 |
| |
 |
American Idle By Staff Reporter Erin E. Schmidt
Recent budget cuts imposed by new property tax laws have left many local communities scrambling to save
money, including the city of Mishawaka. Mayor Jeff Rea has considered, among other measures, replacing
gasoline- and diesel-fueled city vehicles with electric versions. One simple way for the city to save money on
fuel is to eliminate the practice of leaving city vehicles idling. Cutting dramatically back on idling has other
benefits, too: it reduces our city’s contribution to greenhouse gases and air pollution, helping protect both the
environment and people with breathing difficulties. It also reduces the risk of theft of the vehicle.
Some of the city’s Park Dept. and Street Dept. employees have taken this idea seriously, and are good about
shutting off their vehicles consistently. Others don’t seem to have gotten the message yet. Recently, my
husband and I have been on a mission. When we see a city employee with an idling vehicle or piece of
equipment, we ask that person to turn it off. Some do, some don’t, and some have even gotten defensive and
rude with us. One even threatened violence.
There are some exceptions to the “turn it off” general rule. Police vehicles must be kept running so that officers
have access to their equipment, including the cameras that make both the police and the public safer. There
are also a few other city workers, such as those in sewer inspection vehicles, who need to leave their vehicles
running for the sake of the equipment. It is not always practical or reasonable to turn a city vehicle off while the
employees are doing their jobs.
money, including the city of Mishawaka. Mayor Jeff Rea has considered, among other measures, replacing
gasoline- and diesel-fueled city vehicles with electric versions. One simple way for the city to save money on
fuel is to eliminate the practice of leaving city vehicles idling. Cutting dramatically back on idling has other
benefits, too: it reduces our city’s contribution to greenhouse gases and air pollution, helping protect both the
environment and people with breathing difficulties. It also reduces the risk of theft of the vehicle.
Some of the city’s Park Dept. and Street Dept. employees have taken this idea seriously, and are good about
shutting off their vehicles consistently. Others don’t seem to have gotten the message yet. Recently, my
husband and I have been on a mission. When we see a city employee with an idling vehicle or piece of
equipment, we ask that person to turn it off. Some do, some don’t, and some have even gotten defensive and
rude with us. One even threatened violence.
There are some exceptions to the “turn it off” general rule. Police vehicles must be kept running so that officers
have access to their equipment, including the cameras that make both the police and the public safer. There
are also a few other city workers, such as those in sewer inspection vehicles, who need to leave their vehicles
running for the sake of the equipment. It is not always practical or reasonable to turn a city vehicle off while the
employees are doing their jobs.
However, there are other times when city workers
in separate vehicles stop to talk to one another
and leave the vehicles running. We have seen
workers leave a vehicle idling while cleaning a
public restroom, a job that may take ten minutes
or more. We have also seen heavy equipment,
such as backhoes, street sweepers, and lawn
equipment, idling while not in use for several
minutes. We have even, in some cases, seen city
vehicles left running for hours at time, i.e. when
the Street Dept. blocks off a street for an event
(even though the Street Dept. has yellow flashing
lights and radios that run on batteries). There was
no reason for any of this.
There are many myths out there about idling. Some will tell you that it is bad for the vehicle’s engine to be
constantly starting and stopping it. Actually, the opposite is true. There is very little wear and tear done to the
engine from starting and stopping. One study estimates that this costs the average vehicle owner $10 a year,
much less than can be saved in fuel costs by not idling. In fact, idling can cause condensation which can
damage a vehicle’s cylinders, spark plugs, and exhaust system.*
Some will tell you that stopping and restarting a vehicle uses more gas than letting it run. This is a lazy
person’s argument. It may have been true with some of the vehicles of the past that used carburetors, but
now it is simply not true. Idling for any longer than 10 seconds uses more fuel than stopping and restarting
the engine.
Nor does an engine need to be “warmed up” by idling, even in cold weather. Research has shown that even
in very cold weather, allowing a vehicle to idle for any longer than 30 seconds is simply wasteful. Even 30
seconds of idling is completely useless in the summer, of course.
Furthermore, a car or light truck produces an average of 20 pounds of carbon dioxide for every gallon of fuel
used. Carbon dioxide contributes to global climate change as well as smog, or ozone, at the ground level.
According to AIRNow, which monitors air quality in the United States, ozone “can irritate your respiratory
system, causing coughing, irritation in your throat or a burning sensation in your airways. It can reduce lung
function, so that you may have feelings of chest tightness, wheezing, or shortness of breath. Ozone can
aggravate asthma and trigger asthma attacks. People at greater risk from ground-level ozone are people with
lung diseases, such as asthma, and children and adults who are active outdoors.”
