Oh, Carbon Footprint

From CNS News:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforced nearly $500,000 in fines and mandatory “environmental projects” on a school bus contractor for “excessive idling,” and as part of its anti-idling campaign to reduce the carbon footprint of school buses waiting to pick up children for their routes.

“As part of a settlement for alleged excessive diesel idling in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Durham School Services will commit to reduce idling from its school bus fleet of 13,900 buses operating in 30 states,” read an EPA press release on Tuesday.

The EPA says an agency inspector two years ago spotted buses of the Durham School Services, the second largest school bus transportation contractor in the country, “idling for extended periods of time” in school lots in New England.

“The inspector observed some buses idling for close to two hours before departing the bus lot to pick up school children,” it said. State rules limit idling to three minutes in Connecticut and five minutes in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where the infractions occurred.

Durham reached a settlement for the violation and agreed to pay $90,000 in penalties. It also agreed to pay for $348,000 worth of environmental projects, including implementing a national training and management program “to prevent excessive idling from its entire fleet of school buses.”

Carbon footprint..... I am sick and tired of the tree hugging, green, libtards jumping out of their skin as they scream 'we must save the planet!' Our current administration has implemented so many regulations via the EPA, that it won't be long and they'll have us all carrying carbon footprint micro chipped ID cards!

As to the EPA fining almost half a million dollars for idling school buses, I'd love to see them try that in Alaska. When the temperature hovers around -20 to -40 degrees in Fairbanks, Nenana, Nome and other towns, that school bus engine WILL be running, from the moment the driver turns the key in the bus barn, until he returns hours later. The engine will idle, because if you turn it off, you're dead in the water. I'm sure the temperatures in New England warrant the same thing, so shame on the EPA, shame on Ovomit and shame on the bleeding heart liberals! They can take their carbon footprint and stick it where the sun doesn't shine!!