My first inclination was to title this “I am just one person.” Then I realized that was the last post, so I am clearly killing it as an blogger and catfluencer.

This week, I had to accept that I am just one person and I can’t expect myself to do all of life responsibilities without help. My youngest is struggling right now, and my main job is to pull her through this time. As a result, daily life activities have had to fall to the way side.

Paying for services (laundry, food services etc) while I am lucky enough to afford for a short run, do not always fall in line with my personal goals of keeping the earth safe. Decision paralysis is a real thing, especially when you want to prioritize our Earth and all it’s moving parts. It feels hypocritical to use these services, but right now I need help.

I am aware that I am privileged. I have a job, a partner and the opportunity to make these decisions. Many people do not; those who have to work multiple jobs to survive, people battling mental health or physical diseases. If I feel like I have to put the Earth on the back burner this week, I understand why it is not a priority ever for others (though I did find some companies who are like minded).

So this week, while I am make less than perfect choices, I can still help the Earth by helping those who are also trying. I can boost a post that is saying the same message I would have made. You can too. If you are driving, you can turn your car off while waiting outside (not idling is seriously the easiest thing you can do! Idling cars worsens asthma, heats the earth and is just gross. So turning your wrist is so easy and saves the Earth). I am not saying it’s easy to be making these choices when life is crushing you down, but one tiniest action does make a huge difference. So try it.

I am back. I am trying this again. That entire thing of “One person can change the world;” Well I bought into it. I was pumped. And then, guess what I didn’t save the world. 2023 is going to be the hottest on record. Winter in New York never even happened (and don’t tell me the city never really got snow…I lived it, several times). Despite my best efforts, I didn’t change the world. I didn’t even make a dent.

What? You have not heard of me (a middle aged woman who has fewer than 200 followers on social media, and is not on Twitter because she couldn’t remember her password and got stressed out trying to get back on). You have heard of Greta Thunberg, but not me. That is wild.

I want to believe that one person can make a difference. Yet, I have close friends who still continue to idle their cars even after readying my blog. The science did not win out over their comfort. The plea to help save the polar bears did not work either. I kept calling my city council member, but I couldn’t even get them to ticket the one teacher who idles for over an hour every day at the school by my house. To refresh your memory, it is against NYC law to idle in front of a school for over a minute; anywhere else, you are allotted three minutes. This law has been on record for 51 years, and it is enforced almost never.

I digress. My entire giving upness was because I didn’t feel like I was making a dent of change in the environment, and the world was still crumbling around me. Todaym it occurred to me there are three ways to to say “I am just one person.”

You can say it “(Ugh) I am just one person, I can’t make a difference:” OR “I am only one person, it is no big deal if I pollute the air or throw trash on the ground:” OR “I am one person, and the effort I make, while small, is still moving the needle towards the right direction.” In all cases we have to remember we are NOT just one person.

Imagine, if you will, for each one person saying that sentence there are, let’s say, 6000 other people saying that same sentence. I am sure there are more, but I am not here for the math. So for the 6000 people saying one person can’t make a difference; there are 6000 missed opportunities for a small change. For the next 6000 people , whothinking that their small pollution is not that big a of deal, they need to remember that there are at least 6000 people saying the same thing. We can’t see pollution, but imagine if 6000 people left their garbage in front of your house. You would see it, you would smell it and you would be incensed. You would demand change. Lastly, if 6000 people today said today is the day I do X (stop idling, give up plastic drink containers, gave $10 towards their favorite endangered animal) that would be a ton of positivity and a dent towards saving our earth.

There are so many areas of our earth dying out. Yes, many of it is due to corporate responsibility, but we are still people and our numbers add up. What is ONE thing you can do each day (it can be small, skip the plastic straw, idle for half the time in your car–you won’t freeze to death in five minutes) something that gives up a little comfort for a few minutes that can ultimately add up with 6000 other people (or more) and make a positive dent to saving our earth.

Don’t do it for me, a middle aged lady you have never heard of or met, do it for Greta (or the earth since you live there too).

I understand that I live in a city, and you don’t have as clean air as you would in the country. I also understand that the climate crisis is not isolated to just New York City, and the actions we take in our city are affecting the Earth (even the cleaner air in the suburbs).

I understand that most of the ruining of our climate is not just due to individuals. Large corporations all over the world are to blame for most of the mess we are in, as well as the governments across the globe not doing more for their citizens. I also understand that small changes on an individual level are additive, and if, let’s say, idling stopped and was largely enforced in New York City or even on my block alone, it would make a difference to the Earth.

I understand that it is my civic duty to vote so that the party I favor can make changes to help society. I understand that change takes time and that people have to be motivated to make those changes: Perhaps getting a $250 fine for idling your car might stop you from idling your car and making the changes that would help the Earth.

I understand that there are so many things wrong in the world, and more specifically our country. I understand that abortion rights, voting rights and gun laws are so important. But I also understand that if we don’t protect the Earth, that larger problems are looming towards us.

