"The Propane Industry’s Weird Obsession With School Buses, Explained"

"Electric school buses are better for kids’ health. The propane industry has other ideas."

"Last year, the popular children’s magazine The Week Junior advertised a contest called “Be Like Jack” that would award $2,000 to the preteens or teens who submitted the winning ideas for an environmental project. A few dozen kids from around the country participated, submitting proposals meant to boost sustainability in their elementary or middle schools. A Colorado 9-year-old won the grand prize for her tree-planting project.

To celebrate her win, Emily Calandrelli, host of the Netflix science show Emily’s Wonder Lab, visited the winning school during a science assembly that touted, of all things, the environmental benefits of a propane-powered school bus.

But why propane? And why there? The assembly begins to make sense considering that the sponsor behind the contest was the Propane Education Research Council (PERC), an arm of the fossil-fuel industry. PERC held the contest, a spokesperson told Vox, to “educate school children about energy options.”"

Rebecca Leber reports for Vox October 26, 2023.

Source: Vox, 10/30/2023