GLOBAL WARMING NEWS |
A Healthy Climate? No Idle TaskClean Air-Cool Planet, www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/champions/2004_dec.php Rick Gregg knows that big things grow from small things. Like the twinges of annoyance and concern that he experienced during his tenure as Director/CEO of Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, Massachusetts, when guests would pull up and idle their vehicles for five, ten, even 15 minutes while checking in or out. Or the small – but growing – misgivings he experienced when he pulled up to his children’s elementary school and smelled the acrid diesel exhaust of idling school buses mingled with the invisible but potent exhaust from the idling cars and SUVs of fellow parents. And the countless letters he’s written, conversations he’s had, and signs he’s put up – all small steps adding up to a big, visible and spreading “Idle-Free” Campaign. The Campaign began with a new policy in a single place – the aforementioned Kripalu Center, a yoga and holistic health center which, under Rick’s leadership, adopted a no-idling policy on the grounds. With support from many people and the Board of Selectmen, he expanded it to the Town of Lenox, and it has gotten press coverage beyond the Berkshires region of Massachusetts. As Rick explains, the first step – at Kripalu Center – was a natural one: guests came to connect, heal, and become more spiritually conscious in a beautiful and serene natural setting. It was counterintuitive – and counterproductive – for their first or last acts upon arrival or departure to entail spewing unnecessary pollution into the environment while they carried their belongings to or from their rooms, or for the staff and program presenters to be warming up their vehicles for long periods of time on cold days, en route home after guiding guests on their journeys toward greater health and spiritual awareness. Plus, there was a serious health problem; the exhaust from idling vehicles was creeping into the building, especially the dining hall! Rick recounts one particular incident at Kripalu, where he discovered a very large SUV idling in the parking lot for forty minutes. When he asked the driver why she was idling for so long, she replied “Because I’m charging my cell phone.” Though it may have seemed “a natural” – given Kripalu’s mission to “Create a more conscious and compassionate world” – establishing a new policy and eliminating unnecessary engine idling was not an entirely smooth process. It involved educating staff and guests, some of whom thought the policy was inconvenient, nit-picky or unnecessary. Fairly quickly, however, when they understood that the air pollution from idling contributes to health problems (such as asthma) and global warming, Rick says most folks came around. So far, so good. But this success at Kripalu only increased Rick’s concern about the widespread idling at his children’s school and throughout town. One major, and fortuitous, step toward making Lenox “Idle-Free” was Rick’s discovery that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts actually had an anti-idling law, adopted decades earlier. Discovery of this law combined with three specific incidents to solidify Rick’s commitment to work toward an “idle-free” policy for Lenox. The first occurred on a main street in Lenox, where Rick watched a diesel station wagon idling for more than twenty minutes. He began walking into stores and asking for the driver, whom he finally discovered browsing for books. When Rick explained that the curbside pollution was getting pretty intense, the driver said “There’s no law against idling my vehicle. I can do whatever I want, so get lost.” The second incident occurred at a ski center in just outside of Lenox. Rick was a chaperone for the elementary school skiers and, at 4:05 on a chilly February afternoon, he spotted a full-size diesel school bus in the parking lot with its running lights on. He walked across the parking lot and asked the driver how long he intended to leave his engine running. The driver said “Until 7 o’clock, when the skiers come back.” Rick explained the state law and asked if the driver could turn off his engine to stop polluting the air. The driver told Rick to get lost, so Rick called the police. He handed a copy of the law to the officer, who said he had never seen or heard of it. The officer read the law, then instructed the bus driver to shut off his engine. The third incident was at a Lenox pizza parlor. Rick noticed an SUV idling for a long time and inquired in the restaurant as to who owned the vehicle. The owners came forth and admitted that the vehicle had been running during their entire meal because they wanted it warm when they finished eating. Rick explained that everyone who walked near the vehicle was breathing the exhaust, and the owners said they didn’t care – they wanted to be comfortable. Clearly, this was a big problem. The existence of an anti-idling law was a start, but it wasn’t public (or even official!) knowledge, and it certainly wasn’t being enforced. It was no simple solution to the problem, because it prohibited idling in excess of five minutes – a relatively long time – but its existence provided a credible platform from which to begin raising awareness and addressing the problem. Rick began at the elementary school that his two children attended. He and his wife (a physician) met with the Principal; then he met with the PTO and the Superintendent of Schools. At first, Rick explained how engine idling produces greenhouse gases that damage the environment, which got a mildly favorable response. But when Rick talked about the damaging effects of vehicle – especially diesel – exhaust on kids’ lungs and overall health, the message hit home, and the Principal and others got on board. School buses – one of the major schoolyard offenders – were required to shut off their engines when picking up and dropping off children. Parents were asked to turn off their engines when waiting to pick up their children after school. This, again, required a lot of education for everyone involved, including regular stories in the Principal’s Newsletters, the distribution of “Idle-Free” Campaign flyers, signs on school property, and personal appeals to individual drivers. But turning off engines has now become the norm at the elementary school and at the middle and high school in Lenox. To make Lenox an “Idle-Free” town, Rick worked with fellow members of the Lenox Environmental Committee (LEC) to generate support among a few key constituencies. After gaining commitments from the school officials, he met with the President of the Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Health. Building on the Board of Selectmen’s earlier endorsement of the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) program, Rick and fellow LEC members proposed to the Selectmen in August 2003 that the Town officially endorse and conduct an “Idle-Free” Campaign. The Campaign’s goal was to promote cleaner and healthier air to benefit all citizens, visitors and the global environment by getting drivers to turn off their engines when parked or stopped. To accomplish the goal, the proposal called for educating residents and visitors about the health, environmental, economic and vehicle lifespan benefits of reducing unnecessary engine idling. It also called for public education about and enforcement by the Lenox Police of the state law that limits engine idling to more than five minutes, except under a few circumstances. The Selectmen approved the proposal, and the “Idle-Free” Campaign for Lenox was officially born. One important step in developing the Campaign was to obtain endorsements of prominent health and environmental organizations that would lend credibility to the cause. After reading of its annual air quality report in the local newspaper, Rick contacted the American Lung Association of Western Massachusetts and asked for its support. The Association made the endorsement, which was followed by endorsements from Mass Audubon, AAA of Berkshire County (now AAA of Southern New England), and the Center for Ecological Technology (CET) in Pittsfield. The “Idle-Free” Campaign also received a grant from the New England Grassroots Environment Fund (NEGEF), based on an application that Rick developed with the Lenox Town Manager. The logo for each endorsing organization is featured on every flyer and window sign for the “Idle-Free” Campaign. The “Idle-Free” Campaign has had many accomplishments. Almost 700 “Idle-Free” flyers have been distributed to families with students in the elementary school and middle/high school. The flyers describe the negative consequences as well as the “myths and facts” of engine idling and ask drivers to turn off their engines. Articles on the effects of engine idling on health and the environment – with a request for drivers to turn off their engines – have been published in the Principal’s Newsletter at the elementary school. Metal signs have been posted at the elementary school and Mass Audubon’s Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary. The signs declare: “Lenox is an ‘Idle-Free’ Town. Protect our health and environment. Please turn off your engine when parked.” Posters with the same message have been mounted in many public buildings and shops around town, including Town Hall, the Community Center, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Library. Flyers, which are available at many locations, have been given to many people and placed on windshields of offending vehicles. The “Idle-Free” Campaign has generated media attention in The Advocate and The Berkshire Eagle as well as on WAMC, the NPR affiliate in Albany, NY. Rick was the guest speaker at the monthly employee meeting and Thanksgiving celebration at a Lenox car dealership. He talked about the "Idle-Free" Campaign, explaining the impact of vehicle exhaust on human health and the environment, then describing how the Campaign is educating drivers to turn off their engines. After the presentation, the dealership’s owner asked Rick to work with him to develop policies to reduce idling throughout his operations. Although the Campaign has convinced many drivers to idle less, making Lenox “Idle-Free” will be an ongoing effort. Many people don’t acknowledge the problems that result from engine idling and refuse to turn off their engines. The most common reasons are that people want their creature comforts and “No one can tell me what to do with my vehicle.” So, the Campaign will continue to provide education and encouragement to reduce idling through community organizations and directly to drivers. Rick compares the “Idle-Free” Campaign to the anti-smoking efforts, recognizing that it took many years to change behavior – and the laws – on smoking in public places. He is prepared for a long haul. The story of the “Idle-Free” Campaign for Lenox is being told beyond the Berkshires. Rick educates his students at Suffolk University in Boston about global warming and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He spoke at the recent conference of the Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN), and he is talking with people in other communities and organizations about how they can conduct similar grassroots “Idle-Free” campaigns. Whether writing letters to the editor, distributing “Idle-Free” posters and flyers, advising people in other communities, or asking the driver of an idling SUV “Would you please turn off your engine?”, Rick Gregg is indeed a champion for the climate, for grassroots community action, and for a more sustainable legacy for our children. |