I understand that companies are saying by this date we will be carbon neutral (O’Hare Airport-carbon neutral by 2050, not that impressive). I also understand that faster and bigger actions need to be taken now. I understand that New York City enforcing the idling laws can start to make a dent in the city’s air and the climate crisis.

I understand that climate change is not my fault (thanks for the reminder Deliver Zero). I also understand that my fears and the fears of others are real and can be all consuming. I understand that the time to act was 50 years ago when the anti-idling law was put into place, but we can still act now.

I understand that New York is a large city and there is a lot of red tape in everything. What I don’t understand is why I was recently told, there does not seem to be a lot we can do about enforcing the anti-idling law because of all of this red tape. I am not asking for a new law. I am not asking for a law that would just benefit me personally. I am asking the city to enforce a law they made before I was born, that can make them a lot of money and benefit the Earth.

I will never understand why people don’t want to do more to help the Earth and as a by product themselves.

My bee friend giving me a little hope.

It has been a long time, and while I have not been writing, I have been doing some work on my project. Is as much work as the earth needs? Sadly no. I have hit some roadblocks called the New York City Government. The Department of Transportation won’t put up the signs because there is an ordinance from 2012 to reduce sign clutter. Which apparently is more important than our dying earth. They said a school can put up their own signs, but won’t say who will enforce non city signs. Their suggestion, call 311 or video the idler and send in the ticket, and then make some money.

Yes, they give an incentive to send in idlers–you will make money (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/nyregion/they-earn-tens-of-thousands-by-turning-in-idling-trucks.html). However, that doesn’t really help the earth. If someone has idled or an hour and aren’t stopped, making $87.50 three months later has not helped the climate crisis.

Did you see? The IPCC gave the earth three years to turn this ship around. We have been talking about the hurting environment fifty years. Just as long as the New York City law against idling, and yet neither seem to be making a dent in actually helping our environment.

So back to the idling. I have not given up (though some days I feel like I should just lean into the denial and “oh well attitude” that most humans seem to have). I am working with my local council member who is still searching for the answer to the school idling issue. If it is up to the school to make or purchase their own signs and then enforce it, we are basically screwed. So we are worse off than we are now.

So please, tell your friends stop idling. Tell strangers to stop idling. The IPCC article states that humans have a something to gain by improving the environment for the first time, and how a healthy earth will mean healthier people. So maybe now, for people who were not motivated to help animals, trees or the oceans, they will be motivated to help themselves.

My dear friend, Winter, is trying so hard to survive. It was 70 degrees the other day and today has been a mixture of sleet and snow. It is March. March is still winter, and it should be that way. I went to college in Iowa, it snowed in April. That is what the weather should look like. Yet, someone has screwed this all up. Who is that someone? Us, humans.

I know that most of the climate issue stems from large corporations, but us as individuals have contributed to this mess that we are in. Yet, us as individuals don’t seem to understand that is us that will suffer. When you hear about the polar bears dying, or bees disappearing it is nothing that seems tangible. We are seeing tangible issues like tornados ruining homes in the mid-west, and flooding in Europe, but collectively we are still sucking.

It has been a long time since I wrote last, life got tricky. But it doesn’t mean that I stopped with my desire for the city of New York to enforce the anti-idling law they put in place fifty years ago. The new Mayor, who said the climate crisis was important to him while he campaigned, is already trying to cut back on composting (which is another important issue, but not for this blog) so I doubt he cares about the anti-idling law–but he he should, and just like my friend, Winter, I am going to keep showing up and trying to push through the mess.

On the good news front, P.S. 24 in Sunset Park has been approved for anti-idling signs!! The wonderful Sustainability Team at that school sent out emails, and at some point in the future Sunset Park will be one of maybe three schools in Brooklyn with these signs. Yet the question remains, who will enforce this law. I have been told personally that since the public do not like to receive these tickets, the police won’t write them. I will take it as a win that one school is getting them, but there are so many schools in the city–all of them deserve them. Not just for the environment, but our children should be able to walk into schools not in a cloud of smog from an engine running for over an hour. Just because we don’t see pollution, it doesn’t mean it is not there.

So in the meantime, be kind to my friend Winter. Pass along how important it is to not idle your car. True, it is not the main cause of our climate crisis, but every little bit hurts poor poor Winter.

Today sucks. Next week will suck even more. It is 60 degrees in February. While I am trying to focus on the message and doing something instead of just being depressed, it is hard. I shouted at my partner today “why is everyone walking around like this is not a big deal!” It is a big deal. We don’t seem to have winter anymore.

Almost three years ago a man named David Buckel killed himself in Prospect Park. Reportedly, he did it because he wanted people to pay attention to climate change. He was a much smarter person than I am, he was more involved than I am and he too felt like he was not moving the needle. I don’t know if the needle can be moved, honestly. There are so many people who care about the earth, there just seem to be more people who are indifferent and don’t seem to realize they are connected because we only have this one shot!

