No-Idling at School (and what I should have said…)
I approached an SUV idling at the sidewalk at the back door to my son’s school and said to the driver “the school has a no-idling policy, would you be able to turn off your car while you wait?” I did not mention that she was reducing the drive lane, or that this was not a standing zone, or that there were many, many convenient parking spaces very close to where she was idling.
I got a “sure” and thought “Phew, that went okay” as I walked away. And then I heard a loud and pointed “ridiculous” and a couple angry mumbles.
I should have kept walking.
Young Lungs
Instead I went back to say that I didn’t mean to make her upset, and thanks for turning off the car. I got slammed with an irate “This is ridiculous, we’ve been at this school for 14 years and no one has ever done this to us before”. Another chance to walk away: not taken. Maybe it was a bad day for her and I was the straw on her camel’s back. I could have tried being conciliatory and said something about how the policy is only a couple of years old. The EPA and others have only recently realized the connection of idling at schools to poor air quality and increased instances of asthma. But I suspect logic wouldn’t have worked. It so often doesn’t.
From the EPA No Idling at School Toolkit: Why is it bad to idle vehicles?
“Idling vehicles contribute to air pollution and emit air toxins, which are pollutants known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects. Monitoring at schools has shown elevated levels of benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and other air toxics during the afternoon hour coinciding with parents picking up their children. Children’s lungs are still developing, and when they are exposed to elevated levels of these pollutants, children have an increased risk of developing asthma, respiratory problems and other adverse health effects. Limiting a vehicle’s idling time can dramatically reduce these pollutants and children’s exposure to them.”
I tried to say I appreciated her turning off the car, and it was for the student’s health… and she ripped into “well it’s so much worse to have me drive to pick up my child, a bus would be so much better, but that’s not available”. I should have said yeah, that really sucks, I’m right with you there…I hate driving Erik in and home. It is horrible that there is a “carline” all the way down the hill with so many parents in their idling cars every morning and every evening. Maybe we could have commiserated over our striving-to-be-green school not yet solving that problem (which is a BIG problem). Instead I used logic (as mentioned before, not the right approach) and said “one doesn’t negate the need for the other” which, while being true, sounds pissy and know-it-all-ish.
Then I got a nice barrage of foul comments about how dumb this was and how dare I tell her what to do and who was I, anyway. I became my worst self and said in a snide tone, “Thanks for caring” and turned away. She said something about how could I put the environment above the kids…and I continued to walk stating very loudly “It IS about the kids!”, all the while thinking, very loudly inside my head, awful things about what a jerk she was even though I approached her calmly and politely, how she was putting herself above everyone else (which is the biggest problem in this world, I swear) and how hurt I was, again.
I’ve spent the last few days assessing my goals and wondering if I am doing any good at all in being an advocate for triple bottom line actions. I try to lead by example and to educate with options and choices. I’ve been trying to figure out how I need to present issues so people know I’m not in it to hug trees but to help make smarter long-term choices that are indeed better for the people! I constantly think “I should have said…” or that what I said was wrong or that maybe it would be better to mind my own business and be quiet.
But then a voice of reason enters and reminds me that it is my business. It is everyone’s business. It is the concern of me AND my son AND that mom AND her kid. It is a concern of the school (hence the policy on no idling) and every entity that can make informed decisions to support our health, our long-term durability, costs and our planet. These are the concerns of every individual. The only thing I could’ve done worse than saying something that ticked her off would have been saying nothing at all.
So say it. Ask it. Choose to be nice, approach the issue with options or with information that they may not have. Don’t be preachy. Be prepared for anger (their choice). Eventually there will be positive effects. Take a pass on the self-recrimination, and pour yourself a freakin’ glass of organic, locally produced wine.
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