If you do not agree that global warming is caused by an increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere; I am not going to sell you on the research. 

If you don’t believe Sylvia Earle in “The World is Blue” when she states, “Excess carbon dioxide…is also changing ocean chemistry, making the sea more acidic.  That’s bad news for coral reefs and oxygen-producing plankton – and also bad news for us;” I can’t add much to change your mind.

If you don’t understand that fuel is not free and everything we do has a cost; then there is an opportunity for you to become more aware and possibly more committed to improving your community.

Idling for two minutes uses roughly the same amount of fuel as driving one mile, or in other terms, idling for a total of one hour burns nearly one gallon of gasoline and produces 19 pounds of CO2.

Take a look at the national program implemented in 2005 by Safelite Autoglass, “Turn It Off – Idling Gets You Nowhere.”   According to Safelite, the financial benefit of the program created a 6% reduction in fuel consumption over the same time frame from the year before.  Aside from the fuel savings, the program allowed Safelite to reduce the environmental impact of their fleet and the wear and tear on the vehicles. 

To put this in terms relevant to most of us: 100 Facebook friends idling for an unnecessary hour per week will burn 5,200 gallons of gas, costing a total of roughly $13,000 at $2.50 per gallon while releasing 98,800 pounds of CO2. 

Even if you don’t plan your training days based on the tide report and NOAA buoys, your life choices impact the oceans.  What kind of impact are you going to have?