I tend to look at the anti-idling ordinance from a bit larger Minneapolis perspective, seeing it as evidence of a more insidious problem that the citizens of this city are facing courtesy of the city council.
I don't know of anyone who "likes" trucks idling. The neighborhood residents don't like it, I'm sure the truckers would rather not let their trucks idle, the businesses, for the most part, would rather have quieter neighborhoods, too. All in all, truck idling is a somewhat noisy and smelly proposition. Nevertheless, trucks idling, for reasons given by some posters here, is simply a necessary evil. If we want commerce (which I believe is not a value to the Minneapolis city council beyond talking points), we really don't have much of a choice. If we want fresh veggies and meat and dairy, then it's a trade off. This ordinance appears to be another in a series of ordinances that follow the logic of "If we don't like it, let's ban it" without really looking at the ramifications toward business and freedom. The "If we don't like it, let's ban it" argument is a subset of the "If it's a good idea, it must be a law" standard operating procedure that Minneapolis and the Minnesota legislature has been employing for many years. The "If we don't like it, let's ban it" perspective is a slippery slope that the city council simply cannot seem to see beyond their nose. Smoking in bars, leaf-blowers, and now idling trucks are all examples of things that people simply don't like, so they've gotten the city council to ban them (or work toward banning them) because sacrificing freedom is an acceptable trade-off for personal comfort. The problem is that it hurts the rest of us who feel perfectly capable of making our own decisions and who understand that, if we want business to thrive, some things (like idling trucks) are going to have to happen. If my house was near a truck idling area, I either wouldn't have purchased the house in the first place, or I'd move if it was such a problem. But I wouldn't whine to the city council and expect commerce to dance around my personal sensitivities. Mike Thompson Windom ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dyna" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Dan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2005 1:13 AM Subject: Re: [Mpls] Council committee passes anti-idling ordinance > > I wrote Gary Schiff about the issue, and his attitude is > >essentially that truckers should get out of the city. > > First, let me apologize for our young Democratic Farmer Labor > endorsed Council Member; He is still a bit inexperienced and has yet > to fully appreciate the fine agrarian and working class traditions of > our party. Gary seems to look at flour mills and factories and see > condo conversions where we more experienced DFLers see jobs. Now of > course Gary's vision would be fine and dandy, but for the problem > that the citizens will have to work somewhere like those factories to > earn the money to buy his dream condos. > > But if Council Member Gary Schiff and his fellow Council > Members really want to cut idling they should start by setting a good > example with our own fleet. Has not every citizen seen Minneapolis' > city vehicles idling for what seems like eternity? > > Let's start with the big iron- we own a locomotive and > towboat powered by decades old diesels with no pollution controls > whatsoever. These are huge engines, with each cylinder as big as a > big diesel trucks whole engine, and they have at least 12 of those > cylinders. The 2007 truck diesels will emit less than one hundreth of > the fine particulates that the pre-emmissions controlled diesels of > decades ago did. Thusly our city's locomotive or towboat when idling > emit more fine particulates than a thousand idling 2007 diesel > trucks. And those big engines idle a lot- they're so hard to start > that as a general rule they are not shut off until they return to > their Port of Minneapolis home. > > There are ways to clean up our city's biggest moveable > polluters. New locomotives cost over a million dollars and I hate to > think what a new towboat would cost. But several retrofit > technologies exist that could clean up these monster diesels. These > diesels engines are still produced, so it's possible to install much > of the latest pollution control equipment on older models such as > ours. Their are also several ways to reduce idling such as > "smart-start" technologies that start the engine up when it or the > cabin are getting too cold then shut the engine off again when their > warm again. Diesel or propane fueled heaters are also available that > much more cleanly keep the engines and cabs warm without idling. > Another option seen on many new passenger locomotives is a smaller > "pony" diesel generator that provides heat, lighting, etc. while the > train is parked allowing the much larger propulsion diesel to be shut > off. > > How many diesel trucks does our city own? Hundreds, and many > spend as much time idling to keep the windows defrosted, radios > running, etc. as they do moving. Similar technologies to the really > big diesels are available such as diesel fueled heaters to keep cabs > and engines warm and isolation switches to allow one battery to power > radios and such while other batteries are kept in reserve to restart > the engine. > > Several commentators have suggested that the facilities > served by great numbers of diesel trucks be required to install > devices like "Idleair" to cut down on idling. As owner of two of the > major destinations for big diesel trucks in our city, the Convention > Center and Port of Minneapolis, again our city should step forward > and set the example. Idleair is more suited to southern climates > where heat is more a problem that the cold we experience, so it would > be a questionable investment. However, just installing some 120 volt > plug ins at the truck parking areas of our city facilities would > allow truckers to plug in their engines, electric blankets and > heaters, etc. and shut off their diesels. These plain old electric > plug in's would work perfectly with the 120 volt cab electrification > systems now coming to market that are much more cost effective than > Idleair. > > And last but not least, just putting some biodiesel or > ethanol in the appropriate fuel tanks will do a lot to cut vehicle > emissions too. > > So Council Member Schiif, what say ye- are you ready to amend > your ordinance to truly clear the air rather than bash the blue > collar workers on wheels? > > From Hawthorne, where our dairy's diesels provide living wage > jobs and fresh foods, > > Dyna Sluyter REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 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