Multiple teenagers love driving there cars to school. But, do they really NEED to drive there car to school if there only 2 miles away? Of course, then they think, “I’m so close to school that I barely burn any carbon.” When really 10 times a week driving two miles to school is 20 miles each week to school and back. That adds up and they burn, in one week, 8.8 kgs of carbon dioxide. So, during the school year they burn 369.6 kgs of CO2. If they took the bus and lets say the bus has 20 kids on it then 20 kids instead of 1 would emit 369.6 kgs of carbon dioxide per year. Take the bus! Therefore, I don't NEED a car I might want one but for now I will take the bus and maybe in the future I will get an electric car.

I agree with you but I think that you have to take into consideration why some kids use their cars instead. A lot of places have rough environments in which the bus smells like weed and vape, and the kids are so loud you feel like your eardrums will burst. This is not to say you are wrong - I certainly agree that using the bus would be more better in terms of climate change. It is just a thought that I wanted to share.

I think this is a really good question. If the schools could invest in better buses like electric buses for example or better gas mileage. The bus that I ride to school has a gas mileage of about 6 to 8 miles per gallon I think we should all take this into account when deciding to ride the buses.

Buses are almost always going to be more efficient than a car when it comes to traveling to school. The other thing to think about is the capacity of a bus. Some bus routes NEED kids to be driving because there simply isn't enough room for them on the bus. This isn't a big issue and certainly isn't very common in my area, but with COVID I believe there were some congested routes. Another thing to think about is open campus. The last thing a high schooler wants to do is go to school and open campus is their only way to get out. The main reason most kids drive to school is so they can leave earlier/arrive later, and leave during a study hall. All told, this is an issue that plagues schools across the country and should be addressed, but there may be some hindrances along the way.

You know, I’ve never actually thought about this! I see seniors driving their cars to school almost every single day, but I never considered this. I wonder, though, when the emissions of bus travel are more than the emissions of car travel. I mean, if a bus has to go out of it’s way—a LONG WAY out of it’s way, that is—just to pick a child up, would it be better if that child just drives than if the bus had to go very far off it’s original course to pick them up? Not saying I don’t agree with you. I think you made a wonderful point that I’ve never really thought of! But, in all scenarios, would it really be the best solution?

I strongly agree with the bus idea since my school provides multiple options for students who need a ride to school or home without using their own vehicles or cars. For example, students can be taken to an electric train station in the Bay Area known as BART and be transported to the station the school picks them up which reduces CO2 going into the air. Parents or students can drive themselves to their local BART station or ride their bike or electric scooter to the train station which is another method of transportation to reduce carbon emissions from rising. If people don’t want to take the bus, people can stop idling their cars from creating more carbon emissions. The article Idling Reduction for Personal Vehicles by the U.S Department of Energy states that idling for more than 10 seconds produces more emissions that add on to smog and climate change than having to stop and start the engine. Researchers found that people's personal cars can produce up to 30 million tons of CO2 every year just by idling. When people drive their car, it helps their engine find its operating temperature quicker than just having it parked and idling it. When people are in the line at the bank, pharmacy, or fast food restaurant they can turn their car off instead of idling it as well. Switching to a hybrid electric car would benefit the environment because the car’s engine stops going when the car is stopped for 10 seconds to a long period of time. Lastly, instead of texting people in the car, people can just completely shut the car off. Whether it’s taking an electric train to get to the school bus or not idling a personal vehicle can help reduce carbon emissions.

I strongly agree with the bus idea since my school provides multiple options for students who need a ride to school or home without using their own vehicles or cars. For example, students can be taken to an electric train station in the Bay Area known as BART and be transported to the station the school picks them up which reduces CO2 going into the air. Parents or students can drive themselves to their local BART station or ride their bike or electric scooter to the train station which is another method of transportation to reduce carbon emissions from rising. If people don’t want to take the bus, people can stop idling their cars from creating more carbon emissions. The article Idling Reduction for Personal Vehicles by the U.S Department of Energy states that idling for more than 10 seconds produces more emissions that add on to smog and climate change than having to stop and start the engine. Researchers found that people's personal cars can produce up to 30 million tons of CO2 every year just by idling. When people drive their car, it helps their engine find its operating temperature quicker than just having it parked and idling it. When people are in the line at the bank, pharmacy, or fast food restaurant they can turn their car off instead of idling it as well. Switching to a hybrid electric car would benefit the environment because the car’s engine stops going when the car is stopped for 10 seconds to a long period of time. Lastly, instead of texting people in the car, people can just completely shut the car off. Whether it’s taking an electric train to get to the school bus or not idling a personal vehicle can help reduce carbon emissions.

https://afdc.energy.gov/files/u/publica … hicles.pdf