McSheffrey: What's on this mom's vision board? Clean buses, less pollution

If you’ve created a vision board for 2024, perhaps you included images of a dreamy vacation, fitness goals, or a resort-style pool. I have some of those images on mine. But this year, I’ve also added images of clean skies, smiling children playing outdoors, and vibrant communities … I hope you will, too.

You see, I envision an Arizona where children aren’t suffering from the numerous health impacts from smog, nitrogen oxides, and other toxic air pollution caused by gas-powered vehicles, the largest source of carbon pollution that causes climate change. And I’m not alone in my desire to protect my children’s and future generations’ right to breathe clean air in our state.

As a member of Moms Clean Air Force, I want policymakers to be held accountable for the pollution impacting the health of our children and the world they will inherit. As an organization, we are committed to bringing moms, dads, and caregivers together to support events, policies, and actions to end environmental injustices in our state.

There are more than 25,500 Moms Clean Air Force members in Arizona who, like me, are fighting for clean air and a stable climate for our children. But it’s not just moms concerned about Arizona’s air quality. According to a survey from Global Strategy Group for the American Lung Association, 83% of Arizona’s voters identified air pollution as a serious problem.

With any good fight, there must be hope behind it. I assure you, there’s hope for change and the chance for our children to grow up breathing clean air and living in a viable climate.

Hope is delivered through community efforts but also changes to the infrastructure in our communities. Measures that combat climate change and promote clean energy solutions, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Investment Infrastructure Jobs Act, are in place and being implemented successfully.

In 2021, President Biden passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, providing $1.2 trillion in new government investments to address the climate change crisis. With funding from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act specifically, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established its Clean School Bus Program, which provides $5 billion from 2022 through 2026 to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models.

Under the Clean School Bus Program, the EPA issued multiple grant and rebate funding opportunities and has awarded almost $2 billion to fund approximately 5,000 school bus replacements at over 600 schools nationwide!

How does Arizona fare in the receipt of that $2 billion in funding? In January 2024, the EPA granted more than $40 million to three applicants in our state through its first grants competition. The awards will help selectees purchase more than 114 electric school buses in 23 school districts across Arizona.

Transitioning from diesel-powered to zero-emission school buses is one of the most important steps we can take to combat climate change and improve air quality and health. Phasing out older diesel engines, which, by the way, disproportionately affect communities of color and Tribal communities, ensures cleaner air for students, bus drivers, school staff working near bus loading areas, and the communities through which the buses drive daily.

Progress toward clean buses is a win for the whole community.

To date, there have been three rounds of funding from the EPA, and I encourage Arizona school district administrators to keep an eye on Epa.gov/cleanschoolbus for the next round of funding so they, too, can apply for any upcoming rebate and grant opportunities for their own schools.

My deepest hope is that we can continue to cultivate a shared vision of less pollution in Arizona, backed by action, for the health of our children. They deserve to grow up in a place where they aren’t suffering from asthma attacks, respiratory diseases, and cancer.

Amy McSheffrey is a member of Moms Clean Air Force and a Creighton School District Board Member.