Please Stop Idling.

The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a weekly “green tip” to our readers. This week’s tip was written by Sheda Morshed and Ryan Craig.

There is no doubt that we are in a climate and ecological crisis and that it’s time for everyone to act more responsibly. That’s why we write these Green Tips. They’re designed to share simple steps that can have a big impact in combating the collapse of the natural systems we all rely on. And sometimes, we revisit a topic that needs continued attention.

The topic of idling continues to deserve attention until it’s no longer accepted as a social norm.

Idling—or running your car while not moving—is more polluting than driving because it emits unburned fuel, carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gases in larger particulate forms that are far more harmful to our health and the climate. It’s estimated, according to Idle-Free California, that each year in California, idling when parked dumps three million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And that’s just one of the many pollutants needlessly spewing out of our tailpipes.

According to U.S. DOE, idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more smog-forming and climate-changing emissions than stopping and restarting your engine.

So it’s high time we all follow the “10 Mississippis of Idling”: If parked for more than 10 seconds—whether you’re pulled over to text, waiting curbside (especially in school zones, parks, outdoor eateries and other pedestrian-heavy areas) or even at a long traffic light like Temescal Canyon/Chautauqua and PCH—turn off your engine.

And rather than warming up your newer model engine by idling, a better solution is to simply drive off slowly. Experts say your car will warm up perfectly well.

If you’re feeling empowered to do more, consider speaking with your school, grocery store or religious campus about implementing an anti-idling campaign through newsletters, mass emails and curbside signs.

Bringing awareness to this senseless act is a very simple way to reduce air and climate emissions without compromising any joy.