The Wheels On The School Bus May Go Round and Round But How Much Sound Do They Make?
Welcome to our continuing discussion on EV’s and the implementation of electric school buses into our communities. With the unveiled $1 billion dollar program to lower emissions and reduce hazardous exposure of our children to exhaust and noise pollution by assimilating electric school buses in our communities, our children will see profound positive impacts on their health. Most people do not think about noise pollution as a health crisis affecting our communities. According to WHO, noise pollution is a critical environmental threat to our health.
How much is too much noise during the average day? WHO describes noise pollution as anything above 65 decibels with harmful effects when exposed to anything exceeding 75 decibels. They recommend noise levels stay below 65 dB during the day with 30 dB being the max for nighttime optimal sleep. A recent study by University of California Berkely found noise pollution is worse in minority neighborhoods and segregated cities and the research suggest traffic is a major culprit. “A fair number of Southern cities tend to have higher nighttime noise levels, including Atlanta,” said U.C. Berkeley environmental science professor Rachel Morello-Frosch, one of the study’s authors. In Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood traffic and construction cause sound pollution for its inhabitants and 10 minutes away in Buckhead can sound comparable.
Gas powered school buses can reach up to 95 dB which is well above the 65 dB recommended by WHO. Electric school buses are so much quieter they are equipped with sound alarms to let other drivers know they are present. Researchers found in residential areas the use of electric school buses used at low speeds could reduce sound by 14 dB and 5 dB at high speed. The use of these vehicles could reduce noise related health issues such as high blood pressure, speech interference, lost productivity, cognitive capacity, hearing loss, and sleep cycle disruption. Georgia WAND is a non-profit educating the public about environmental justice and federal budget priorities. They are committed to protecting Georgia communities and empowering them with resources for advocacy with the realization noise pollution is a social, economic, and environmental justice issues.
Follow the series for more information about the disparities of how noise pollution effects varying populations in your community.
Teresa Perkins is a climate change and sustainability journalist, who is creating research-based climate change content pertaining to sustainable energy at local, national, and global level for publication and distribution. She partners with non-profit organizations for innovative ideas and sustainability projects and connects global UN Climate Change reports to local initiatives.
