Inexplicable insanity - not just people leaving their cars idling -

[codjh9]

... but while they're at a RECYCLING FACILITY! How can they not f-ing see how stupid/ironically contradictory/wasteful this is? Not to mention that I don't understand why people would leave cars idling with gas at the price it is ANYWAY, even if you didn't give a damn about the environment! And this wasn't because of their 80-year-old mother in the car and it's 100 degrees outside - the one I just saw a while ago was driving a Toyota 4-runner and had her windows open.

People never cease to amaze me. And yes, I know they do FAR worse things than this, but I've seen this enough times to where I just had to rant about it.

[ramapo]

1. Here's one better...

People leaving their cars running while in the park! I often see people spending some downtime on their lunch hour on a beautiful day with the windows rolled up and the car running. Not on especially hot or cold days but the type day when the air is fresh and there's a nice breeze. This makes me crazy! This is a cross seasonal phenomena, hot, cold, cool, warm, sunny, wet. There's really no excuse but especially on a nice day...people are really screwed up.

[bloom]

8. How about someone idling at an EcoCenter

waiting for an organic growers meeting - for over 5 minutes. That one got me. argh. :(

[tom_paine]

9. Of course people are screwed up. Insane, really. How else could a Hitler or a Bush rise to power?

How else could it be the society, once again for the THOUSANDTH time throughout history, proved utterly incapable of standing up to tyranny in the "Hitler/Caesar every crime we do is "legal" because we do it" vein?

Of course people are screwed up. Shortsighted, weak-minded, blind, and most are slaves waiting for a collar to be fixed around their necks, which the Bushies have kindly done for them.

My apologies for reality being reality. If you hate the message, don't blame the messenger for the message's inherent and unshakable truth.

[TheDebbieDee]

2. Edumacate me, please! But doesn't it take more gas to re-start

the car engine, than to let it idle for a couple of minutes?

In other words, how many idling minutes of fuel does it take to re-start the average car?

BTW, I don't know the answer to my question, that's why I asked for edumacation..........

[NCDem60]

3. Used to but not

anymore. Old carburetors used to waste a lot of gas on restarts. The new systems are much more efficient. Last I heard in a news report after about 30 seconds of idling you would have been better off shutting down the engine and restarting when ready to drive.

[codjh9]

4. Yeah, one minute max, and you might be right about the 30 seconds now. I ALWAYS

shut my engine off at railroad crossings, bank drive-thru, hardly ever use any other drive-thrus, etc.

[CRF450]

5. Automotive engines these days burn VERY little gas when idling.

Thats if its park or in neutral, not in drive where that would put a bit of load on the engine.

[NCDem60]

10. True but they sttill burn less when they're off.

[IDemo]

6. Most sources I've seen use the 10-second rule

http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/idling.html

http://www.cleanairpartnership.org/idle/

[bloom]

7. The stoplights around Naples, FL are so long that my dad turns his car off

instead of sitting there idling at all of them.