![\"Young](\"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/young-lungs.jpg\")
<\/a>Young Lungs<\/p><\/div>\n
Instead I went back to say that I didn\u2019t mean to make her upset, and thanks for turning off the car. I got slammed with an irate \u201cThis is ridiculous, we\u2019ve been at this school for 14 years and no one has ever done this to us before\u201d.\u00a0 Another chance to walk away: not taken.\u00a0 Maybe it was a bad day for her and I was the straw on her camel\u2019s back.\u00a0 I could have tried being\u00a0conciliatory and said something about how the policy is only a couple of years old.\u00a0 The EPA and others have only recently realized the connection of idling at schools to poor air quality and increased instances of asthma.\u00a0 But I suspect logic wouldn\u2019t have worked.\u00a0 It so often doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
From the EPA No Idling at School Toolkit: Why is it bad to idle vehicles?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIdling 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\u2019s 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\u2019s idling time can dramatically reduce these pollutants and children\u2019s exposure to them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I tried to say I appreciated her turning off the car, and it was for the student\u2019s health\u2026 and she ripped into \u201cwell it\u2019s so much worse to have me drive to pick up my child, a bus would be so much better, but that\u2019s not available\u201d.\u00a0 I should have said yeah, that really sucks, I\u2019m right with you there\u2026I hate driving Erik in and home.\u00a0 It is horrible that there is a \u201ccarline\u201d all the way down the hill with so many parents in their idling cars every morning and every evening.\u00a0 Maybe we could have commiserated over our striving-to-be-green school not yet solving that problem (which is a BIG problem).\u00a0 Instead I used logic (as mentioned before, not the right approach) and said \u201cone doesn\u2019t negate the need for the other\u201d which, while being true, sounds pissy and know-it-all-ish.<\/p>\n 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. \u00a0I became my worst self and said in a snide tone,\u00a0\u201cThanks for caring\u201d and turned away. She said something about how could I put the environment above the kids\u2026and I continued to walk stating very loudly \u201cIt IS about the kids!\u201d, 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.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve 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.\u00a0 I try to lead by example and to educate with options and choices.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been trying to figure out how I need to present issues so people know I\u2019m not in it to hug trees but to help make smarter long-term choices that are indeed better for the people!\u00a0 I constantly think \u201cI should have said\u2026\u201d or that what I said was wrong or that maybe it would be better to mind my own business and be quiet.<\/p>\n But then a voice of reason enters and reminds me that it is my business<\/strong>.\u00a0 It is everyone\u2019s business.\u00a0 It is the concern of me AND my son AND that mom AND her kid.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 These are the concerns of every individual. \u00a0The only thing I could\u2019ve done worse than saying something that ticked her off would have been saying nothing at all.<\/p>\n So say it.\u00a0 Ask it.\u00a0 Choose to be nice, approach the issue with options or with information that they may not have.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be preachy.\u00a0 Be prepared for anger (their choice).\u00a0 Eventually there will be positive effects. Take a pass on the self-recrimination, and pour yourself a freakin\u2019 glass of organic, locally produced wine.<\/p>\n Also check out:<\/p>\n