Risks of car idling addressed by
town environmental expert at WeLoveMillburn.com meeting.
MILLBURN, NJ, June 26, 2007 — Children exposed to exhaust fumes at car pool lines are potentially at risk for a number of respiratory ailments. For instance, exhaust can exacerbate asthma by producing smoke from combustion. And, according to the Chair of the Millburn Environmental Commission, Jennifer Duckworth, the excessive amount of carbon dioxide produced by idling autos is a growing concern throughout the township.
In her remarks Tuesday evening (June 26th) to the members of WeLoveMillburn.com including their Kids Safety Task Force, Duckworth said that turning off the cars' ignitions was not only better for children and the environment, but for the cars themselves.
According to Duckworth, small children not only breathe at a faster rate than adults but they are actually closer to idling car exhaust pipes being shorter. She added that idling for ten seconds uses more fuel than stopping and restarting and frequent restarting has little impact on either the battery or starter on today's cars.
“That's why I urge everyone waiting for more than 10 seconds to turn off the motor," she said. “With a simple turn of the ignition key, we can start to see a tremendous reduction in air pollution in and around our town's schools and downtown."
Duckworth, who formerly worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said that the costs of car idling should not be ignored either: 20 minutes of idling expends a tenth of a gallon of gasoline. A typical driver will spend around a dollar on gas for every hour sitting in a car pool line.
Duckworth, who has an M.S. in environmental science and policy from The Johns Hopkins University, was given a formal introduction to the members of WeLoveMillburn.com by Mayor Dan Baer. The presentation was part of a series of efforts by the group to promote the safety and well being of township children, including a campaign to discourage cell phone use when driving children and creating more speed bumps in town.
With this latest effort, WeLoveMillburn plans to post a link to her presentation on the group's website and several members have created posters to raise awareness about the potential dangers of car idling.
