Michigan Business Beat | Phil Roos, EGLE, Electric Buses

Chris Holman welcomes Phil Roos, Director, EGLE, Lansing, MI. This episode of Michigan Business Beat features an interview with Phil Roos, Director of EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy), who discusses the department's recent progress on sustainability under Governor Whitmer's leadership, including record numbers of contaminated site cleanups. A significant portion of the conversation focuses on Michigan's electric school bus program, highlighted by a recent teach-in event at Lansing Technical High School, which brought together state leaders and school districts to explore funding strategies for deploying more electric buses. Roos outlines the wide-ranging benefits of electric school buses, including elimination of harmful diesel emissions, potential improvements in student attendance and test scores, lower maintenance and operating costs, and a meaningful reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. He also connects the program to the broader Michigan Healthy Climate Plan, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, noting that transportation — including medium and heavy-duty vehicles like school buses — accounts for roughly a third of the state's carbon emissions. Roos emphasized that new electric buses can be obtained at no cost to school districts through a combination of federal and state grant funding. » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/@MichiganbusinessnetworkMBN » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/