Markham/Newmarket Idle-free Challenge

IDLE-FREE SCHOOLS

The Hot and Smelly Facts

• The Excuses
• The Solutions

HOT and SMELLY FACTS

• Have you seen ugly, brown smog?
• Have you seen dark clouds oozing out of smokestacks?
• Can you smell stinky chemicals?
• Do you choke on toxic car fumes?

POLLUTED PLANET

• Our air is dirty
• Our ozone layer is disappearing
• The animals are suffering
• Plants and flowers are wilting
• We are getting sick
• The earth needs help

PLANET PLEASERS

• By teaching others
• By following the Kyoto Protocol
• By setting a good example
• By caring about our health
• By protecting the planet
  • WE CAN HELP!

Three WORST AIR POLLUTERS

• Cars
• Factories
• Coal-Burning Power Plants

CARS POLLUTE

• Try not to use your car as much
• Take public transit (e.g. bus, subway, streetcar)
• Walk
• Carpool
• Don't idle your car

WHAT IS IDLING?

Idling occurs when something or someone is not operating or not moving. In this presentation, we are referring to cars that have their engines running but are stationary.

IDLING CARS

• Pollute the air (8 million kg of GHG per day)
• Waste money ($2 million of gas per day)
• Contribute to global climate change
• Waste gas (3percent of Ontario's fuel/day)
• Ruin car engines

IDLING MAKES US SICK

• Kids breathe at a faster rate than adults, so they breathe more polluted air
• Breathing polluted air causes asthma, lung problems, allergies, and sometimes cancer
• Small children walk right by the car exhaust pipes where the dirty air is expelled

IDLING MAKES THE PLANET SICK

• Car fumes are full of toxic chemicals
• They poison animals
• They hurt plants and flowers
• The pollution depletes our ozone layer

THE KYOTO PROTOCOL

• Canada signed this agreement to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 6 percent compared with the level in 1990
  
  
• Canada needs to achieve this reduction between 2008 and 2012 or sooner!
  
  
• Every Canadian produces approximately 5.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide (C0²) each year

STOP IDLING

• By not idling our cars, we can reduce our C0² emissions by over 615 kg per year!
• We can clean up our air
• We can be healthier
• We can save money and gas

EXCUSES FOR IDLING

• Warming up the car
• Waiting for someone
• Running a quick errand
• Comfort (e.g. air conditioning, heater, radio)
• Parking illegally
  • HOW CAN WE STOP THIS?

REMOTE STARTERS

• Are electronic gadgets that can activate your car engine without your even being in the car
  
  
• Are usually used when someone is still inside the house
  
  
• Cause terrible pollution because people press the button and forget that the car is running

WE CAN HELP!

• Ask our parents to walk us to school or start a "walking school bus" program
  
  
• Tell people that idling is a waste of $$$ and fuel
  
  
• Warn drivers that they are damaging their engines

IDLING = POLLUTION

• NOW YOU HAVE THE SIMPLE SOLUTION TO AIR POLLUTION:

  • DON'T IDLE!

    

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