Why idling??

People often ask me: "why did you pick idling as your issue?" Good question. I can speak from experience, since I used to idle a lot myself.

I started seeing the headlines and cover stories in places like National Geographic (“Global Warning”), Time magazine’s cover (“Be Worried, Be Very Worried”).

It wasn’t so much ME that I was worried about. It was my kids (below). What kind of planet will they get in 10 years? ---what about THEIR kids?


I felt I had to do something. I suspect most Canadians are bewildered right now and many of us are in a state of denial about all the bad news on climate change.

So, just as I needed something to do…mainstream Canadians need something easy to do, to make a difference on climate and the air. The hook is when they start thinking about their kids.

Look into your kids’ eyes and imagine their future if we all do nothing.

Idling is the easiest thing to do to make a big difference when you’re outside your home. It’s the equivalent of turning off a light switch. You turn a key off, whenever you’re parked.

You don't need a government grant, you don't need a refit, you don't need to make an investment.

But the numbers will grab you too: turning off the key for just 10 minutes a day, motorists would easily save the cost of several fill-ups in a year. Collectively, the numbers are staggering: annually Halifax would save 5 million litres of fuel and avoid pumping almost 12,000 tonnes of CO2 into the air.

Do you want cleaner air for your children to breathe in HRM?
Do you want to save money?
Do you actually want to protect your car investment and its engine?
Do you want an easy way to help reduce greenhouse gas?

If we can't turn a key to save gas, protect our kids lungs and their air, what WOULD we be willing to do?

What you can do:
STOP YOUR ENGINE whenever you can.

Here’s something else you can do: “if it’s not a problem, it’s not a problem.” Right now, most people forget about this issue. And if it’s not top-of-mind, it’s not a problem.

You can make it a problem though. You can contact your councilor in HRM by e-mail or phone and say you want HRM to endorse The Children’s Clean Air Network. HRM Councilors.

Our goal is to get the politicians in HRM to see the children as constituents who want cleaner air and a brighter future. We want a long-term public awareness campaign on this issue. Most of it will be paid for by donations. Much of it will be paid for by the savings HRM will realize when we get all their departments to STOP THEIR ENGINES.

Read how the City of Edmonton saved taxpayers $205,000 in the most recent effort in fleet driver training: $205,000 bucks!

What are we waiting for?

******Today's cool site..the U.S. government has a great resource here: you want fuel economy? You GOT fuel economy!