Student inspires Miami-Dade County Public Schools to shift to electric buses

Holly Thorpe, a middle school student at Miami-Dade County Public Schools, has pushed the school district to shift from diesel-fueled buses to electric buses . The district arrived at the decision to convert after Thorpe made insightful points on electric vehicles through her science fair presentation. Thorpe’s research revealed that carbon dioxide fumes inside the buses were 10 times more than the levels recommended by the EPA. The school plans to bring in the electric buses in 2021, a year after Thorpe shared her findings. According to the school district, it will be applying for a federal grant from the $2.8 billion settlement fund as a result of the Volkswagen emissions scandal . The district will then use the fund to acquire new buses. “Students know they will be faced with the dire consequences of climate change and they are the ones motivating the district to feel a sense of urgency and care about becoming the greenest, cleanest, most innovative, and most equitable school system it can be,” Michele Drucker, environmental chair of the Miami-Dade County PTSA Council and sustainability chair of the MAST Academy PTSA, told Miami Herald . “There is money available to cover initial capital costs. […]

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