Breathe Easier by Idling Less

By Jeanne Murphy, Wildlife Biologist/Pinellas County Extension Education Coordinator

Scuttling along in traffic, my momentum was interrupted as the bridge lifted its arms to allow boat travel. I stopped my zippy little car, put down the windows that had been reducing traffic noises and I turned off the engine. The hum of the wind reaching through the windows and the gulls’ laughter made me think once again why we are so fortunate to live in this beautiful area.

Then the fumes came…
Then the fumes came sneaking through my open windows. My bridge neighbor’s had left their vehicles idling; billowing venomous emissions. Ick. What a way to dissolve a lovely spring moment.

Idling wastes gas—idling wastes your money.
Often we don’t even realize we are doing this dreadful deed of wasting gas and our money.

• We turn the ignition key and idle while fidgeting in the vehicle. Instead, we should get our fidgeting done before we turn the key.



• We sit like lumps in our idling vehicles while waiting for fast-food drive-through lines that wrap around the building. Instead, we should pull into a parking space, turn off the idling monster and enter the restaurant to place our food order. Not only would we reduce the greenhouse gases sifting into the atmosphere, but we might also ensure that our orders are correct too.

Of course, when waiting for the bridge to lower its arms so that we may continue our forward momentum, we need to remember to flick our wrists and turn off the idling ogres. Also, we could each drop our windows, breathe the salt-misted air and smile at our other non-idling bridge neighbors who are enjoying the same air as we are.