News Release                              For Immediate Release

                                                                                                                         June 5, 2007

Take Action for the Environment; Idling gets you nowhere

Canadian Environment Week June 3 to 9

Taking action for our environment is the theme for this year’s Canadian Environment Week and June 6 is Clean Air Day. The impact of idling and air pollution on our environment and health is a serious concern, especially with warmer and more humid weather on the way. There were eleven smog day alerts in May this year, compared to eight in May of last year. Residents can take action to reduce smog by choosing not to idle vehicles.

Drivers may be under the impression that idling is better for their vehicle and saves fuel. This is simply not true. It is worth turning the vehicle off for any stop of more than 10 seconds (other than idling in traffic). The Mississauga Idle-Free Initiative states we could save 2.5 million litres of fuel if every driver in Canada avoided idling for five minutes in one day. The savings is more than $1.8 million and this would prevent more than 2.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Drivers may also be concerned that frequently turning off and restarting their vehicles can cause significant damage to engine parts but there is actually minimal impact.

Reducing air pollution also reduces the burden on healthcare, as pollution affects those who experience asthma and other breathing related conditions. Health Canada states,

 “Smog and poor air quality continue to cause thousands of deaths each year and hundreds of thousands of severe episodes of asthma and bronchitis, particularly among children and the elderly. During an average year, exposure to air pollution results in an estimated 60,000 emergency room visits and 17,000 hospital admissions in Ontario.”

There are several ways we can all reduce idling and air pollution:

• Avoid waiting in drive thru’s. Park your vehicle and walk into the restaurant.

• When waiting to pick children up from sporting events, school or daycare make sure to turn off your vehicle. Children are especially susceptible to ground level air pollution because of their smaller size and faster breathing rate.

• Turn the engine off when you get out of your vehicle for a very short time.

• Carpool when possible.

• Plan shopping trips to reduce the over-all number of trips you make.

• Walk when possible.

• Take public transit.

• During smog days, avoid using gas-powered equipment such as lawn mowers, weed eaters, etc.

For further information call Public Health at 519-376-9420 or visit our web site at www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca.

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For more information:

Andrew Barton

Program Manager, Health Hazards

Grey Bruce Health Unit

519-376-9420 or 1-800-263-3456 ext. 353