Regarding the ordinance being considered by city council to ban excessive engine idling. The article mentions how common it is to see unnecessary idling of up to ten minutes, but the biggest offenders in this town are fat cat residents' private security teams sitting in gas-guzzling SUVs on the street in front of their homes all day, running their engines the whole time. Shamefully wasteful and anti-environmental.

Can't quite believe the flash of anger I got from the "American Idlers" busy body. Some people may have disabilities that make running the AC in the car necessary. Multiple Sclerosis, for example. It is none of her business why someone is running their car engine. Make a social campaign of it, sure Assess a fine, get stuffed.

Not sure about here, but we have rented many cars in Europe that automatically switch the engine off when a car is stopped at traffic lights or in slow traffic. The engine starts again as soon as you put your foot back on the gas pedal.

Hybrid vehicles do this. Technological solutions are much better then punitive ones.

Do hybrids come in stick shift? The cars we have rented in Europe with automatic engine shut off while idling have all been stick shift.

I'm not aware of a US sold hybrid that comes with a stick. I once owned an original Prius, so that is what my reply was based upon. I can see no reason why the Prius model of stopping the engine couldn't be used in non-hybrid vehicles as well. Of course if you need to run the AC the internal combustion engine also needs to run to drive the AC compressor thus irritating our Sierra Club board member.

Look, I can throw my recyclables in the trash if I want without fear of retribution. I don't because I'm a good liberal and we have only one planet. This is Palo Alto: If a social awareness campaign doesn't work to curb idling, perhaps the problem lies somewhere else.

@Rick - I totally agree with you that people often have a reason for idling their cars and yes, being hot or cold is a valid reason, depending on who is in the car. If I have my 90 something mom with me or my newborn grandson, I'm going to keep them comfortable.

I also have a car that shuts off when stopped at stop lights, etc. While it saves gas and some pollution, it also causes a delay when you step on the gas, something to get used to (and its an automatic).

Many people now idle in their cars because they spend time in them texting or watching stuff on their phones ...

While it's true some drivers and passengers may need to idle their engines for health reasons, 95% of idlers are turning on their engines and texting for no reason, other than habit. I often see school buses, charter buses, employee buses, construction vehicles -- all idling for no reason. And exposing all of us to the dirtiest diesel fuels.

We all need to realize that when we idle our engines, leave house lights on, run excess water, etc., etc. we are contributing to wasted natural resources, air pollution,and climate change.

I would support an educational campaign in Palo Alto, with signs placed in high traffic areas, reminding people to turn off their engines unless it's absolutely necessary to run them.

@Sherry, exactly. We need an educational approach, not another unenforceable, penalty laden ordinance! Palo Alto City Council continues to disappoint.