EPA is pleased to announce that the Climate Change Emission Calculator Kit (Climate CHECK) is now available. Climate CHECK is a free, user- friendly, Excel-based program designed to teach high-school students about the science, drivers, and impacts of climate change and provide them with the knowledge, tools, and resources to increase climate-change awareness and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at their school.

Climate Check:

• Educates high-school students about climate change and greenhouse gas emissions,
• Allows students to inventory their school’s greenhouse gas emissions using built-in calculators and school-specific “activity data,” and
• Provides resources to help students develop and implement a mitigation action plan.

To download Climate CHECK, go to: www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/school.html and click on the link under “2. High school students check your school's climate impact.”

School buses provide our nation’s children with safe, convenient transportation. Diesel exhaust from school buses, however, poses a health risk, particularly to children. Diesel exhaust contains small particles as well as smog-forming and toxic air pollutants. Exposure to diesel exhaust can cause lung damage and respiratory problems and can exacerbate asthma and existing allergies. Buses that idle outside schools can pollute the air inside the school building as well as outdoors. Fortunately, there are several steps that schools can take to reduce diesel exhaust from school buses.

Read more about it at the following web sites:

• Iowa DNR's Bus Emissions Education Program (BEEP)
• BEEP Grant Report
• EPA's Clean School Bus USA
  • What You Should Know About Reducing Diesel Exhaust from School Buses (PDF File)

EPA announces release of The Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up

Written in partnership with Scholastic Inc., the Environmental Protection Agency has announced the publication of the children’s book The Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up. Ms. Frizzle’s class travel via their magical bus through a diesel engine to learn about pollution from school buses and what is being done to reduce diesel exhaust. The children learn about idle reduction and other ways the community can help reduce health risks from diesel exhaust. At the end of the book, the magic school bus is retrofitted with a diesel particulate filter.

The books are available free of charge to schools, libraries, non-profit organizations and organizations conducting diesel education and outreach campaigns. Quantities are limited. Visit www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus for ordering information.

Smog City is an interactive air pollution simulator that shows how your choices, environmental factors, and land use contribute to air pollution. In Smog City you're in control so your visit can be a healthy or unhealthy experience depending on the decisions you make. You'll see how ground-level ozone, the biggest part of summertime smog, increases or decreases when you spend a day in Smog City.

This curriculum focuses on raising the awareness of high school age youth about transportation, personal mobility choices now and in the future, and how those choices impact the environment.

Teachers can obtain the whole cast of Rogues Gallery educational trading cards for classroom use. These fun cards show five of the most common pollutants. The reverse gives a description of each - the causes, sources and how kids and parents can reduce emissions. For samples or bulk copies, contact Mindy Kralicek at 515-281-7832 or Mindy.Kralicek@dnr.iowa.gov.

Download an Air Quality Coloring Book! (2,219KB PDF)

Clean Air Gazette Teachers can also request bulk copies of the Clean Air Gazette. A multi-color four page booklet with information about what kids and parents can do to reduce air emissions, background on the Clean Air Act and information on common pollutants and health impacts. For copies, contact Mindy Kralicek at 515-281-7832 or Mindy.Kralicek@dnr.iowa.gov.