Find out how much you know about idling myths and facts by taking the Tender Tailpipe Test at Idle Free Oakland.
Tender Tailpipe or Tend Your Tailpipe? Doesn’t matter, just get the facts straight. The test will take you thirty seconds, and then you can decide whether or not to kick the idling habit. The one-minute Pause & Park-it Pledge will ground your new knowledge in action that will make a difference!
Then make the Pause & Park-it Pledge, using what you have learned to create a cleaner, greener city, and to drive leaner, too. An important part of this pledge is asking two friends to pledge with you.
Kudos to @KFOGRadio for sponsoring Sustainable September! Those who can’t afford a new #NissanLeaf just yet can still save a lot of money and make an impact on the environment by just turning off their engines.
Take public transit to the Forward on Climate Change (NO #KeystoneXL) Rally tomorrow! If you have to drive, turn that key and be #idlefree!
We are proud to be endorsing this event. Even top NASA officals agree that the Tar Sands pipeline means “game over” for the environment. As a nation, we could save twice as much oil in a year (10%) by giving up our idling habits than the pipeline will provide (5%).
Check out Sequoia Elementary’s “walking school bus” at http://www.kalw.org/post/get-school-walking-school-bus! The power of parent organization for a greener world and happier kids.
350 parts per million of atmospheric carbon is the safe upper limit. Today we’re at 390. We have to make every effort to get back to 350 for our species to survive. Every little bit counts! Please don’t idle. Click any of these images to learn more.
Don’t just turn off your lights for #earthhour from 8:30 to 9:30… turn off your engine, too!
Gas prices just jumped to over $4 per gallon again. Meanwhile, Exxon reported profits of $9.3 billion last year (yes, billion with a ‘b”) — “the highest profits in the history of money,” to quote Bill McKibben. McKibben founded 350.org, and is the voice of a grass-roots fight against the Keystone XL Pipeline project which, according to NASA’s top climatologists, would be “game over for the environment.” (Oil extraction from Canada’s tar sands is already an unspeakable environmental nightmare,using toxic chemicals and huge amounts of energy to strip-mine billions of acres of unspoiled forest land.) Nonetheless, a surge of money is pouring into congress to ram the project through.
Meanwhile, we’re so tired of being at war to protect our oil interests; tired of wall street greed; tired of climate deniers.
What can we, as car-culture consumers do? Boycotting oil is not as simple as boycotting other things. We can only make our voices heard with a two-pronged approach of activism and conservation.
This is why all schools should be anti-idling zones!
WHO
Dr. Megan Sandel
WHAT
Sandel, an associate professor of pediatrics and public health at Boston Medical Center, is an expert on asthma and air pollution.
Q. What is the connection between air pollution and health?
A. There’s a lot of evidence around how pollution affects respiratory health and cardiovascular health, particularly for vulnerable groups like children, people with asthma, or elders.
Q. What can people do to protect themselves?
A. I always talk about being able to moderate exposures as much as possible. I think air pollution is an example of something you’re not able to modulate easily on your own. You are relying on the federal and state government to regulate it because you have such insufficient alternatives: You can exercise indoors, you can try to reduce your energy use, and you can try to avoid going outside on certain days. But really, changing your environmental exposure is going to require a public health law.
Read more at:
The doctor prescribes clean air – Boston.com.
New public-health studies and laboratory experiments suggest that, at every stage of life, traffic fumes exact a measurable toll on mental capacity, intelligence and emotional stability. “There are more and more scientists trying to find whether and why exposure to traffic exhaust can damage the human brain,” says medical epidemiologist Jiu-Chiuan Chen at the University of Southern California who is analyzing the effects of traffic pollution on the brain health of 7,500 women in 22 states. “The human data are very new.”
Ways to improve your gas mileage from high-country Aspen:
* Accelerate gradually.
* Avoid idling. The best way to warm up vehicles is to turn them on and drive. Idling for more than 10 seconds wastes more gas than turning your vehicle off and then back on again.
* Remove unnecessary cargo.
* Check your tire pressure. Under-inflation increases tire wear, reduces your fuel economy by up to 3 percent, and leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
Better yet, give your car or truck a break! One of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to use alternative transportation: Ride a bike, walk, take the bus, or skateboard. For every gallon of gas that you save, you’ll reduce your carbon footprint by about 20 pounds.
EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS!
Idle Free Oakland 