Emerson Elementary Idle Free Awareness Week

What is Idling? Idling is letting an engine run when the vehicle isn’t going anywhere, like when you are:

Waiting to pick someone up at school…

Waiting at a drive-through window…

Letting the car ‘warm up’ in the driveway

So, being ‘Idle Free’ means: Turning the engine OFF when you won’t be driving for 10 seconds or more

Why not idle? Idling is bad for everyone’s health Driving warms up an engine faster and better than idling does Eliminating 5 minutes of idling a day can save $30 to $60 a year

Why not idle? It wastes money It gets you no where It’s bad for our lungs

What is air pollution? Air pollution is anything that makes our air dirty or less healthy to breathe.

Why is air pollution especially bad for kid’s lungs? Children are outside playing more than adults Children have faster respiratory rates than adults Children breathe in 20% to 50% more air, and more air pollution, than adults

OZONE Invisible! PM 2.5 Tiny particles that look like a gross blanket over our valley Utah has two basic types of air pollution SUMMERTIMEWINTERTIME

Over exposure to ozone can cause or trigger asthma in children Asthma is the most common chronic illness and children and the cause of most school absences.

Ozone exposure can cause: LUNG IRRITATION Wheezing Coughing Pain when taking a deep breath Difficulty breathing when playing outdoors

When you go up a canyon in the winter, you can see the pollution below

In the winter, a different pollutant is in our air Particulate matter, or PM 2.5 are tiny particles of things like: ◦ Soot, from chimneys ◦ Exhaust, from tailpipes ◦ Dust, from plowing

PM 2.5 is dangerous because it is very small PM 2.5 is so small, it passes through our lungs, into our blood This is why school kids have to stay in on “Red Air Days”

One of these tiny dots is the size of PM 2.5, compared to a dust particle and human hair

What can we do to help? The majority of air pollution in Utah comes vehicles Turn your key, be idle free!

If the car isn’t moving for how long? _____ seconds

If the car isn’t moving for how long? Ten seconds of idling uses more gas than turning off and restarting the car 10 seconds!

What can we do to help? If possible, ◦ Carpool ◦ Ride a bike ◦ Walk to school Don’t drive, or drive less, especially on bad air days

What can we do to help? Use less energy Turn off lights when they’re not in use ◦ 95% of Utah’s power comes from coal fired power plants

What can we do to help? Be in the know! Check out how healthy the air is, or isn’t, at: Ask your parents to sign up for air quality alerts by With your family, make a plan for how you’ll protect your health and our air on bad air days