School officials in Clayton County, Georgia are working to ensure that the bus ride to school is a greener one by taking steps that every school district can to help protect students and be better stewards of the community as well. To start off they're working to install particulate matter filters on every one of the 550 buses they have, capturing soot and other emissions from the diesel buses while aiming to reduce emissions overall up to 40%. In addition to the filters they've also introduced a switch to ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel for their entire fleet, which will reduce the amount of nitrous oxide emitted in vehicle exhaust by more than 90%. Since the filters never need to be replaced, and the switch on fuel is a permanent one, these are both changes destined to make a difference in the long run...

They're also taking steps similar to UPS new project by changing bus routes to ensure optimal fuel efficiency on each of them, and lastly they've also introduced a new anti-idling policy in their district which gives clear guidelines for drivers to follow so that buses don't waste fuel while waiting for kids any more than is absolutely necessary. As transportation director John Lyles put it, "Our main goal is to protect the 35,000 students that we transport twice a day." With carbon emissions ultimately expected to last over 100 years in the atmosphere, I think that these are ways in which all districts can work to protect their kids for a long time to come. See also: ::Cleaner School Bus Fuel in Chicago

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