Encouraging people to turn off the vehicle engines to conserve fuel takes a multi-tiered campaign (TV and newspaper stories, flyers, signage, in schools, to businesses, etc). I am interested in such a program that has evaluated the success of such a campaign. I gauged the amount of idling at a busy drive up bank teller and was thinking that I would go back and repeat the observation study after the signs and campaign. Comparing the number of vehicles that idle at the bank before and after would provide an evaluation. Other ideas in a town that does not have something similar to a busy drive-up bank teller?
Roger Lohr
United States
Vehicle Idling Awareness Efforts
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There is a good search engine on idling campaigns at
http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/idling/
It lets you search by all kinds of campaigns including measurement (see, e.g, http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/idling/index.cfm?fuseaction=idling.campaignDetails&id=10)
Good luck!
Cynthia van Ginkel
Port Moody, BC
Canada
Hi,
I was just involved in the summer in a very successful Canadian webinar on Idling with Gordon McBean - Climatologist & Quentin Chiotti from Pollution probe. Would you like me to send you the presentation?
Cory Morningstar
Chair
Canadians for Action on Climate Change
Canada
http://canadianclimateaction.wordpress.com/
In all this idle talk, I cant help but feeling were missing the bigger picture or just fiddling at the edges as the expression goes. Engines on, engines off, it is hard for me either way to image a truly sustainable society as being one in which drive-in anything plays a role.
The fact that the drive-in concept exists in itself is manifest of a much larger pervading societal orientation aligned to anything/everything but sustainability. And whilst I am certainly an active supporter/subscriber of the every little bit helps ,we must start somewhere & 'it's better than nothing' philosophies , reducing sustainability to counting emission reductions (which like it or not seems to be an inevitable tangible magnet for much of our efforts these days) is, in my humble opinion, quite foolish and indeed may even have the opposite effect in actually fostering sustainable behaviour. Paradoxically, it is kind of like admitting defeat if we score a few less cars idling as a victory for sustainable behaviour.
So we again seem to come back around to ethics, norms, values and more holistic/idealistic views of sustainability. But Im naturally open to hearing evidence which proves otherwise...
On that note, programmes on this FSB list obviously target behaviour. Are there many examples where a 'small' intervention for behaviour change has also been matched with a broader intervention / awareness campaign which also challenges/reinforces/strengthens values and ethics oriented toward social-ecoloigcal sustainability? Or does this kind of advocacy potentially become too evangelical (for want of a better word)?
Cheers,
Matt
Matthew Zylstra
Netherlands
http://canadianclimateaction.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/full-presentation-from-july-9th-webinar-gasping-for-breath-implementing-strong-anti-idling-bylaws-in-your-community/
Gasping for Breath Implementing Strong Anti-Idling Bylaws in Your Community. Extended PowerPoint Presentation from Canadians for Action on Climate Change attached.
Link to full presentation below.
Podcast coming soon. Contact: [email protected]
Download the full presentation: https://www.yousendit.com/download/cmcwYUp3cG9VVGtLSkE9PQ
* Gordon A. McBean CM, PhD, FRSC | Professor and Director Policy Studies | Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction
* Dr. Quentin Chiotti | Climate Change Programme Director and Senior Scientist | Pollution Probe
* Fleur Storace-Hogan | Sustainability Support Technician | City of Burlington
* Cory Morningstar | Council of Canadians | London | Canadians for Action on Climate Change
The issue of a drive-thru moratorium is a hot topic in many municipalities across the nation what is industrys response? Reminiscent of the tobacco industrys response to anti-smoking efforts, ad campaigns are being run in London and Comox BC intended to question the science or promote personal choice around drive-thrus. Are they hoping to sway pubic opinion and impede legislation? In the meantime, thousands of vehicles line up everyday in drive-thrus spewing unnecessary pollution into the environment.
