA announced that Clark County School District (CCSD)…

Chispa Nevada and Clean Air Advocates Applaud $10 Million EPA Award for  Clark County School District to Purchase 25 Electric School Buses EPA Clean School Bus Rebates Funding a Clean Ride for Kids In All 50 States Read More »

Driving the Movement for a Clean Ride for Kids

Children are always asked questions about their future — what they want to be when they get older, where they want to live, how many pets they want, and if they want to start a family one day. With the climate crisis accelerating at a faster rate every day, we can’t help but wonder: will our actions create a world where they can fully experience their hopes and dreams? What will you do to protect our planet? Will our future generations live the life they deserve? We must question ourselves more as adults. What will we do to ensure our kids and future generations have a sustainable planet? What will we do so that a child today can thrive in school with cleaner air and water? What will we do to ensure they can live in a beautiful state like Florida surrounded by the beach and their family? What will we do to protect our planet?  What will you do? Chispa’s State Leadership Since 2016, Chispa has led the fight for electric school buses to help our kids and communities breathe cleaner air — from urging governors to use the Volkswagen settlement money to prioritize the health of our children and invest in electric school buses, to working directly with school districts around the country to ensure they are applying for the funds necessary to help electrify school fleets. This has been a grassroots effort since the beginning, where people have exercised their power and grown into leaders in their communities. Our members have spoken out during local legislation hearings to ensure policies are put in place for both funding and building out the infrastructure for electric school bus fleets that benefit their children and communities. Our members have led the fight for a clean ride for kids, and they are speaking up and telling our decision makers that we need a clean energy future that prioritizes healthy, pollution-free communities for people of color. Throughout the years we have successfully gotten funding to deploy electric school buses in Connecticut, New York, Arizona, and soon in Nevada. In 2021, Chispa Arizona Organizer Teo Argueta worked with Cartwright Elementary School District mothers and other community members to push through the passage of a school bond that would help underwrite the district’s (and Arizona’s) first electric school bus. When the bond passed and the district secured a matching federal grant, Cartwright was able to finance the purchase. This bus is just the beginning; the $60 million school bond will also support building and infrastructure upgrades. Chispa’s Federal Leadership And it’s not just at the local and state levels where we are making progress. Chispa and LCV have been intensifying the pressure on members of Congress to invest in the transition to zero-emission, healthy school buses. This switch would improve the health and education outcomes for the over 25 million kids who take school buses to and from school each day, as well as the communities these heavily polluting diesel buses drive through every day.  Over the last few months, Chispa, LCV, and LCV affiliates in the Conservation Voter Movement, as well as the Alliance for Electric School Buses, a national coalition convened by Chispa, have been working to educate the public, increase the momentum toward an entirely zero-emission school bus fleet, and get community members to put pressure on their elected officials, from school boards to Congress, to secure additional funding for electric school buses. In October, we partnered up with the Electrification Coalition, Plug in America, andthe Department of Transportation and the U.S. Senate Auto Caucus to showcase the latest light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles (including electric school buses!) and EV charging infrastructure. Manufacturers, advocates, and key stakeholders were on hand to discuss the many advantages of this exciting new technology, such as cost savings on fuel and maintenance, reduced reliance on oil, improved air quality and public health, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. All this information and technology was being explored by members of Congress, the Department of Transportation, and staff. Check out pictures of our event here and here! You can also watch our Clean School Bus Chats with Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Rep. Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), and Sen. Cortez-Masto (NV), and learn more about Sen. Alex Padilla (CA) and Georgia Sen. Reverend Raphael Warnock’s support for electric school buses.  We have been working with electric school bus partners to turn up the heat on Congress and ensure that the Build Back Better Act delivers on the clean energy, healthy future our kids deserve. Ultimately, we need an investment of $25 billion dollars in funding to help accelerate the transition of half the national fleet to clean rides to school for our children. Chispa’s Next Efforts We are at a critical moment in the federal fight to fund electric school buses: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law by President Biden on November 15, 2021, provides $2.5 billion dollars in funding for districts to make the switch to electric school buses. While this is a good start, this is just a drop in the bucket of what is needed to fully electrify school buses across the country.  Other critical investments are waiting on Congressional action. As of now, the House has passed the Build Back Better Act, and we are waiting for Senate negotiations in hopes for it to be passed by March 1, 2022 and consequently signed by president Biden. This is a critical time for low income communities and people of color. We must continue to urge Congress to #BuildBackBetter now because our communities cannot wait any longer. Join Chispa’s Efforts This is just the beginning of what was once just thought five years ago. Together as a community, we can do so much more with accountability to leaders and #CommunityPower to provide a more promising future for not just younger generations, but for all! To stay up to date, sign up to our email list for news and updates and help us

