No Idling News
Idle-free champion nets an environmental award. By Patricia Harris, 04/17/08.
Published by The Item of Millburn and Short Hills.
A number of grassroots initiatives are propelling the township toward a greener future.
Earlier this year, the chairwoman of the Millburn Environmental Commission led an “idle free” campaign to post signs near schools and other municipal sites urging motorists to be mindful of the harmful effects of idling. For her efforts, Jennifer Duckworth received a Grassroots Leadership Award at the New Jersey Environmental Federation’s annual conference last week.
Duckworth was recognized for educating the public and promoting the “Idle Free New Jersey” campaign in the township. At her suggestion, local officials declared the municipality an “idle-free” zone and police officers identified areas where the signs should be posted.
Just turn the key. By Reginald Roberts, 03/19/08. Published by Star Ledger
Turn the key and be idle free." This is the message students at the South Mountain Elementary School in South Orange are driving home to their parents.
But can a message about abstaining from unnecessary vehicle idling from little ones have a big impact on grownups? The chorus from a school assembly last week said no. Perhaps, the children had underestimated their own power, Renee Leviton suggested.
Leviton is leader of Girl Scout Troop 250, whose members, along with the New Jersey Environmental Federation, are spearheading an awareness campaign on the problems of unnecessary vehicle idling.
The campaign has been powerful enough to get the attention of elected officials and the chiefs of police of South Orange and Maplewood. They attended two assemblies Thursday, one for kindergartners and the other for third- and fourth-graders.
School Principal Thomas Gibbons said that decades ago his own children had participated in a campaign similar to this one, and they got him to change his ways. It was a simple request: "Dad, wear your seat belt." He said he has been wearing a seat belt ever since. Gibbons said he believes his students can have the same impact on their parents.
Millburn takes car idlers, By Patricia Harris and Anthony Attrino, 11/29/07
Originally published in the The Item of Millburn and Short Hills
When temperatures dip below freezing, the Millburn Environmental Commission would be hard-pressed to find a motorist who doesn’t let his or her car idle a few extra minutes in the morning.
“The need to warm your car up on a cold morning is a myth we’ve all been taught,” said Jennifer Duckworth, a township resident and chairwoman of the commission.
The truth is a fuel-injected engine needs no more than 30 seconds to get the oil circulating before the car can be driven off slowly, Duckworth said.
Now, township leaders are taking aim against unnecessary idling. The Township Committee on Nov. 20 adopted a resolution supporting “Idle Free New Jersey.”
The campaign was created by the New Jersey Environmental Federation to create “idle-free zones” that will help improve air quality, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Duckworth has given her presentation to the township’s Board of Education, as well as civic associations and statewide environmental groups. Duckworth joined with leaders in Chatham to urge the New Jersey Environmental Federation to take up the cause. The nonprofit federation drafted the model resolution adopted by the township.
For every gallon of gasoline used, the average car produces about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, the largest contributor to greenhouse climate change, with one-third of greenhouse gas emissions coming from the transportation sector, the resolution also says.
The resolution further says the U.S. Argonne National Laboratory estimates that about 20 million barrels of diesel fuel are consumed each year by idling long-haul trucks.
Students work to curb vehicle idling. Environmental group wants 10-second idling limit for vehicles. November 29, 2007.
Originally published in The Hub.
RED BANK - Third-graders at the Red Bank Primary School are putting their newly acquired "persuasive writing" skills gained from their language arts class to good use. They are applying their newly acquired skills to stop unnecessary vehicle idling on school grounds.
The students have spoken with parents and bus drivers about the harm idling automobile and bus engines cause. They also put up "no idling" signs along the curb, and handed out "no idling" fliers, personalized letters and essays to parents and bus drivers. Cookies were given to drivers as a sign of thanks to those agreeing to comply.
"Parents and bus drivers have responded very positively to the message by turning off their engines," said Richard Cohen, principal of the Red Bank Primary School. "Most importantly, our students are learning while at the same time [they] feel they are making a difference in their community and the world."
"Having our children in leadership roles as early as third grade is a powerful statement about their character and their understanding of civic responsibility," stated Laura C. Morana, superintendent of the Red Bank Borough public schools. "Our district is well represented by our students' efforts. I support them and the wonderful approach taken to enhance their literacy development."
The Red Bank Primary School conducted this project in collaboration with the N.J. Environmental Federation's (NJEF) statewide Idle Free New Jersey campaign. According to New Jersey law, the idling limit is three minutes for diesel (trucks, school buses, etc.) and gasoline-powered vehicles (cars, light trucks, etc.).
The Red Bank Primary School conducted this project in collaboration with the N.J. Environmental Federation's (NJEF) statewide Idle Free New Jersey campaign. According to New Jersey law, the idling limit is three minutes for diesel (trucks, school buses, etc.) and gasoline-powered vehicles (cars, light trucks, etc.).
NJEF's campaign encourages schools, municipalities, businesses and individuals to go beyond the law and adopt 10- second idling limits in "idling hot spots" such as schools, parking lots and drivethroughs.
