Dear South Orange / Maplewood Parents:
Have you ever left your car running while. .Many of us idle our cars without even thinking about it . . . We don’t realize that we are hurting our air quality, our health, our cars, and our wallets…and we are even breaking the state law which prohibits idling for more than three minutes.
Did you know?
Engine Idling....
Wastes gasoline. Just 10 seconds of idling uses more gasoline than restarting your car.
Harms your engine and exhaust system. It only takes 30 seconds to warm-up your car engine and be ready to go. When you idle your engine, fuel combustion is incomplete and fuel residues condense on cylinder walls where they can contaminate oil and damage engine components. Condensation in your vehicle's exhaust system can also lead to corrosion. Top
Hurts our air quality and our environment. An idling engine produces twice as many exhaust emissions as an engine in a moving vehicle. Car tailpipes emit carcinogens and other toxins, smog-forming chemicals, and greenhouse gases into our air.
Health Alert:
Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution. They breathe faster than we do, and they also inhale more air per pound of body weight. Air quality is often worse in the afternoon, just about the time parents arrive at the school to pick up their children. Idling engines contribute to the air quality around the school - just when our excited, active children come outside.
You are not safe from air pollution inside an idling vehicle. Exposure to air pollutants is actually higher inside an idling vehicle than at the roadside. The greatest exposure occurs when sitting in traffic congestion on highways or in a line-up of idling vehicles at a transit stop or outside of a school.
The South Mountain Elementary School Children ask you to please
“Turn the Key – Be Idle-Free” began March 13th.
Save some money--breathe cleaner air! Top
WANT A TREAT? Sign The Pledge On The Other Side Of This Letter, Bring It Into ONE of The Local Businesses Listed Below, And in Exchange They Will Give You ONE of the following:
One Home Baked Treat at Café Meow 1878 Springfield Avenue, Maplewood, corner of Prospect Street OR 15% off a purchase at goldfinch books 97A Baker Street, Maplewood OR One Kid’s Single Scoop at The Village Ice Cream Parlour at 185 Maplewood Avenue, MaplewoodOR One Large Cookie or Hot Chocolate at Cait & Abby’s Daily Bread 15 Sloan Street, South Orange.
This Generous Offer Expires The Last Day Of School, June 24, 2008
