Curbside idling uses fuel, but because the car is going nowhere, it translates into 0 mpg. An automobile may burn more than half a gallon of fuel for every hour spent idling. Unless you are simply dropping off or picking up someone, make it a habit to turn your engine off when waiting at the curb even if it’s just for a short period. Make safety your highest priority and never leave your vehicle unattended with the engine running. For more info go to www.edf.org/stopidling. With today’s advanced vehicles, turning the engine off and on again is no longer hard on your starter and you no longer need to warm up your engine.

Salina, Kansas got ‘cooler and smarter’ — and you can too