The Green Gators focused on the issue of tire pressure of school buses. School buses are used daily across the world and always return to lots to be maintained and regulated. This creates a great opportunity to have a controlled system for checking tire pressure!
The Green Gators visited a local school bus lot to measure the tire pressure of 28 buses in the lot. The buses we tested already saved 12.5 tons of nitrous oxides (which contribute to climate change) annually because they run on compressed natural gas. The Green Gators knew how to make them even more efficient: bring the tire pressure up to the correct level.
We found the pressure to be under the recommended level (95 psi) by an average of 7.955 psi. We stayed in contact with the lot managers and sugested a plan: The tire pressure of the buses should be measured every Friday. Any under-inflated tires should be inflated to the proper level. This should become a mandatory part of the existing maintenance of the buses.
If this plan were applied to the 28 buses we tested, 7840 lbs of CO2 would be prevented from entering the atmosphere each year.
plan + 28 buses = 7840 lbs of CO2
prevented from entering the atmosphere
If this plan were applied to the entire bus lot, consisting of 111 buses, 31,080 lbs of CO2 could be saved annually.
plan + 111 buses = 31,080 lbs of CO2
prevented from entering the atmosphere
Now imaging that the tire pressue were properly maintained in the school buses all over America... that's 440,000 school buses. This could save 123,200,000 lbs of CO2 anually!
plan + 440, 000 buses = 123,200,000 lbs of CO2 prevented from entering the atmosphere
Taking 2 minuets to fix your tire pressure really can make a difference! Want to learn how? It's easy!
For a more detailed account of our project, check out our Lexus Challenge PowerPoint Presentation