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The Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up in Macon

Release Date: 12/18/2007
Contact Information: Davina Marraccini, (404) 562-8293, marraccini.davina@epa.gov

(Atlanta, GA – December 18, 2007) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in partnership with the Georgia Clean Cities Coalition, presented the Alexander II Magnet School in Macon, Ga., with copies of a new book in the Magic School Bus children’s series entitled, The Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up. EPA provided school principal, Dr. Linda Bivins, and each fifth grader with a copy of the book and copies for the school library.

EPA, in partnership with media company Scholastic, Inc., introduced this new book in the series in October. In the book, the Magic School Bus gets a pollution-control device on its tailpipe and the children learn about the importance of clean air. The book introduces readers to Clean School Bus USA, an EPA program helping communities across the nation reduce emissions from diesel school buses.

“Clean School Bus USA is helping to make the black puff of smoke that comes from diesel school buses a thing of the past, just like the cleaned up Magic School Bus in the book,” said Scott Davis, chief of EPA Region 4’s Air Quality Modeling and Transportation Section.

Macon Mayor Robert Reinert’s office participated in the presentation of the Magic School Bus books and Little Miss Clean Air, Kayla Stephens, read exerts from the book for students and parents in attendance. Macon has been a leader in addressing air quality by retrofitting school buses with clean diesel technology and adopting idle reduction policies for school buses in all five middle Georgia counties. The city is also using clean renewable biodiesel fuel in a variety of applications to further reduce emission from diesel engines.

EPA implements the Clean School Bus USA program in the Regional office through the Southeast Diesel Collaborative, which awarded $670,000 in grants in 2007 to school districts, air quality districts and other entities to help reduce school bus diesel emissions through a variety of retrofit and alternative fuel campaigns. The goal of the Southeast Diesel Collaborative is to improve air quality and public health by reducing emissions from existing diesel engines.

The Magic School Bus book is available from EPA; for information on how to order a copy visit: www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus

For more information on the Southeast Diesel Collaborative visit: www.southeastdiesel.org