Empowerment is as much about community mobilization as high-level political action. This is a local issue, with global consequences. Hundreds of leaders are gathered in Geneva discussing climate change. Many are from the developing world. The sense of urgency is palpable. We in the rich countries created the problem with our heavy use of fossil fuels, yet the people who will be most impacted will be the people in the poorest countries who had little to do with creating the problem. We need strong leadership at the federal and provincial levels, AND each of us need to make changes. Municipalities need to find the political will to effectively implement strong anti idling bylaws, to confront the enormity of Climate Change.
The most urgent need is to empower local government and local communities to understand climate implications and to take action. Health professionals and university academics have an important catalytic role. This fireside chat will provided stats, perspectives and inspiration to take on this role.
The topics of discussion in this Fireside Chat were
1) Implementing a strong anti-idling bylaw in your community
2) The contribution to Pollution
3) The contribution to climate change,
4) Drive-thrus
5) Barriers: political partisan issues, denialism, lack of political will and leadership
6) The crucial role of the health and academic sectors re: taking action on Climate Change
Ontarios smog causes 9,500 deaths per year, medical association says. Of these 1,000 occurred immediately after times of intense pollution.
The research on the human costs of pollution and pollution-related diseases estimated that around 21,000 people in Canada will die from breathing in toxic substances drifting in the air this year with 3,000 of those deaths due to short-term exposure to smog.
CHNET-Works! is a project of the Community Health Research Unit, University of Ottawa.
CHNET-Works! hosts Fireside Chats around current and pressing community health issues.
140 chats hosted since January 2009 no registration fees, no travel costs, no green house gas emissions!
www.chnet-works.ca
contact: [email protected]
Idling Presentation for Canadian Municipalities July 2009 PPM.ppt
Cory Morningstar
Chair
Canadians for Action on Climate Change
Canada
http://canadianclimateaction.wordpress.com/
From experience, the concept of an idling awareness campaign is to encourage people to simply turn off their engines rather than idling. It has been pointed out that electric vehicles and hybrids do not have a problem with idling exhaust, therefore it does not make sense to eliminate drive-through access to services.
I have also opposed idling laws whereby police can selectively use the law to hassle people. If we knew that such a law would be enforced evenly, it could make sense, but we know the police have shown that they will not do this...and the police themselves are serious idlers.
The challenge to an awareness campaign is that many people do not care about wasting gas or saving the few cents that is associated with idling. I have often seen qualifiers in the response to idling awareness such as "older people need to leave the engine on to use the heater or AC." We know that the vehicle can be restarted repeatedly to warm-up or cool off the vehicle interior.
A major effort has been undertaken in the schools so that kids pressure their parents about idling. The next step in the campaign is to personally speak with people while they idle in the drive-through lanes.
Roger Lohr
United States
So true, Matthew. thank you for the reminder of the actualities of the idling argument. I for one agree with you. As an Emissions Reduction coordinator with a canadian municipality, I've been 'fiddling around the edges' of the idling issue for a few years now. We're just embarking on a proposal to partner with businesses to provide "Idle Free Zone" signs. Perhaps if we put up enough signs, we'll start to get more support for a bylaw. What are your thoughts on idling bylaw?
Sheri F.
Regina SK
Sheri Florizone
Emissions Reduction Coordinator
City of Regina
Canada
Cory:
I'm a Green Commute Coordinator for a non-profit in New Jesey. We work on promoting sustainable transport solutions in the community and corporations.
We are looking forward to promote anti-idling campaigns to the corporations and schools. I wanted to take a look at the webinar presentation you mentionted, but the link you posted has expired already.
Could you please post another link?
Thank you.
Jay Thakkar
Green Commute Coordinator
Greater Mercer TMA
United States
There are more than 250 million vehicles in the US and there is also a big number in Canada. How many cops are there? Face realities about enforcement. Laws about idling will give the cops the power to stop anyone at anytime; and think about how they will profile to do so. Do you have a kid that drives? Every kid that drives a car could be hassled as a result of idling at any time; or people that are part of the local outcasts. Not all awareness-raising should depend on laws. If we are not intelligent enough to tackle this issue without having police and government involved, we are in bigger trouble than climate change.
Govt needs to work on regulating and mandating the production of vehicles that do not idle or that idle without polluting. Govt needs to work on control of coal fired electric plants and oil from tar pits. By the time govt outlaws drive thrus, there may be a majority of electric or hybrid vehicles.