Mishawaka has a beautiful parks system, from Central Park with its excellent fishing; to Battell Park with its
waterfall, sprinkler park, and brand-new tennis court; to gorgeously landscaped Beutter Park. We, the
citizens of Mishawaka, would like to keep these treasures enjoyable for all. For that reason, we ask our city
employees to be responsible with our fuel budget and with our air quality.
You, too, can help by shutting off your vehicle in fast food and bank drive-throughs and while waiting at the
railroad tracks. It is the cumulative effect of these little actions that will determine whether or not we leave our
children’s children with a habitable world. It is estimated (see sources below) that for every 30 minutes of
idling, one-tenth of a gallon of gasoline is used. That’s an average of 2 pounds of carbon dioxide. These
numbers are for a car or light truck; the larger the vehicle’s engine, the more gas is wasted by idling.
If you have comments for the city of Mishawaka about this issue, here are some links to Mishawaka city
government:
Mayor Jeff Rea:
http://www.mishawakacity.com/mayor.asp
Mike Faulkner, Superintendent of the Park Dept.:
http://www.mishawakacity.com/parksandrecreations.asp
Ronald (Mike) Watson, Commissioner of the Street Dept:
http://www.mishawakacity.com/StreetDepartment.asp
*For further reading, please refer to our sources:
“Idling: Myths Versus Reality.” Hamilton County Environmental Services, Air Quality Management Division.
http://www.hcdoes.org/airquality/Anti-Idling/IdleMyth.htm
“Idling: Frequently Asked Questions.”Hamilton County Environmental Services, Air Quality Management
Division. http://www.hcdoes.org/airquality/Anti-Idling/IdleFAQ.htm
“Your Health.” AIRNow. http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=static.health
constantly starting and stopping it. Actually, the opposite is true. There is very little wear and tear done to the
engine from starting and stopping. One study estimates that this costs the average vehicle owner $10 a year,
much less than can be saved in fuel costs by not idling. In fact, idling can cause condensation which can
damage a vehicle’s cylinders, spark plugs, and exhaust system.*
Some will tell you that stopping and restarting a vehicle uses more gas than letting it run. This is a lazy
person’s argument. It may have been true with some of the vehicles of the past that used carburetors, but
now it is simply not true. Idling for any longer than 10 seconds uses more fuel than stopping and restarting
the engine.
Nor does an engine need to be “warmed up” by idling, even in cold weather. Research has shown that even
in very cold weather, allowing a vehicle to idle for any longer than 30 seconds is simply wasteful. Even 30
seconds of idling is completely useless in the summer, of course.
Furthermore, a car or light truck produces an average of 20 pounds of carbon dioxide for every gallon of fuel
used. Carbon dioxide contributes to global climate change as well as smog, or ozone, at the ground level.
According to AIRNow, which monitors air quality in the United States, ozone “can irritate your respiratory
system, causing coughing, irritation in your throat or a burning sensation in your airways. It can reduce lung
function, so that you may have feelings of chest tightness, wheezing, or shortness of breath. Ozone can
aggravate asthma and trigger asthma attacks. People at greater risk from ground-level ozone are people with
lung diseases, such as asthma, and children and adults who are active outdoors.”
Mishawaka has a beautiful parks system, from Central Park with its excellent fishing; to Battell Park with its
waterfall, sprinkler park, and brand-new tennis court; to gorgeously landscaped Beutter Park. We, the
citizens of Mishawaka, would like to keep these treasures enjoyable for all. For that reason, we ask our city
employees to be responsible with our fuel budget and with our air quality.
You, too, can help by shutting off your vehicle in fast food and bank drive-throughs and while waiting at the
railroad tracks. It is the cumulative effect of these little actions that will determine whether or not we leave our
children’s children with a habitable world. It is estimated (see sources below) that for every 30 minutes of
idling, one-tenth of a gallon of gasoline is used. That’s an average of 2 pounds of carbon dioxide. These
numbers are for a car or light truck; the larger the vehicle’s engine, the more gas is wasted by idling.
If you have comments for the city of Mishawaka about this issue, here are some links to Mishawaka city
government:
Mayor Jeff Rea:
http://www.mishawakacity.com/mayor.asp
Mike Faulkner, Superintendent of the Park Dept.:
http://www.mishawakacity.com/parksandrecreations.asp
Ronald (Mike) Watson, Commissioner of the Street Dept:
http://www.mishawakacity.com/StreetDepartment.asp
*For further reading, please refer to our sources:
“Idling: Myths Versus Reality.” Hamilton County Environmental Services, Air Quality Management Division.
http://www.hcdoes.org/airquality/Anti-Idling/IdleMyth.htm
“Idling: Frequently Asked Questions.”Hamilton County Environmental Services, Air Quality Management
Division. http://www.hcdoes.org/airquality/Anti-Idling/IdleFAQ.htm
“Your Health.” AIRNow. http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=static.health
| Click Here for June/July's Front Page, "Childhood Unleashed" |