COMMERCIAL IDLING
Environmental Protection Agency: Health Assessment Document for Diesel Exhaust
The EPA'a National Center for Environmental Assessment concludes that long-term (i.e., chronic) inhalation exposure is likely to pose a lung cancer hazard to humans, as well as damage the lung in other ways depending on exposure. Short-term (i.e., acute) exposures can cause irritation and inflammatory symptoms of a transient nature, these being highly variable across the population.
Environmental Protection Agency: Diesel Exhaust in New England - Idling
This EPA site deals with heavy-duty commercial truck and bus idling, ways to restrict idling and their freight industry incentive program to conserve fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions: SmartWay Transport Partnership. It features Hannaford Bros. (which includes six Vermont Hannaford Supermarkets) as a SmartWay success story. It also has a link to an excellent Documents Section to download fact sheets on idling. (Note that as of 2009 Vermont remains the only New England state (and all states in the Northeast) not to have enacted a 10,000 pound+ idle-reduction law).
Truck Idling management solution: the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)
While actually a promotion of Cummins, Inc., manufacturers of heavy-duty vehicle engines, this 2007 document contains comprehensive information on APUs, a viable solution to extended idling of heavy-duty diesel trucks for both local and long-haul trucking. Also included is a compendium of idling regulations in the U.S. and Canada.
GPS Fleet Tracking Systems from Work Truck Online
GPS fleet tracking is the main system of truck telematics, a mobile transmitting data monitoring system. It is an increasingly popular, cost effective method for fleet operators to optimize routes, save fuel--including elimination of unnecessary idling--and maximize driver productivity. Combined with operator education, these systems pay for themselves in two months to a year, typically saving fleet operators thousands of dollars annually.
Havis, Inc. offers IdleRight Fuel Management System
Havis, Inc. website description of IdleRight: Police • Emergency • Construction • Contractor: Municipalities across the country are spending millions of dollars on fuel used to idle vehicles that must keep their emergency lights flashing: police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, highway construction vehicles, public works trucks and more. The IdleRight Fuel Management System monitors the battery’s condition and automatically idles your vehicle only when necessary.
A typical vehicle that idles for 6 hours at an emergency or construction scene uses as much as 4 gallons of gas. That same vehicle, equipped with the Havis-Shields IdleRight system uses less than one-quarter of a gallon of gas — and never jeopardizes the charge in your battery needed for start-up. Multiply that fuel cost savings by the number of vehicles in a single municipality, times the number of days in the year, and you’ll quickly recognize the value of this new technology. The cost of the unit will pay for itself — and you’ll be reducing harmful emissions and reducing wear and tear on your engine!
From the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy division:
NATIONAL IDLING REDUCTION NETWORK NEWS (NIRNN)
The National Idling Reduction Network brings together trucking and transit companies; railroads; ports; equipment manufacturers; Federal, state, and local government agencies (including regulators); nonprofit organizations; and national research laboratories to identify consistent, workable solutions to heavy-vehicle idling for the entire United States.
To receive NIRNN by email monthly, contact NIRNN editor Terry Levinson. Or, view seven years of the monthly NIRNN archive here.
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REGULATIONS & ENFORCEMENT
Compendium of 10,000 pound+ commercial vehicle idling regulations, July 2011
From the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), a well-known leader in transportation-related research.
U.S. DOE Energy Effiency & Renewable Energy: Idling Reduction Incentives and Laws
Many federal and state incentives encourage idle reduction. This website has a map of the U.S. where each state can be selected to view idle-reduction related incentives and laws in that state.
Enforcement of Heavy Duty Vehicle Idling in Massachusetts
In 2008, Region 1 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined Waste Management of Massachusetts, Inc., Capitol Waste Services and Allied Waste Services $27,200 for violating the Commonwealth’s 5-minute idling rule.
Boston-Based Bus Company Agrees to $650,000 Penalty for Violating the Clean Air Act and Anti-Idling Regulations
Paul Revere Transportation LLC, a bus company based in Boston, has agreed to pay a $650,000 civil penalty after being found liable by a jury in June for violating federal and state clean air laws for idling their buses for extended periods of time. The company was found liable on June 8, 2009, after a six-day trial in U.S. District Court in Boston, for 234 separate violations of the Clean Air Act and a Massachusetts anti-idling regulation.
