By Patty L. Buchanan Momentum is building all around us for electric school buses, and for good reasons. The Croton Harmon School District has taken a leadership role by procuring a $120,000 NYSERDA grant to purchase its first 66-passenger electric bus. The local climate stability education advocacy group, Croton100, rallied the Croton community in the Spring of 2021 to deliver…
The Charge of the EV’s
By: Susan Buck In April 2021, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) noted that 29% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (in 2019) were created from the transportation sector, which includes the movement of people and goods by cars, trucks, trains, ships, airplanes, and other vehicles. The majority of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation are carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from passenger cars, medium- and…

Progress Rolls Like a Brick
By: Chandu Visweswariah Congratulations to all residents of the Croton Harmon School District in New York! In the recent May 18 budget vote, you chose electric buses overwhelmingly over fossil fuel buses. The three electric bus propositions collectively received a 73.7% approval. For those who recall, we also had a Proposition 1 for two fossil fuel buses, and the three…

I’m Voting No to Proposition 1 and Yes to Propositions 2, 3 and 4 on the Croton School Ballot; Here’s Why
I am voting NO to Transportation Proposition 1 and YES to Propositions 2, 3 and 4 on the Croton School May 18 ballot. I encourage you to do the same. Here’s why. As a resident of this School District, I, along with others in the community, have spent the past year working with the School on positioning our District to…

Our Votes? Not in a Million Years!
By: Chandu Visweswariah [Editor’s note: Proposition numbers were updated in keeping with updated Bond Proposition numbering on 4/13/2021 and funding details were updated on 5/3/2021.] The Croton School District (Westchester County, New York) is placing the following transportation bond propositions on the May 18, 2021 ballot: Proposition 1: Authorization to borrow money for 2 diesel buses and one “impractical” charger…

So Much Money and Carbon to be Saved
By: Patty L. Buchanan Croton100 has continued with its best efforts to educate the Croton School District about the benefits of integrating electric school buses into its fleet in the 2021-22 budget cycle that is currently being finalized. We were so inspired by the many messages community members sent to the Board of Education (BOE) in response to our…

Horror, Despair, Hope and Action
By: Patty L. Buchanan Climate stability advocates spend a lot of time on the emotional rollercoaster of horror, despair, hope and action. I have been having a rough ride on these tracks lately. I recently listened to an insightful On Being podcast about how these ups and downs relate. The podcast is a conversation between On Being Host Krista Tippett…
International, National and Local Spotlights on EV Adoption
By: Patty L. Buchanan Wooohooo, my all-time favorite Super Bowl ad was released this week, and it is getting international laughs mixed with awe. GM is using the biggest advertising stage, the U.S. Super Bowl, to promote the idea of national pride in the rapid adoption of electric vehicles. The premise of the ad is that Will Ferrell is incensed that Norway…
The Confluence of Local and Global Climate Crisis Discourse
By: Patty L. Buchanan There was a recent notable confluence of local and global discourse on the climate crisis. On Sunday, January 10, Croton’s Care for Creation Ministry (C4C) hosted a remarkable program with 7 speakers to discuss climate stabilizing solutions percolating right here in Croton. On the same day, there was another program about the climate crisis that was live-streamed with…
Don’t Waste Our Money
By: Chandu Visweswariah Now is the time to advocate for electrification of school transportation fleets because school districts are planning their 2021-’22 transportation budgets now, and NYSERDA has recently announced an update to their voucher program that encourages schools to buy electric buses. The School Bus Voucher Program falls within NYSERDA’s Truck Incentive Program. Accordingly, we post this call to all school…