So I don’t have more for today, but please don’t forget about Mr. Buckel who just wanted better for our earth. Don’t forget about the animals, bugs and trees who got here way before we did. It might be a lost cause for winter and for many species, but lets see if at bare minimum we can save what we have left (though today I doubt it).

Today sucks. Next week will suck even more. It is 60 degrees in February. While I am trying to focus on the message and doing something instead of just being depressed, it is hard. I shouted at my partner today “why is everyone walking around like this is not a big deal!” It is a big deal. We don’t seem to have winter anymore.

Almost three years ago a man named David Buckel killed himself in Prospect Park. Reportedly, he did it because he wanted people to pay attention to climate change. He was a much smarter person than I am, he was more involved than I am and he too felt like he was not moving the needle. I don’t know if the needle can be moved, honestly. There are so many people who care about the earth, there just seem to be more people who are indifferent and don’t seem to realize they are connected because we only have this one shot!

So I don’t have more for today, but please don’t forget about Mr. Buckel who just wanted better for our earth. Don’t forget about the animals, bugs and trees who got here way before we did. It might be a lost cause for winter and for many species, but lets see if at bare minimum we can save what we have left (though today I doubt it).

Did you know I started a blog, I met with an aide from my local council member’s office and people are still running their cars??? The audacity.

I must remind myself, even as February has fifty-degree days, that a) I can’t save the earth all by myself and b) I am still doing something to help. Will it be enough to save the polar bears, bees, or air, who knows but I am trying and trying. And here is the real kicker, so are others!!!

This past week I did meet with an aide from my local council member’s office. Yes, they meet with all their constituents, that is their job. So how is this a win? Well, this council member has recently been elected, the last person in her job never even emailed or called me back. Is this to say they were bad at their job, no; but the environment was not on their radar. I am extremely hopeful that the new class of elected officials understand and are equally concerned with the fate our environment and the air quality in Brooklyn, in New York, in the WORLD.

I have revisited the members of the precinct that made me mad last week when they told me “people don’t like those tickets.” So, I changed my strategy, I asked them to focus on on playground in my neighborhood. There is an outdoor gym at this park. At some point it became part of the of culture to go work out but leave your car running and double parked while you do so. Again, if those men and women stop idling their cars will the earth be fixed, nope. Yet, I can continue to ask and push. Not for me, not for you but for this earth that we depend on just to exist.  

So yes, I am dying inside on this “spring” day at the start of February. Yes, I feel like I am doing nothing as I watch person after person idling their cars as I walk miles through the city. Yet, I am reminding myself that this fight that I chose to take on, has been fought since 1972 and only the idlers have won. One small change can make a difference. Every drop in the bucket can help. Cliche after cliche, inch by inch. So do your part if your car is not going anywhere just turn off your car. Save money, save gas (which is pricey) and indirectly help the earth.

I am doing this for you NYC (among others!! (bears, bees, whales)) Thanks to Brian Tafel for the amazing picture.

Ugh. This week I got a very distressing email from my local precinct that they don’t give out tickets for anti-idling because ” most recently, precincts throughout Brooklyn South have received numerous complaints from the public indicating that the public is upset with this kind of enforcement.” I get it, the fines for idling are hefty–I didn’t set them, the city did. Yet, New York City has failed us and themselves by not enforcing the law.

The anti-idling law was set up in 1972. So we are fifty years into a law that is not working. On their website (https://www1.nyc.gov) NYC boasts “NYC has the longest ongoing air quality monitoring program of any US City,” but according to a recent Bloomberg City Lab article, it is mostly symbolic.

There have been other pushes by citizens to get this law enforced, and it has not gone far. George Pakenham made a movie, it got recognized, but yet things have not changed . HIs movie had famous people, a rally and we are at the same point.

The city has put the responsibility of clean air on its’ citizens. We can video tape trucks, school buses and vans (but not private vehicles), send the videos in and hopefully they will get a ticket. That is a lot to ask of individuals, and also, you can’t erase the air pollution once it is done.

According to the Bloomberg LabCity article, “According to the U.S. Department of Energy, heavy- and light-duty vehicles waste 6 billion gallons of fuel each year through idling. Half of those offenders are private vehicles, which together add about 30 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year. If idling stopped tomorrow, it’d be the equivalent of taking 5 million vehicles off the road. A 2009 paper said that idling alone made up 1.6% of America’s total greenhouse gas emissions (August, 2021). We can’t reverse it by sending someone a ticket months later. This has to be done while the offense is occurring if we are really going to help the earth.

Our environment has been in peril for decades. I am slightly hopeful that this new fleet of politicians, who all say they are upset about climate change, will do more than just try and educate. I get it, the fines are hefty, but so is the fine for ruining our earth. Just turn off your car if you are not going anywhere. Even if it is cold. And, NYC–do your job for the earth. Fifty years is a long time to be ignoring your own rule.

Wawayanda State Park October 2021 for a Ragnar Race. These trees are begging you to do your part.

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!