Idling is when someone leaves the car engine running, even when they don’t go anywhere. It is one of the major sources of pollution for our environment, poisoning the air that we breathe with harmful gases.

Idling has been shown to increase the risk of asthma, allergies, heart and lung disease, cancer and even autism. Kids are even more affected than adults, because they breathe in more air per pound of body weight. Unfortunately, a lot of idling happens near schools.

Idling is damaging your car’s engine and is also waisting more gas. Then we will have to use our money to fix the cars and to buy even more gas. Did you know that right now, people in China and Japan are breathing in some of the highest levels of polluted air in the world, in part because so many drivers are idling in those countries?!

Many people don’t even care about this issue. Do you want to stop the idling? I do! Because I care! I care about our future on Planet Earth! If you want to help stop the idling, here’s what you can do:

1. If you’re cold while waiting in the car, bring a sweater with you instead of turning on the engine.

2. If you’re too hot, open the car windows and drink some water instead of turning on the air conditioner.

3. Turn off the car engine if you’re waiting to pick-up somebody, especially if you pick-up your kids from school.

4. Avoid going to drive-throughs > just park your car and walk inside the restaurant.

If you follow these tips, you will be helping to cut down pollution. You can learn more about this cause by going onto these websites:

https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/efficiency/communities-infrastructure/transportation/idling/4427

http://www.halton.ca/cms/one.aspx?pageId=13743

http://voices.yahoo.com/5-ways-stop-car-idling-can-675743.html?cat=27

http://www.bnl.gov/rideshare/reduction.asp

Remember, each and every one of us is part of the solution! We can all do our part to protect the air that we breathe! Let’s help STOP IDLING!