[Mpls] Anti-idling: let's all do it, and more to clean up our air!

[David Greene]

Sean Gosiewski wrote:

> I turn my car off at every red light. 

This most likely makes the problem worse.  The emissions released during
vehicle startup are much worse than idling for a few seconds at a light.
Or so I'm told.

> Let's also help make less-polluting hybrid electric cars more accessible in
> MN by supporting the bills to be introduced by Scott Dibble and Frank
> Hornstein to reduce the cost barriers people face to purchase hybrid
> electric cars http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5222114.html

Hybrids are not a panacea.  I have it from an expert in the field
that there's nothing a hybrid can do that we can't already do with
conventional vehicles today as long as we are willing to pay for
materials and technology.  Raising the CAFE standards and removing
the light truck/SUV exemption would do much more to clean our air.

That's not to say hybrids are useless.  They are a necessary stepping
stone to cleaner vehicles.

But in addition to hybrids, we ought to be fully funding and
encouraging development and use of mass transit.  MnPASS and FAST
lanes don't help with that!  We ought to be building Central,
Southwest, Rush Line, Cedar, Northwest, Northstar and Red Rock
_today_, not starting in 2008 with inadequate funding for one
corridor as the governor has proposed.

David Greene
The Wedge