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The Horace Mann Green Team explores how family driving patterns influence air quality. Our findings reveal that 2/3 of drivers idle unnecessarily, with some idling for up to 37 minutes. Morning idling is less than a minute compared to over nine minutes in the afternoon. We highlight the negative effects of idling, such as wasted fuel, increased air pollution, and heightened asthma risks among children. We propose the establishment of a no-idle zone and encourage carpooling, walking, and biking, aiming to reduce traffic and improve health outcomes.
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Let’s Clear the Air Presented by the Horace Mann Green Team
The Question • How do the driving patterns of our families affect the quality of our air?
The Results! • 1/3 of all drivers shut off their engines right away. • However 2/3 of drivers were idling. • 1/3 of all vehicles in the afternoon idled for 10 minutes or more. • The worst case was 37 minutes of idling!
Morning vs. Afternoon Idling Time • Morning idling averaged about one minute. • Afternoon idling averaged over nine minutes. • Friday afternoon 7 drivers idled for over 20 minutes!
Trends • More cars come in the morning than the afternoon. • More idling occurs in the afternoon. • More cars come on rainy days than dry days.
When it Rains, It Pours….Cars • Rainy mornings ranged from 140-180 cars!
What the Research Says What the Research Says • Idling wastes more fuel than turning your engine on & off. • The leading source of toxic air pollution in Washington is vehicle exhaust. • Children breathe 50% more air per pound than adults. • Exposure to vehicle exhaust increases the risk of heart and lung problems. • Source http://www.airwatchnorthwest.org/wa/NO_IDLE/Anti_Idle_FactSheet_long.html
Asthma • Vehicle exhaust triggers asthma. • Mann has 25 cases of asthma. • Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15. (AMA)
Energy Efficiency • Turning off your engine is more efficient than idling more than 30 seconds. Cars don’t have to warm up longer than this. • It all makes air cleaner, saves on doctor bills • One hour of idling burns up to a gallon of fuel. • An idling engine delivers zero miles to the gallon. • Excessive idling can be hard on your engine.
No Idle Zones In Germany, France and the Netherlands there are three-minute idle laws. There is a no idle law in Vancouver, British Columbia also.
Create and enforce a no idle zone for our drop off/pick up area by January 2010. Decrease the total number of cars that come through our lot a total of 20% by June 2010. Our Goals
Our Recommendations! • 1. We recommend a no idle zone for Horace Mann. • 2. Help us organize more carpools, walking and biking groups. • 3. Help us study our traffic flow including: buses, car lanes, nearby parking lots and the other nearby schools.
No Idling • If you are idling more than a minute, please turn off your engine! • Designate a no idling zone • Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Partner
Carpool/Bike/Walking • Offer more walk to school days with great prizes! • Help us organize carpools. • Sponsor a bike rodeo. • Have a sign up for walking groups that would be led by parent volunteers.
Traffic Flow • Examine bus, van & nearby school impact. • Work with district to develop a more efficient traffic pattern for education hill. • Potential of using nearby parking lots & public transit.
Questions? Comments? • What should our next steps be? mspaulding@lwsd.org mhartford@lwsd.org
So… Let’s Clear the Air • The End!
