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Last year Vermont passed legislation that limits buses from idling for more than five minutes on school grounds.  The law, which had been championed by a group of middle school students, recognizes the fact that modern engines do not need long warm-up periods, and that a vehicle at idling is spewing greenhouse gasses for absolutely no reason.  It's one thing to spew carbon if you're going from point A to point B, it's another thing entirely to spew carbon while sitting and doing nothing. 

Well, this week the Legislature's Administrative Rules committee met to finalize the regulations to implement the law and heard from a bus company owner who complained that the five minute limit wouldn't provide an adequate time period to warm the buses up, particularly in the cabin.

He went so far as to say that he was having recruiting bus drivers because they knew they would have to sit in a cold bus in the morning.  Well, cold at least until the heat kicked up.  Oh, and, of course, the student's health would be negatively impacted by sitting in a cold bus.

This is where our hero, Senator Ed Flanagan, a democrat from Chittenden, noted: "I think we should accept that this is Vermont and it is cold and children should dress appropriately."  Bravo, Senator.  A lot of our energy use is spent maintaining some artificial ideal temperature -- heating up in the winter, cooling down in the summer, dehumidifying when it rains and humidifying when it's too dry.  Human beings are wonderfully adaptive creatures and managed to live on six of the seven continents long before the advent of the air conditioner or coal stove.  How about we try and live with the planet, instead of relentlessly modifying it to suit our whims?

So congratulations to Senator Ed Flanagan, and to Vermont for injecting a little common sense into the discussion.  Too bad this is such an uncommon thing.