"The best way to warm up your vehicle is to drive it," said Amy Goldsmith, NJEF state director, whose children attend the Red Bank primary and middle schools. "Idling for more than 10 seconds actually uses more fuel than restarting the engine. Tests show no more than 30 seconds is needed to circulate engine oil.
"In addition, 10 minutes of idling, the typical length of time a parent or bus waits for the kids to be dismissed, is the gas consumption equivalent of driving five miles," continued Goldsmith. "With the turn of an ignition key, you can counter global warming, reduce expensive gas costs and improve air quality and public health. It's that easy."
MOVE AGAINST IDLING. Students tell waiting drivers to shut down engines. By Amy Walsack, 11/29/07Originally published in the Asbury Park Press.
Third-graders were anything but idle as they zipped up and down the sidewalk in front of the Red Bank Primary School for a few days in November, encouraging parents and bus drivers to turn off their vehicle engines while dropping off students before school.
Part of the New Jersey Environmental Federation's (NJEF) statewide Idle Free New Jersey campaign, third-grade teachers incorporated lessons on the impact idling engines have on the environment and public health into the Language Arts curriculum. Students composed letters and essays to parents and bus drivers to persuade them of the harmful effects of idling and the money that could be saved by turning the motor off.
"I'm happy to tell people it's bad for our environment and our world," said Evenel Garraldo, 9, who held up a sign she drew of two little girls and a penguin urging drivers to stop idling.
According to New Jersey law, the idling limit is three minutes for diesel and gasoline vehicles. NJEF's campaign encourages drivers to go beyond the law and adopt 10-second idling limits, according to Amy Goldsmith, NJEF State Director and mother of a Red Bank Primary and Middle School child.
Goldsmith said she approached school administrators to collaborate on the No Idling campaign that expands on efforts begun by the Chatham Environmental Commission and adopted by several New Jersey towns including East Windsor, Hazlet and Summit.
"The best way to warm up your vehicle is to drive it," said Goldsmith, who added that New Jersey is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases polluting the environment and accelerating global warming. "Idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel than restarting the engine."
Goldsmith explained that a vehicle that idles for 10 minutes consumes the gas equivalent of driving five miles.
"With the turn of an ignition key, you can counter global warming, reduce expensive gas costs and improve air quality and the public health," she said.
"Kids retain 90 percent of what they teach to others," said Cohen, who stood outside to encourage the students as they approached drivers that morning.
"When it's service oriented," he said of the approximately 70 students who participated, "they take a lot of ownership."
Students seemed especially concerned about the health impact of idling vehicles, especially asthma. Mikayla Byron, 9, said her sister has suffered from an asthma attack, and Assiah Pennington, 9, said one of her cousins also has the chronic respiratory illness.
Miriam Finkelstein, who is the bilingual teacher for the third grade, said that although the exercise started out as a Language Arts piece, it quickly developed into science, civics and health lessons as they began to explore the topic in depth with the students.
Barbara Beck said that the noise and smell emanating from cars idling outside the school had been an issue for a while.
"They love being involved in the community," she said of her students. "If they can help a little bit, it's a big thing for them.
"The planet is unhealthy," she added as she pointed to the students. "That's our future."
Inconvenient Youths. 'Mom, we gotta buy a hybrid!' Kids are becoming the green movement's stealth weapon, pressuring their parents on everything from lightbulbs to composting. Inside the push to create the littlest eco-warriors, by Ellen Gamerman, 9/29/2007. Originally published in the Wall Street Journal
Jim and Robyn Dahlin knew replacing the roof of their home in Greenbrae, Calif., would be expensive. But they hadn't planned to spend an extra $15,000 on solar panels. For that, they have their 8-year-old son, Luke, to thank.
After Luke acted in a school play about global warming, he went on a campaign to get his parents to install the panels. He routinely lectured his dad from the backseat of the minivan about how reducing their energy consumption could help save the planet.
"Kids are putting pressure on their parents, and this is a very good thing," says Laurie David, a producer of the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."
Ms. David is the co-author of a new children's book, "The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming," which urges kids, among other things, to petition mom and dad for recycled-fiber toilet paper. "I know how powerful my kids are," she says. "When they want something, forget it -- all the resistance in the world isn't going to help you."
In Princeton, N.J., James Verbeyst's energy-saving fixation cost his mother $5,500 -- the difference between the Toyota Matrix she was going to buy and the hybrid she finally purchased. With every car she looked at that wasn't a Prius, the 8-year-old protested by announcing the Prius's gas mileage. James says now he likes the Prius more than his dad's Jaguar. His reason: "You're not hurting any animals."
The New Jersey Environmental Federation, a chapter of the nonprofit Clean Water Action, tells kids on its Web site to ask their parents to take a "no-idling pledge" when they bring them to and from school. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's Web site has "Captain Earthworm" instructing kids to tell their parents to return used oil to gas stations and lube centers.
