Effective June 2007- The Town of Putney Selectboard has approved a no idling resolution that limits idling to two minutes.  For the full text is at http://energy.putney.net/files/docs/anti_idling.doc PEC has designed signs and deployed them around town and at the schools.

IDLING WASTES FUEL

In this time of ever increasing gas prices, needless idling burns our hard earned dollars through the exhaust pipe. An idling vehicle gets 0 miles to the gallon. And remember that fossil fuels are being depleted in the face of ever increasing world demand. Why are gas prices so high, because of the demand world wide, useless and it costs less.

So how long should a parked vehicle be allowed to idle?
The general rule for how long a warmed up, parked vehicle should idle is 30 seconds; for warming up, in all but extreme cold, 0 to 30 seconds usually suffices.

Once warm; Any more than 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than is required to restart the engine. However, the break-even time to offset any potential incremental maintenance costs to the starter or battery is 30 seconds based on current fuel prices.

IDLING CONTRIBUTES TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, including carbon dioxide (CO2), cause climate change. A serious threat to the planet, overwhelming scientific evidence links climate change to the earth's highest ever average annual temperatures, melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels, increasingly severe weather events, and to the threat of many plant and animal species. Additionally in Vermont, its ski, maple sugar and tourist industries are threatened.

- There are more than 550,000 Vermont Car and Trucks (registrations in 2008). If every Vermont vehicle reduced their idling by five minutes/day, the total CO2 emissions reduction could exceed 62,000tons/year.

- Vermont's transportation greenhouse gas emissions, on a per capita basis, are nearly double the U.S. average: 46% to 26%. Reduction of unnecessary idling can have a significant positive impact on this figure.

An average school bus uses ½ gallon of diesel fuel for each hour of idling and
reducing idling by 30 minutes per day would save 45 gallons and over $200.00 per bus per year (assuming diesel fuel cost of $4.50/gal).

On average a car idling for 10 minutes uses as much fuel as it takes to travel 5 miles and uses more than 27 gallons of fuel a year idling.

IDLING EMISSIONS CAN AFFECT RESPIRATORY HEALTHVehicle exhaust is the leading source of hazardous air pollution, which has been linked to CANCER, HEART AND LUNG DISEASES. Vehicle exhaust contains harmful volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, which contribute to urban smog, acid rain and other air-quality problems.
 
While modern light-duty gasoline vehicles are designed with advanced emission control technologies that have come a long way in reducing the emissions of harmful criteria air contaminants (CACs) such as sulfur dioxide and benzene, there are several factors that can inevitably cause increased emissions at idle: vehicle age, how the vehicle is maintained, wear of emission control components and their resulting diminished function, the warmed up state of a vehicle, and how cold the weather.
In addition, light-duty diesel vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles have increased emissions.

Prolonged exposure of these emissions can affect our respiratory systems, including our lungs and heart. Children, the elderly, and individuals with asthma are especially vulnerable.

Air pollution and smog contribute to asthma and heart disease.
Children are particularly vulnerable because they breathe faster than adults and inhale more air per pound of body weight.

IDLING IS NOISY
In our town centers and suburbs, there’s already enough noise without having to hear the constant idling of parked vehicles. It especially unpleasant while eating at roadside stands.

IDLING REDUCTION IS A STATE LAW
The state of Vermont enacted its first idle-reduction law in 2007

ACT 48--An Act Relating to the Idling of Motor Vehicle Engines on School Property--passed in the 2007 Vermont legislative session and was signed into law by Governor Jim Douglas on May 25. As a result, the school students of Vermont, and all Vermonters, will benefit from cleaner air, reduction of tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and financial savings in the form of fuel saved and the lessening of engine wear-and-tear. This has been made possible through the efforts of grassroots activists (raising awareness and garnering media exposure), health and environmental lobbyists, hardworking legislators, and the emergence in mid-2006 of the climate change issue into the mainstream. Although Idle-Free VT advocates an all motor vehicle idle-reduction law, this a significant first step. Visit the Legislative page for details on idling legislation. Under Vermont's unattended motor vehicles law, it is a violation to idle a vehicle while unattended in public. WHAT CAN YOU DO?

AVOID DRIVE-THROUGHS
Drive-throughs or "drive-thru", should be avoided, except if driving a hybrid vehicle which seldom idles.  By far, what is best for both drivers and all people in the vicinity is to park the vehicle, turn it off and go into the place of business. Besides providing some exercise, this will save fuel and keep emissions out of the atmosphere. If determined to use the drive-through, please note that idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel than is required to restart the engine. Turning off and restarting the engine a couple of times when proceeding through the process of waiting, ordering and then picking up can mean the difference between a minute of idling and five minutes. Studies show* that restarting an engine no more than six times a day avoids shortening the life of the starter motor and battery. At the same time, fuel is saved as well as lowered emissions. Again, however, it is best to not use the drive-thru.

TURN IT OFF
Turning your car off has many pleasant side effects; without the engine running you can hear things better. You can save money, and breathe easier. You begin to realize how brainwashed we all are running our engines all the time

Avoid using a remote vehicle starter