Don't be idle; save area's air

To the editor:

Did you know that Northeast Ohio is in violation of Federal Air Pollution standards? Exceeding the established levels for ozone and fine particles not only has direct, negative effects on our health and quality of life, but also impacts our ability to attract new people and businesses to the area and may even cause the loss of highway funds if we are deemed to be non-compliant. So what are you, the humble Oberlinian, to do? Stop idling.

Idling a car contributes to air pollution far more than most of us realize, as evinced by these quick fables and facts:

Fable: It costs less to idle than to restart your car.

Fact: Idling for longer than 10 seconds takes more gas than restarting your car, and idling for two minutes uses as much gas as driving a mile.

Fable: Idling is better for the car than restarting.

Fact: Idling (including warming up the car) runs the engine at less than peak temperature, which means more pollution and greater engine wear.

Fable: One small town won't make a difference.

Fact: We are not the only ones concerned. Cleveland and other northeast Ohio communities have enacted anti-idling ordinances city-wide, and the city of Oberlin adopted an anti-idling policy for its employees this year.

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency takes the problem seriously, and offers the following statistics: If every driver of a vehicle being driven in northeast Ohio were to eliminate 10 minutes of idling, just for one day, it would remove from the air an estimated 1.466 tons of volatile organic compounds (for ozone), .402 tons of oxides of nitrogen (for ozone and particulates), 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide, and other pollutants.

We can make a difference today and everyday. Make the commitment to turn off your car, and encourage others to do the same.

Talk to the bus drivers and truck drivers that come through and show off your new knowledge (the fable that trucks and busses should or must idle for long times is just that). Let's not be idle about this simple, effective way to improve the quality of our air immediately and daily.

James Kalyn

Resource Conservation and Recycling Commission