You can reduce air pollutants with the turn of a key.

Although it may seem like your individual effort to reduce emissions won’t have an impact, the collective actions of each person can help our students breathe easy.

• The bulk of wintertime inversion pollution comes from mobile sources (cars on roads). Tailpipe emissions enter the atmosphere, leading to high levels of fine particulates in the air we breathe.

• Particles in the air can aggravate heart conditions, asthma, bronchitis, and increase respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath.

• Utah residents can improve the air quality by turning off their vehicles whenever they are going to idle for more than 10 seconds.

• Idling does not save fuel. Restarting a car takes as much fuel as it would idling for 10 seconds.

• Vehicle engines warm faster when the car is driven, not when it’s idling.

• A line of vehicles idling in a school pick-up zone means drivers and passengers are breathing exhaust fumes that leak into the car cabin.

Granite School District has taken steps to reduce school bus emissions by clamping down on idling while dropping off or picking up students. This saves taxpayer money in addition to keeping particulates out of the air.

Granite is also the first district in the state to be recognized by Utah Clean Cities as having all schools be ‘Idle Free Campuses.’ A great deal of credit goes to Patti White and her class at Morningside Elementary for encouraging idle-free habits.