idle-vice.

Idling your car for more than ten seconds uses more fuel than stopping and restarting the engine. Idling also sends unnecessary emissions into the air contributing to both pollution and health problems. Running a non-moving vehicle for 10 minutes a day uses an average of about 22 gallons of gas per year. Since each gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, the potential to reduce your contribution is huge! With gas prices climbing, saving 22 gallons/year makes economical and ecological sense. Need another incentive? Excessive idling can actually damage the engine and decrease fuel-efficiency. Whether it’s to heat your car before your commute or you’re just hitting the drive-thru, try to keep idling to a minimum.

Photo by Jesse Hove