School Bus Company to Implement Nationwide Anti-Idling Program and Pay Penalties for Clean Air Act Violations
(Boston, Mass. – October 21, 2009) – As part of a settlement for clean air violations, school bus operator First Student will commit to reduce idling from its nationwide fleet of 50,000 school buses. The anti-idling measures are the result of an EPA enforcement action to address illegal idling at Connecticut and Rhode Island school bus lots. This nationwide effort will reduce school children’s exposure to diesel pollution and help clean the nation’s air. First Student, Inc. will also pay a fine of $128,000 and perform environmental projects valued at over $1 million.
SCHOOL BUS
Environmental Protection Agency: Clean School Bus USA
This EPA site states that unnecessary school bus idling pollutes the air, wastes fuel, and causes excess engine wear. Three school bus engine manufacturers, Caterpillar, IC Corporation and Cummins, caution against idling in excess of five minutes. The site also gives details on implementation of an idling reduction program for schools or school districts.
Vermont Dept. of Environmental Protection: Diesel Exhaust from School Buses in Vermont
The Air Polution Control Division of the Vermont DEC provides comprehensive information on school bus idling in Vermont including facts on how it harms and what governments need to do to regulate and restrict it. UPDATE TO SUMMARY: VT, RI and ME now have school bus idling regulations.
AIR QUALITY AND HEALTH
American Lung Association of New England
 The American Lung Association of New England website features a special section, Own Your Air. It includes detailed information on issues that affect the air we breathe including Transportation, Smoking, Vehicle Idling, Indoor Air Quality, Ozone, Air Pollution, Daily Air Quality Index and Energy. The national American Lung Association is the leading organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. The ALA funds vital research on the causes of and treatments for lung disease. They are strong warriors in the fight against outdoor air pollution and its effect on our health.
MedPage Today Report: Diesel Fumes Change Brain Activity
March 10, 2008: Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today, reports that in a small crossover study performed in The Netherlands, researchers recorded marked changes in brain wave activity when volunteers were exposed to diesel fumes compared with exposure to filtered air. While further research is needed, this study suggests that pollution by diesel fumes is not just a question of noxious odors, but may also have effects on the brain.
AIRNow: Air Quality News site
Vermont's greenhouse gas emissions, on a per captia basis, are nearly double the national average. This implicates vehicle exhaust--including idling--which negatively affects Vermont's air quality. While generally good, there is a concern of air quality in town centers, especially in Chittenden County, which has increasingly strayed into the Moderate and even Unhealthy catagories. AIRNow provides daily air quality conditions and forecasts, including Particles and Ozone readings, both nationally and locally.
Kids' lower IQ scores linked to prenatal pollution
In a study released July 20, 2009, researchers for the first time have linked air pollution exposure before birth with lower IQ scores in childhood, bolstering evidence that smog may harm the developing brain. The results are in a study of 249 children of New York City women who wore backpack air monitors for 48 hours during the last few months of pregnancy. They lived in mostly low-income neighborhoods in northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. They had varying levels of exposure to typical kinds of urban air pollution, mostly from car, bus and truck exhaust.
OTHER NO-IDLING CAMPAIGNS
U.S. Department of Energy / Clean Cites Coalition draft: Idling: Cruising the Fuel Inefficiency Expressway - Sept. 2009
By Dr. Linda Gaines and Terry Levinson of the Center for Transportation Research Argonne National Laboratory.
Discussion Paper for Clean Cities Coalitions and Stakeholders to Develop Strategies for the Future. This 16 page document (currently in draft form) thoroughly decimates the issue of idling, mostly from the standpoint of heavy-duty diesel, which, pound for pound, easily has the most negative impact. Technologies that reduce idling are spelled out (including financial incentives) as well as regulations and legislation, and outreach and education. There are also links to idling reduction campaigns in many states.
Natural Resources, Canada, Vehicle Idling Campaign resource
A complete resource of information, facts, documents and graphics to enable anyone to run their own idling campaign.
 Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection "Idling Is Fuelish" Campaign
Connecticut has an all motor vehicle idling reduction law of 3 minutes. They also have a comprehensive educational no idling campaign. The most impressive no idling presentation I've seen is the "Wastebusters - Idling Myths" video seen on this website's FEATURES page: a take off on the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters program. Very educational and entertaining.
Idle-Free Philly has a unique and interactive way of tackling idling
With approval of the Clean Air Council, citizens can report sightings of parked trucks or buses running their engines in violation of Philadelphia's 5 minute idling law. How it works: Go to idlefreephilly.org (Or Call 877.853.1552). Click on the map where you see idling and report the problem. Air Management Services and the Clean Air Council will receive emails and can respond to the issue. The City of Philadelphia’s clean air agency can issue a ticket if enough information is provided, and the Clean Air Council will work with communities to address idling hot spots to develop the most effective means of addressing the problem.
The city of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada uses the same method with Idling Hotspot Map as part of the Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable campaign.
VERDANT VIGILANTE: One man's no idling campaign in NYC a hot topic in international media
 George Pakenham is a Wall Street banker and is also an environmental activist focused on vehicle idling in New York City. Typically, as he walks NYC streets to and from work, he will talk with drivers that are idling while parked to educate about the negative impacts of idling and inform them of New York City's idling restriction law (seldom enforced). To date, he has had over 2,500 encounters.
The "Verdant Vigilante", as Mr. Pakenham has come to be known, is receiving huge media attention, being featured in The New Yorker magazine, interviewed on National Public Radio's, Here and Now ("No More Engine Idling"), magazine interivew in the Financial Times magazine of London: ‘I’m an engine-idler vigilante’, and featured in The Independent of London: George Pakenham: Man on emissions. In addition, interviewed on the BBC's Up All NIght program and Talk Radio 702 - Johannesburg, South Africa
As of November 2010, "Idle Threat", a documentary film, is in final stages of production. Watch for a trailer in 2011.
The Verdant Vigilante campaign has been endorsed by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
OTHER MEDIA
Burlington Free Press feature "No Idle Matter" January 8, 2006, by Tim Johnson
A no-holds-barred, very comprehensive and captivating article about unnecessary idling of cars, trucks and school buses in Chittenden County, the state of Vermont and beyond. From first hand accounts, to sourced information of its harm, to enforcement, to encountering resistance, all aspects are covered.
The Oregonian (daily newspaper in Portland, OR): "Cleaner air, quieter streets in downtown Portland, after idling diesel trucks shut off their engines" by Carrie Sturrock
"Lyle Lovett got under Patrice Demmon's skin during his stop in Portland last October (2009) at the Schnitz. And it had nothing to do with his performance..." How one person was able to get businesses in downtown Portland, OR to stop excessive truck and bus idling.
MISCELLANEOUS
WikiLeaks cables show Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil to keep a lid on prices
On February 8, 2011, The Guardian of the UK (along with many other sources), a respected world news source, published WikiLeaks cables in which a US diplomat is convinced by a Saudi oil expert that reserves of world's biggest oil exporter have been overstated by nearly 40%. According to the information in the cables, Peak Oil, the point at which world oil production peaks and then begins a decline, may happen in 2012 (although some sources say Peak Oil is already occurring).
IDLE-STOP TECHNOLOGY: Many vehicles can be idle-free in traffic
Imagine a conventional vehicle coming to a stop at a stoplight and stalling out--by design--and then restarting when the accelerator is pressed, just as a hybrid does now. This is known as Auto Stop/Start or Idle-Stop system technology. Is it some future solution to idling in traffic? No, it is available today and is offered by a growing number of European and Japanese auto manufacturers, including two 2007 European models: the BMW 1-Series and the Peugeot/Citroen C2 and C3 Superminis. This technology is quite simple, employing a reversible alternator that acts as a standard alternator one minute (driven by the engine to charge the battery) but, when required, then acts as a starter motor, driven by the battery to re-start the engine. There are other versions of the system under development. The benefits are obvious: significant improvement in air quality and reduction of millions of tons of carbon emissions and gallons of fuel.
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