Varghese Advocates for Electric Schools Buses in New York

In an op-ed published in Crain’s New York Business, Assistant Professor of Nursing Jessica Varghese, Ph.D., writes in support of legislation to transition to zero-emission school buses throughout New York. “Today, the vast majority of the school buses in New York run on diesel fuel. Given the negative health impacts that diesel exhaust exposure has on our children, it haunts me to think of them sitting in traffic, forced to breathe toxic fumes. Diesel exhaust, a known carcinogen according to the World Health Organization, puts kids at increased risk for serious conditions like asthma – the leading cause of chronic disease-related school absenteeism in the United States. It’s also linked to negative cognitive development impacts, endangering students’ academic progress,” she shares.