We are experiencing a cold snap in New York (yes I love it, even without the snow). It has been hard for me to go on my daily walks since I see so much idling. People are warming up their cars for longer periods of time, but why?

According to a Washington Post article from 2014 “Auto experts today say that you should warm up the car no more than 30 seconds before you start driving in winter. “The engine will warm up faster being driven,” the EPA and DOE explain.” During the 1980s and into the early 1990s, however, the auto industry did away with carburetors in favor of electronic fuel injection, which uses sensors to supply fuel to the engine and get the right air and fuel mix. This makes the problem of warming up the car before driving irrelevant, because the sensors monitor and adjust to temperature conditions.”

I believe people who are still warming up their cars are doing so because they grew up doing it, and it is a long standing belief. I believe most people want to the right thing, they just don’t have the facts. Warming up your car needs to be a thing of the past if we are going to have clean air and an environment for the future.

People are learning from my blog about the dangers of idling and that really is half the battle. A law, I assumed everyone knew, because of my decade obsession, has gone under the radar for most. So even if I am only reaching 20 people in my lifetime with this blog, and of those 20, if 10 of them change their ways, and 5 people they know change their ways which means my goal is being met. Shout out to Ilysa Corns, who when pressed, told me that she brought a blanket for her Florida mom when she had to turn the car off and Nanamylove stayed in the car. One small change can make a difference. So let’s keep making them!