Our View: It’s Not Easy Being Green

But when it comes to implementing common-sense projects like the electrification of school buses, it ought to be.

 We congratulate Cape Tech, Cape Destinations and the various state and federal agencies and organizations that brought to fruition an ambitious plan to convert part of the bus fleet to electric vehicles, charged in part by a solar canopy built over the bus lot. It’s a project that’s good for the environment, good for public health, and good for the taxpayers who fund the school. 

 But by all accounts, the project faced a number of challenges and fairly steady headwinds during the years-long planning process. Grant programs often come with significant strings attached, and a patchwork of funding sources were needed for the comprehensive project. In a very real sense, it’s remarkable that the project happened at all, given the Trump administration’s assault on green energy initiatives.

 The Cape Tech bus electrification project is a story of a small but meaningful victory that required lots of effort, expertise, planning and luck. A number of leaders at last week’s project unveiling said they hope it will be the first of many similar projects around the Cape, around the state and across the nation. But for that to happen, it’s important for us to lower some of the hurdles – technical, financial, bureaucratic and political – that make it so much easier for school districts to simply stick with their diesel bus fleets. 

That means as voters, we need to make sure our political leaders – from local school committee members and planning board members up to the highest levels of state and federal government – know that green energy initiatives remain an important priority, especially given the volatility in the oil market.