Idling at fast-food drive thrus degrade air

William Atkins
Wednesday, 10 March 2010 02:35

Opinion and Analysis

The exhaust fumes from idling cars waiting at fast-food drive-thru lanes produce plenty of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. We’re polluting our environment for the convenience of not having to walk inside. Do you want some guilt with that order of fries? Read on!



Maybe you don’t think this a big deal—idling your car while waiting for your drive-thru order at a fast-food joint—because only a few minutes are spent waiting for your order to be taken, processed, and handed to you.

In fact, you might say to yourself that you are not really polluting the air because cars today are much more efficient at reducing air pollutants coming out of their exhaust pipes than cars of the past.

That is true for most pollutants, but it is not true of all pollutants that you, me, and our children breathe in and out each day of our lives.

According to the article “Idle Reduction” by the Division of Air Quality, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, when comparing cars built thirty years ago to new cars manufactured today, the cars built in the 2000s generate “… 98 percent fewer hydrocarbons, 96 percent less carbon monoxide and 90 percent fewer nitrogen oxides.”

However, as it was thirty years ago, every gallon of gasoline burned in motorized vehicles--yesterday and today (there is no difference)--produces about 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of carbon dioxide (CO₂), along with smaller amounts of the air pollutants methane and nitrogen dioxide.

Further, the article “Fast Food Nation Frustration,” states, “It takes about 8000 litres of air, weighing almost 12 kg, to burn one litre of gasoline or diesel. Furthermore, for every litre of petrol you burn, you emit 2.5 kg of carbon dioxide.”

In order to convert these statistics to units that are needed later on in this article, each of the above values were divided by 22.62; thus, maintaining their consistency.

So, equivalently, it takes about 93 gallons (354 liters) of air, with a weight of about 1.17 pounds (0.53 kilograms), to burn 0.01167 gallon (0.0442 liter) of gasoline or diesel. [Statistics: "Weight of one gallon of air"]

That is, about 1.5 fluid ounces of gasoline is burned (this amount is approximately equal to 0.0442 liter).

So, for each 0.01167 gallon (0.0442 liter) of gasoline burned (again, about 1.5 fluid ounce of gasoline), the average car in the United States emits about 0.24 pound (0.11 kilogram) of carbon dioxide. [Statistics: “Fast Food Nation Frustration” (11.11.2009)]

That is, when you burn 1.5 ounce of gasoline, you put about 0.24 pound of carbon dioxide into the air.

Page two continues more statistics that show just how bad idling of cars at fast-food drive thrus really is to the health (and the pocketbooks) of all Americans.