By SAMUEL CARMER
Los Alamos High School
Class of 2025
Our local EcoClub is pushing for real change in Los Alamos. We are asking Los Alamos County and Los Alamos Public Schools to electrify our school buildings and our school bus fleet. Please show your support by signing this form (Electrification) and emailing your school board member and county councilors.
Public schools are one of the largest consumers of energy in the country (K-12 Climate Action). They need lighting, heating, cooling, buses, and more. Many of our school buildings are heated by burning fossil fuels. This releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere, trapping heat and raising the temperature.
All this should be common knowledge. But climate change has other effects which affect us more directly, yet are discussed less. As the climate warms, less precipitation falls, and snow melts faster during the winter. Snow-packed mountains are natural reservoirs that are being depleted, exacerbating New Mexico’s water crisis. Droughts are becoming more severe as less precipitation falls, and water in the soil evaporates more quickly with rising temperatures. The change is harming New Mexican farmers, cattle ranchers, and tribal communities who rely on the resources provided by the land (EPA).
But the most glaringly conspicuous and immediate effect of climate change is wildfires. New Mexico has seen nine wildfires in the last three years. The Cerro Pelado and Hermit’s Peak fires alone burned almost 400,000 acres of New Mexico forest, destroying hundreds of buildings. As NMPBS put it, April 2022 was “dry. It was hot. It was windy as hell.” I’m not even old enough to have lived through the Cerro Grande Fire, but from what I’ve heard, nobody wants another one.
Our LAHS EcoClub is interested in making changes in our school district. We are introducing a resolution on Feb. 13 to the school board outlining our plan. With funding from federal and state grants, LAPS would purchase EV buses and renovate school buildings to use energy efficient, renewably sourced systems. As two elementary schools and sections of LAHS are being renovated, we want our school board to investigate the option of using heat pumps in our heating system. These heat pumps will be financially wise in the long run, eliminating the need to regularly purchase fuel to heat the building; they can be considered a long-term investment.
We also won’t be affected by fluctuating gas prices. I don’t think anybody wants Russia to control their wallet. Our buildings currently rely on burning natural gas or propane, which is inefficient, unreliable, and possibly dangerous as ventilation systems deteriorate. Our heating systems have to be regularly maintained to prevent gas leaks. Heat pumps minimize these issues, and, the big seller, they use less energy and are powered electrically. As our county switches to renewable energy, so will the heat pumps.
The other hot topic EcoClub is interested in is switching our LAPS school bus fleet to electric. Our current buses are diesel powered. The negative effects of diesel are numerous and very alarming. Diesel exhaust has been classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and contains many constituent chemicals which are known endocrine disruptors and/or human toxins. Diesel is a major source of fine particulate matter, which lodges in lungs and can exacerbate asthma. Other chemicals in diesel can decrease lung function and slow lung development.
Many of diesel’s air pollutant chemicals are also associated with neurotoxicity. They have negative effects on the development of the central nervous system and can lead to behavioral deficits. Children have been shown to be especially susceptible to fine particulate matter and the related respiratory problems because of their narrower airways. And they are breathing it in. Children riding in a diesel school bus are exposed to as much as four times the diesel exhaust as an average passenger car. (EHHI, IARC, EPA, NRDC). Numerous studies have shown diesel to be associated with lung cancer and to worsen asthmatic symptoms. Studies conducted in California have found that more than 70% of the cancer risk from air pollution is caused by diesel exhaust. (NASN, NLM, NLM, EHP, CMAJ, AQMD). The list of bad things caused by diesel goes on. Hopefully, we can all agree that students should not have to breathe in diesel fumes while getting to school.
We propose EV buses as an alternative. The upsides of EV buses are tremendous. They don’t expose our kids to cancer! EV buses are battery powered and rely on charging stations. While this still leaves a carbon footprint, electric buses are an immediate solution. The manufacturing and charging of the buses will still release greenhouse gases into the air; however, we propose EV buses as better alternatives to the cancer-filled engines that pollute our town’s atmosphere and students’ lungs. As with heat pumps, the energy to charge the buses will gradually switch to greener sources.
Los Alamos can be a leader in climate action. We have the resources and the will power to make change. We just need to start acting. Please fill out the form above and talk to your school board and council members about Electrification.
We will be presenting our resolution to the Los Alamos School Board at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2024 in the School Board Room near Ashley Pond. Please come and show your support.
Thank you.