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Grassroots organizers and a group of moms helped this school district get its first electric bus

One in every nine children in Maricopa County is asthmatic. The Arizona county, home to Phoenix, has some of the most polluted air in the country. At least 13 percent of Maricopa residents under 65 lack health insurance; 12 percent of the county’s population lives in poverty. But Maricopa is also home to the state’s first 84-seat electric school bus. That’s in large part thanks to community organizer Teo Argueta and a group of local moms. Organizing with Chispa Arizona, a program of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) based in Phoenix that seeks to build political power in Latino communities, Argueta worked with Cartwright Elementary School District mothers and other community members to push through the passage of a school bond last year that would help underwrite the bus in question. When the bond passed and the district secured a matching federal grant, Cartwright was able to finance the purchase. “It was hard,” said Cartwright Superintendent LeeAnn Aguilar-Lawlor. “But there was never a time where we said we’re not going to make this happen.” The school district plans to put the zero-emissions bus into action this fall, when students head back to in-person classes. At least 95 percent of the country’s half-million school buses run on diesel, a known carcinogen that can exacerbate asthma and other respiratory ailments. Nationwide, 60 percent of low-income students ride the bus to school (versus 45 percent of higher-income students). Maricopa County might be peppered with statistics, but the community power being built in the Cartwright school district offers the potential for a new narrative. And the bus is just the beginning. The $60 million school bond will also support building and infrastructure upgrades. “Not only do we need electric school buses, but in order for school buses to survive and to actually thrive, they need good infrastructure,” said Dulce Juarez, co-director of Chispa AZ. LCV’s Chispa — “spark” — works for a broader form of infrastructure: the kind that comes from civic engagement, voter participation, getting a seat at the table, and being recognized for environmental leadership. The program’s bet is that sparking the movement begins with organizing. Cartwright’s electric bus is the newest proof that they’re right. The story of Chispa and the “Cartwright Moms” is the centerpiece of a new film directed by Pita Juarez, an Arizona-based filmmaker and LCV’s Chispa National Communications and Creative Strategies Director. Juarez believes that “as the country is reckoning with racial and environmental justice, there is an opportunity to tie together our narratives to show how systemic these experiences of environmental injustice are, and accordingly, how intersectional our solutions must be.” Juarez’s film, Community Power Arizona: En Nuestrxs Manos (In Our Hands), is part of a new series of short films by The Redford Center, showcasing community power and storytelling in a collective call for civic engagement around clean transportation. “Having this electric school bus tells me again: Things happen because this community has power,” said Argueta. He’s optimistic about the next chapter. “Once the community knows there is power there, they will exercise that power.” source: https://grist.org/article/in-maricopa-county-an-electric-school-bus-brings-power-to-the-people/

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Zero Emission Schoo Bus

Re: Electric School Bus Coalition Urges Biden-Harris Administration to Accelerate Electric School Bus Transition

Today, Chispa, the community organizing program of League of Conservation Voters (LCV), in conjunction with the Electric School Bus (ESB) Coalition, sent a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris urging the administration to invest $25 billion over 10 years to accelerate the electric transition of the nation’s school bus fleet — prioritizing low-income communities of color who bear the highest pollution burden and worst air quality. Read the full letter below: Source: https://lcv.org/article/re-electric-school-bus-coalition-urges-biden-harris-administration-to-accelerate-electric-school-bus-transition/

Re: Electric School Bus Coalition Urges Biden-Harris Administration to Accelerate Electric School Bus Transition Read More »

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