Friday morning was an environmental nightmare at our house. Long story short, I asked a friend who was staying with us to start the car. My son took the keys to him and, on the way, pressed the button that locks the car. My friend starts the car, closes the door and now the car is locked... and running.

To make matters worse, my husband had the extra set of keys. So, we all got in our gas-guzzling 1985 Ford F150 extended cab pickup truck that we rarely drive and drove 20 miles to get the keys. Bottom line: our Suburu Outback idled for over an hour. (Could have been worse. Could have been the pickup.)

I knew idling was bad for the environment but didn't know how bad. I did a little research and found hundreds of web sites (most in Canada) devoted to anti-idling campaigns and facts. I found this information in a sample chapter of "You can Prevent Global Warming (and save money!): 51 easy ways.

Letting your car idle for just 20 seconds burns more gasoline (and therefore emits more CO2) than turning your car off and on again does! Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, idling can actually harm your car, since it causes gasoline to condense on and damage your cylinder walls and spark plugs. So, if you're ever going to be parked for more than 20 seconds, turn your car off. The wear and tear on your ignition will only cost you an average of $10 a year, which will be repaid many times over thanks to gas savings.

Similarly, although it's tempting to warm up your car for 10 minutes in the winter, those emissions are devastating to the environment and to your health. Studies have shown that driving is a much more effective way to warm up your car than idling is. And with today's electronic engines, you only need warm up your car for 30 seconds on a winter day (to circulate the oil) before driving away. For really cold climates, have a 'block heater' installed for about $20. Put a timer on it so that it turns on an hour before you need to leave for work. Last but not least, don’t use the 'remote-controlled starter' if your car has one.

The day after my idling incident, my husband went to warm up the car and I stopped him. Instead, we bundled up the kids (and us), got in the cold car and drove. 3 miles. That's all it took to warm up our Suburu and all it took to convince us to become "Idle-Free".

Here's a great article on one man's efforts to make Lenox, MA "idle-free". (People like him amaze me!)