Fairborn commencement
Badin graduation
Division I regional track finals
Happy Earth Day!
Happy Earth Day!
Today is the 38th annual celebration of the planet we call home, and a day to step back and think about things we can do to preserve and restore our natural resources…
So that’s the official line on Earth Day, but I want to know: what do YOU think about Earth Day?
Is it a time to reflect on accomplishments?
A time to call for more action?
Or something in-between?
Send a post, let us know, then go outside and do something good for the planet.
Home > Blogs > Living Green > Archives > 2008 > August > 14 > Entry
Don’t be idle, part II
After writing yesterday’s post, I remembered something from a long time ago, when I was happy to see over a car’s dashboard, much less drive the thing.
My grandfather owned a Dodge pick-up that had a Diesel V-8. While driving around town, he had the habit of turning it off at red lights, a maneuver that gave me no end of amusement (ah, if we could all be as easily amused as adults as we were as 5-year-olds…). Fuel economy was a foreign concept for me at that age; in my young mind, Grandpa’s truck was special simply because he could turn it on and off in the middle of the street, something my parents never tried in their old station wagon with the fake wood trim.
Now I understand my grandfather was trying to economize with the smelly old pick-up. I thought I might try the same, since my current ride lacks power steering and brakes, meaning it handles about the same with the power off as when on.
I’ll share the results of the test, seeing if my new tank of gas lasts longer, or if I run the battery dead with all the starting and stopping. If you’ve tried something like this, share your experience; maybe the rest of us can learn some new tricks to impress our kids and grandkids with.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: General green living
Comments
By Mike
August 14, 2008 11:48 AM | Link to this
Matt, there is an interesting article from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, published in the June 2007 of Mechanical Engineering magazine, which examines this very idea. They conducted an actual experiment to see if this idea was a myth or for real. I recommend reading it. Their data and conclusions are pretty hard to dispute, in my mind. The link is here: http://www.memagazine.org/june07/departments/inputoutput/inputout.htmlBy Mike
August 14, 2008 3:50 PM | Link to this
It appears the link I cited in my earlier comment is a little convoluted. Here is an easier link to the article. If you go to this new link the article is at the bottom of the page and is labeled input/output Idle-vs-Restart. The URL is http://www.memagazine.org/june07/features/feat_toc.html