Toxic byproducts released from cars' tailpipes irritate our lungs and slow the flow of oxygen in our bloodstream, causing respiratory disease and some cancers. Children are especially vulnerable because their organs and tissues are still developing and because they're active outdoors.
Tailpipe emissions also thin the ozone layer around the Earth, making it easier for the sun's ultraviolet rays to damage our skin and compromise our immune systems. The good news is there's a lot you can do right now to reduce your car's impact on the environment and your family's health.
Identify your "dirty" driving style and take steps towards cleaner air and lower fuel costs.
The slow starter
How long do you let your car warm up? If it's any longer than 30 seconds, even in winter, you're wasting fuel. So, why do many of us think 30 seconds is nowhere near long enough? Christine McDowell, a media production technician at a college in Coquitlam, B.C., has an answer. "My dad taught me about warming up a car. In the wintertime in Toronto he'd go outside, start the car up and leave it running in the driveway! Later he'd go out and drive away."
TIP: In temperatures of 0 C and below, use an engine-block heater timed to start two hours before you leave home. A warmed engine starts more easily and works less hard than a cold one, reducing fuel consumption and toxic emissions by 10 to 20 per cent.
The speedster
Do you have a racing stripe down your back? "Move over Mario Andretti!" is how Joanne Bates describes her old driving style. An ESL instructor for the Toronto District School Board, Joanne does a lot of driving. "The highway was my speedway because I had a tendency to cram too much into the time just before I needed to leave home or the office to get to a meeting. My new year's resolution was to start leaving myself more time."
TIP: Calculate how much time you need to get where you're going without rushing and avoid the temptation to do "just one more thing" before you leave the house.
FACT: A car cruising the highway at a speed of 120 km/h uses 20 per cent more fuel and produces more emissions than a vehicle maintaining 100 km/h.
The idler
In summer Canadians idle their cars an average of about two to four minutes a day. In the winter this goes up to five to 10 minutes a day. Unnecessary idling wastes fuel and damages the environment. The high cost of gas is an incentive to reduce idling, too, says Susan MacRae, a writer in Vernon, B.C., except in one special circumstance. "Recently I left my car running during a make-out session," says Susan. "Being 'intimate' in Canada sometimes requires idling."
FACT: If every driver of a light-duty vehicle in Canada avoided idling for just five minutes a day, every day of the year, collectively, we would save more than 680 million litres of fuel, worth more than $612 million (at 90 cents per litre). We would also keep more than 1.6 million tonnes of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.
FACT: Idling your car for more than 10 seconds emits more pollution than if you turned the engine off and restarted it. Idling also leaves a residue of soot on spark plugs, which increases fuel consumption by four to five per cent.
Read about the top 10 ways to reduce air pollution.
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