Anyway, I digress - originally I initiated this thread to learn about evaluation of idling campaigns. There was a community that measured a campaign.
Roger Lohr
United States
Hi Jay,
Sorry about that!
PowerPoint Presentations:
http://canadianclimateaction.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/full-presentation-from-july-9th-webinar-gasping-for-breath-implementing-strong-anti-idling-bylaws-in-your-community/
If you want more material on idling, air quality, etc. - just email me at [email protected]
Thanks!
http://drivethrulies.wordpress.com/ (LOTS on here RE: Drive-thrus)
Cory Morningstar
Chair
Canadians for Action on Climate Change
Canada
http://canadianclimateaction.wordpress.com/
Thank you for the link to the presentation, Cory.
I'll, for sure, need more on Anti-Idling and GHG. I'll write to you.
Thank you again.
Jay Thakkar
Green Commute Coordinator
Greater Mercer TMA
United States
Some really great resources on Anti-idling campaigns/bylaws/messaging/etc can be found at www.idlefreebc.ca
Additionally, I worked as an Anti-Idling ambassador for the British Columbian provincial gov't (summer 2008) and I'm more than happy to share the final report of my findings/challenges/successes/etc.
Contact me at [email protected] if you're interested :)
Brooke Carere
Youth Climate Leadership Alliance (YCLA)
Canada
I, on a very personal basis, feel that idling is a challenge that is difficult to overcome using the law. It is more effective to run awareness campaigns and spread the word, but the major drawback in here is the time-intensive process.
My experience with policies make me believe that effective Policies will help bridge the gap between the law and awareness approaches.
Policies when you re-design your communities, and re-design your health bulletins.
Please advice.
Jay Thakkar
Green Commute Coordinator
Greater Mercer TMA
United States
You might want to check out Asthma Free School Zone, a program run by Rebecca Kalin in NYC, to prevent idling of school buses and other vehicles in front of schools. We have a 2-minute idling law here in New York City, but it is rarely enforced, and some of the worst offenders are police officers.
http://afsz.org/
Lois Sturm
Neighborhood Energy Network
United States
There is an organization named Kids as Planners in Maine (US) with service learning sites across New England. The kids play a large role in selecting what community problems they want to tackle and then find a way to solve them. They often turn to environmental issues. In one project the kids spent weeks actively assessing air quality and monitoring and recording idling behavior of school buses dropping off and picking up students at their school. Their efforts led to radical shifts in idling behavior of the bus drivers. True these bus drivers may be more susceptible to complying with idling rules than others, but the principle of youth involvement may be useful in other settings. See http://www.kidsconsortium.org for more information.
Mel Tremper
United States
Hello,
I have received several emails interested in seeing the report from Idle Free BC (2008), so to make it easier for everyone I have attached it here. I also attached a Anti-Idling Capaign guide for Municipalities that may be useful. (Moderator's Note: To access these reports from the digest, click on the "View Full Thread" link)
All the best!
Brooke Carere
Youth Climate Leadership Alliane
Squamish, BC Canada
Further to Cynthia's suggestion of online resources from the Office of Energy Efficiency, Natural Resources Canada, they also publish a newsletter "Idle-Free Zone" that contains lots of ideas for promoting awareness and action. See also www.idling.gc.ca
David Lunn
Program Developer
SEEDS Foundation
Canada
A correction to my previous post about New York City's idling law. There is a 30-year old citywide (all vehicle) 3-minute idling law. There is a 2009 one-minute (all vehicle) school zone idling law.
By NY state law, there is a (2007) zero-tolerance idling law for school-bus idling in a school zone.
Today Mayor Bloomberg is signing into law Intro 622, which broadens the installation of pollution-trapping devices on school buses, specifically the short buses that carry special education students.
Lois Sturm
Neighborhood Energy Network
United States
In my town I have seen people idle at the drive-through pharmacy and while waiting in line to pick up children at school (implications for exposing children to high levels of vehicle exhaust as well as fuel use)
Mary Hoff
United States