No IDLE Concern: One Father’s Fight Against Diesel Exhaust – Part 2
May 6, 2008
You can find Part One of this feature here.
“There’s training all across the state for all bus drivers sponsored by the Education Department on anti-idling policies,” said John Fahey, Assistant Superintendent of Buffalo public schools. “But Mark put an immediate face on it saying that this was happening with bus #1 and I saw them doing it today.” When asked what made Mark’s activism successful, Doherty added, “I wish I could put my finger on it, because I’d bottle it…it was his persistence, dignity, style. . . he wasn’t a parent who was ranting and raving over the phone. He presented logical reasons eloquently. He took the time to meet with me and my safety director, and left an NPR tape which showed his commitment to the issue and his research.” With “passion and intelligence,” Cerbone also won the support of Bennett Park Principal Stephanie Gregory who, early in the campaign, began to supervise with him as well and made sure that an anti-idling policy was written into the 2003-2004 school plan.
Since then, Cerbone has diligently monitored the degree of anti-idling enforcement at school, estimating 90% compliance, even in the coldest weather. Additionally, he has offered his story and wisdom to other communities battling the threat of diesel exhaust. A citizen group from a Buffalo suburb heard of his efforts and asked him to consult with them to prevent a locally-owned bus company from building a bus storage and repair facility near their homes. From strategy pointers to pep talks, Mark offered the formally disheartened “citizen rebellion” the confidence and tactics they needed to succeed. The company ultimately canceled their plans.
Cerbone cites a variety of reasons for the success of his brand of activism. Alternately donning dress slacks and sweat pants, brushing his hair neatly or sporting bed-head, using academic discourse or plain street talk, he is able to talk to a wide variety of people and vary his approach. “I can go into meetings with powerful people and conduct myself professionally” he admits. “I can also get in the face of a driver early in the morning when I’m dropping off my kids and tell him that if he doesn’t change I’m calling the police and his boss.” He is also consistent, making a daily commitment to the issue through the unglamorous tallying of data on clipboards and repeated conversations with drivers. His campaign is low-budget—he works with a sharpened pencil and a good phone plan—and his passion is informed. While doing dishes or lifting weights, he religiously listens to public radio on a trusty $20 am/fm model to keep current on issues, even taping news programs when he knows he’ll miss them. As such, he spliced together five stories that make a “pretty thought-provoking set of arguments on diesel exhaust” that he has distributed.
More importantly than his specific strategies, Cerbone has been effective because his activism is rooted in the belief that “one person can effect significant change” and the biblical injunction to “love one’s neighbor.” Indeed, his school bus activism is merely one example in an overall lifestyle of engagement with the world around him on behalf of those who “lack the education, time or confidence to speak up for themselves.” The natural tendency, he admits, is to look the other way and mutter under your breath, but he knows sterile critique is useless. He sees his cause as a moral stand against rampant individualism, clinging to the importance of the common good.
Additionally, his activism also grows out of his longstanding commitment to place. He and his wife rooted themselves in the Buffalo inner city in order to establish a high-quality, faith-based after school program for at risk children and youth. Living in the neighborhood, he has come to understand its complexity and delight in its diversity. Air pollution is not an intellectual exercise: it’s right outside his window. He seeks out first-name relationships with the people that live in and influence his neighborhood, and he is always able to say “I care because I live here.”
Lastly, the issue of retrofitting and replacing the nation’s bus fleet is becoming a high profile environmental and health concern, with Congress allocating money to “clean bus” initiatives and the Environmental Protection Agency announcing dozens of projects. Upgrades are necessary, Cerbone acknowledges, but much can be done in the meantime to limit emissions and protect health with the simple turn of the key. He took a large issue and made it simple.
Despite the local victories, Cerbone is quick to point out that the battle is not over. Buffalo in particular faces the likely construction of a twin span to Canada, which would increase idling truck traffic waiting to cross into customs. The net effect would be more toxic exhaust blown by prevailing westerly winds into Buffalo’s West Side. Knowing that U.S. children travel 4.3 billion miles on nearly 10 billion school bus rides annually, Cerbone remains committed to eliminating exhaust at least in front of schools where children are chronically, intensely and unnecessarily exposed. He still grits his teeth whenever he passes a school with a bus idling outside an open window or sees a line of buses spewing out black smoke next to a football field. Laws are good, but compliance will be where the issue gains traction—and only with ever greater education and follow-through will Cerbone finally take a deep breath.
Tricia O’Connor Elisara lives in an intentional community in the mountains of San Diego County with her husband Chris and two sons, Ethan and Elliot. She also works with Creation Care Study Program.
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