Gillian Harvie is like many American motorists who hate driving in a cold vehicle.
“I get my spare set of keys and let it warm up,” the journalism graduate student said.
“I use my other keys to set the alarm so no one steals it while I am inside.”
But according to John Mooney, an environmental specialist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chicago office, letting a vehicle run idle is hurting the environment and the health of people.
Mooney said in the winter the unburned fuel coming out of a car’s tailpipe turns into carbon monoxide and other dangerous carcinogens when in contact with the cold winter air.
“Anytime you’ve got the engine running and you are not using the vehicle, you are wasting fuel,” Mooney said. “In the winter time there are higher carbon monoxide emissions.
“Also if you are letting the car just run, you are creating greenhouse gases.”
According to the protection agency, two-thirds of the nation’s carbon monoxide emissions come from transportation sources, with the largest contribution coming from highway motor vehicles. In urban areas, the motor vehicle contribution to carbon monoxide pollution can exceed 90 percent.
When high amounts of carbon monoxide are released into the air, it disrupts the body’s ability to absorb oxygen into the bloodstream, making it difficult to breathe.
Many people, however, say letting your car warm up during the winter isn’t really that dangerous.
“It isn’t healthy for you, but I don’t think that students warming up their cars in the winter times contributes that much to the air pollution.” said Lawrence Fischer, director of the Institute for Environmental Toxicology. “Look at how many cars, airplanes and buses are going at any one time in the winter.
“Students warming up their cars can’t be but a minuscule contribution.”
Fischer said more effects from car pollution occur in the summer when the heat doesn’t move the air, but not letting a car run idle in winter is an important conservation measure.
“I don’t think there is any sense to waste fuel and put any more things into the air.” he said. “It’s more of a conservation ethic to do that.”
Many researchers, however, are looking for fuel alternatives. Ford Motor Co. is one of the companies working on a device that distills gasoline in an effort to curb pollution from idle vehicles.
“If you get the catalytic converter warmed up, the emissions that come out of the tailpipe are relatively harmless to people,” Mooney said.
But until all cars are equipped with environmentally friendly fuel tanks, Mooney suggests that motorists “try to use your vehicle in a reasonable fashion.”
