Pardon the BloggEruption

Most local school districts have closed their doors for the past few days due to the cold weather. But there's not much snow on the ground, nor are the roads icy. In the past, schools would have at most a 2-3 hour delay before resuming a regular schedule. While I'm not at all phased by the closures (being a good Texan who thinks that anything below 50°F is ungodly), my wife was mystified by the apparent change in policy.

Well, it turns out that the closures aren't so much a change in school district policies as they are a change in fuel regulations. It appears that the new low-sulfur formula likes to become really viscous under 15°F, as paraffin starts dropping out of the mix and messing with the engine. It's not so much that they want to keep the kids home, they simply can't get them there!

First the tortilla riots, now the waxy school bus engines ... I'll be keeping an eye out for more unintended consequences of environmental regulation.