>Challenge # 3: End Idle Waste!
Dear Fellow Green Challengers,
It’s easy to let your car run unnecessarily -while looking for your purse, getting the kids settled, talking on the cell phone…. There are many things to think about, and your running car is usually the last thing to consider. But you can prevent more than 40lbs of excess pollution from going into the air each year by turning off your engine if you will be sitting for more than 30 seconds.
It is estimated that each day, Americans waste approximately 3.8 million gallons
of gasoline by voluntarily idling their cars. Now, we all know how important it is to get our country off our “oil addiction” so eliminating ‘idle-waste” is a great way to help that. And another huge benefit is you will be helping those with asthma. Kids now more than ever are getting asthma in record numbers and carbon dioxide is the number 1 contributing factor. Here is an interesting article about an effort to measure pollution from idling cars outside of schools in New York. The woman whose job it is to measure the pollution comments that she can no longer sing high soprano since starting the job. Idling vehicles do make a difference, and until electric cars are mainstream, we can do our part by driving only when we must and not leaving our cars running when we are not driving.
Many people think that restarting your car takes more fuel than letting it run but this is not true unless your car is a 1980 model or earlier. In fact, in parts of Germany it is so encouraged to turn off your car, even when stopped at lights, that the traffic lights flash for a few seconds to let you know that it’s time to turn the engine back on. And in New Jersey and New York, it’s illegal to let your car idle for more than 3 minutes.
Also, avoid going through drive thru windows. Parking your car and walking in instead will save many minutes of idling! And if you do not drive yourself, encourage others who you notice idling by letting them know how much they can be helping the air quality by turning off the engine.
So this challenge should be easy- all it takes is a little consideration and the turn of a key!
One of the most frustrating things I see are people who go to Applegate’s (Montclair) for ice cream on a hot summer night only to eat in their car WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING AND AC BLASTING. Not only is this an environmental nightmare, it is a crazy sad disconnect from nature…
I’d also like to add what an environmental nightmare ice cream is! all dairy for that matter!
oh, I hate to pick on ice cream some more but: the ice cream trucks that park near the school (or the friendly neighborhood Good Humor man driving down your block) “have” to run their trucks to keep the ice cream cold with refrigeration–at least I think this is what is happening, judging from the fumes I smell. What about the 3 minute idling rule with that?