Victoria councilors are expected to give the bylaw final approval this week. Drivers will have a year to mend their ways; conditioned by educational tips related to idling vehicles and, later, warnings that ticketing will follow.
Fines will take effect a year after bylaw adoption. The move follows a trend adopted for their fleets by government and business. Anti-idling laws have also been implemented in municipalities across Canada.
A Victoria staff report has found excessive idling contributes to global warming and pollution. A National Resources Canada website also says Canada could block more than one million tons of carbon dioxide annually if every driver of a light-duty vehicle avoided idling for five minutes a day.
Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.
There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.
This post is the second of a two part series. Read the first installment, Unreported Emissions From Natural Gas Blow Up BC's Climate Action Plan.
Methane leaks from British Columbia's natural gas industry are likely at least 7 times greater than official numbers increasing the entire provinces' carbon footprint by nearly 25%. That's like putting 3 million more vehicles on BC's roads.
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It would be interesting to
(also)
Ban the sale and use of remote car starters - devices whose sole purpose appears to be to cause more idling.
"Ban the sale and use of
"Ban the sale and use of remote car starters - devices whose sole purpose appears to be to cause more idling."
I wholeheartedly agree! Even those who live here in "Winterpeg" (i.e. Winnipeg, for those who are unaware of our nickname) don't need to start their vehicles while they're still inside their homes. Plugging in your vehicle overnight and letting your car warm up for a minute or so is usually enough in an average winter morning here (that is around -20 C or -5 F).
I hope nobody pays these bogus tickets
Ah, yes ...
Life in the big city just got a little more hostile and oppressive.
Thanks a million, "Environmentalists".
Hostile and opressive... please.
When did they start ration cards for gas?
Your gas, our fumes
.
If you're worried about anyone "fouling our shared space" (a charge that can conveniently mean anything you want), I'd ask the city of Victoria why they continue to dump raw, untreated sewage directly into the harbour. Apparently, that doesn't seem to bother you. You'd rather stick it to people for some idiotic faux-environmental ideology.
Raw sewage
Has bothered a lot of people for a long time and there has been significant pressure put on the city of victoria to do something about it. That's not the point of this post.
If you don't want an environmental reason for why to not sit at the curb needlessly transmitting greenhouse gas, how about an economic argument?
To quote:
"An average idling gas engine burns 3.5 litres of fuel per hour. So if gas was selling at 85.9 cents per litre, in the 10 minutes you spent idling in the Tim Hortons lineup, you just threw away 50 cents.
If you did that five days a week, waiting for that morning coffee would cost you about $130 over a year."
Drive-throughs