TNC ME Campaign Impact Report 2023 pages - Flipbook - Page 7
climate & SKIES
A CLEANER RIDE
TO SCHOOL
Imagine you’re back in your school days, riding the big yellow bus on a chilly winter
morning. The diesel engine that’s been running for hours rumbles loudly, and the
telltale odor of fuel permeates the cabin during your
ride to school. Now, fast-forward to today: most kids in
America are experiencing the exact same thing, riding the
same school buses, breathing in the same diesel fumes as
their bus emits greenhouse gases to and from school.
Fortunately, change is on the horizon. New technologies
have made electric vehicles a practical solution to replace
those old diesel guzzling buses. And our research shows
they are effective! In 2021, Mount Desert Island High
School deployed the first electric school bus in Maine. We
worked with partner nonprofits to assess how the electric
bus handled winter weather in a rural environment and
found that it performed reliably and saved over 30,000
pounds of greenhouse gas emissions in less than a year—
and students and drivers loved the quiet, fume-free ride.
Now that we know electric buses can perform well in
Maine, we’re helping school districts who were awarded
federal funding transition to electric buses. Taking steps
to reduce emissions by shifting to electric vehicles and
updating our energy grid with well-sited clean energy are
critical elements of Maine’s climate strategy. Thanks to you
and many others for helping these big yellow buses lead the way!
Our Goals by 2024
Skies
48% Renewably Sourced
GOAL: 55% RENEWABLY SOURCED
87%
Percent of electricity supply in Maine provided by renewable sources
24.19 MMTCO2e
GOAL: 25.41 MMTCO2e
151%
Reduction in Maine greenhouse gas emissions (in million metric tons of CO2 equivalent)
A TOUR OF YOUR IMPACT | 7