Car idling makes it hotter

[Virginia Johnson]

This is just an fyi for this group. I posted this message on two Adams Morgan emails lists. It'd be great if someone in PR could maybe contact some local media about this issue? No one wants to mention it, I think, because everyone wants the option to idle! Or maybe I'm just being cynical.

Best,

Virginia

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For those who drive, a request. It's hot out there, but a lot of people are walking and cycling, so if you are idling your car, you are making it hotter for the cyclists and pedestrians. Please don't idle your car.

I tried to search for facts and figures about how running cars make it hotter, but most of the searches came back with results about how idling is bad for.... cars.

But there was this one site

http://www.makealeap.org/idling_myth

I can't vouch for its accuracy. Here are some excerpts though.

Fact: Idling does affect the environment. Keep in mind that every gallon of gas you use produces about 19 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Fact: Idling contributes to respiratory illness. The emissions of even today’s modern vehicles contain Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Benzene and several other toxic chemicals that impair our lungs and heart. Prolonged exposure can lead to death. Children, the elderly, and individuals with asthma are especially at high-risk.

Fact: Idling can harm our health. Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe faster than adults and inhale more air per pound of body weight. Many people believe that they are protected from air pollution if they remain inside their vehicles. Not so according to a report by the International Center for Technology Assessment (CTA). CTA found that exposure to most auto pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon monoxide (CO), is much higher inside vehicles than at the road side. VOCs and CO are linked to serious health problems -- like respiratory infections and cancer -- are known to shorten life. The highest exposure occurs when sitting in traffic congestion on highways or in a line-up of idling vehicles at a school or drive-through. Idling is linked to increases in asthma, allergies, heart and lung disease and cancer. 

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It's hot for everyone, but many of us don't have these  mini airconditioned mobile houses. But we feel their effects. Cross 22nd Street near P this evening around 5.30 pm. It's packed with commuters in cars. Where the temperature may feel like 100 every other place, there it will feel like 130.

I wish there were a way to get the word out to a larger group since most everyone on this group probably are not big drivers. Still, coming home last night I encountered a surprising number of people sitting in parked idling cars with DC plates.

Virginia