The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor R.T. Rybak approved changes Friday, to the city’s vehicle idling ordinance that aims to reduce air pollution. The ordinance limits most vehicle idling to three minutes, except in traffic.
"Most of the air pollution in Minneapolis comes from vehicles and cutting down in idling is one easy thing we can all do for our environment, our health, and the health of our neighbors," said Mayor R.T. Rybak.
Vehicle motors release particulate matter, dirt, nitrous oxides, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide into the air. These chemicals are linked to increased rates of cancer, heart and lung disease and asthma and are the major source of human-caused climate change. Children are especially vulnerable to vehicle air pollution because their lungs are still developing, and they inhale more pounds of pollution per pound of body weight than adults do.
For the driver, reducing idling saves money in fuel. On average, a car will burn more than half a gallon of fuel for every hour spent idling. In general, 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the car, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
"In these times of high gas prices, it’s a way for people to save fuel. If you’re sitting in an idling car, you’re getting zero miles a gallon. That’s not good for your pocketbook or the environment," Rybak added.
Engines generally pollute more when cold and driving a vehicle cuts warm-up time in half. Idling a cold engine actually pollutes more than driving it does and idling is harder on the engine.An existing ordinance already applies to large diesel trucks and buses in Minneapolis, which in general limits idling of those vehicles to five minutes.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Behold the Nanny State
Chalk this one up with WTF?? It is so sad and pathetic to think we've come to this. Can I just win the lottery already so I can buy my own flippin' island where I can live in peace away from this idiocy? Nevermind that there is already an ordinance which will ticket you for leaving your car running for a certain period of time with the keys in it.
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6 comments:
Good grief, why not just ration out the energy usage already, that is where we're headed, isn't it?
Just ban cars and all other motorized vehicles. Let us go back to the Little House on the Prairie days of horses and buggies.
It's so maddening.
Instead of the Boston Tea party, then we could take all the horse manure to Washington D.C.
That's a start. And, so help me...if I hear another idiot go on about: "We need to have term limits for these politicians...." I'm going to pull my hair out.
You don't need term limits to run people out of politics. What you need is a spine to do it.
SBG: We don't need spines to get rid of idiot politicians. We need intelligent voters.
Thus the screaming for term limits.
Also, will this mean there will be tailpipe Nazis in Minneapolis? Equipped with bananas?
"Also, will this mean there will be tailpipe Nazis in Minneapolis? Equipped with bananas?"
Yes although it's unclear at this time whether this role will be fulfilled by the SS (Stop Smoking) Nazis or if government officials will appoint a newly appointed commission for this task.
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