VTSU Castleton Liaison Librarian Charlotte Gerstein has been noticing that many students are idling their vehicles too long on campus, adding unnecessary pollution into the air

She said although the university’s utility vehicles also contribute to idling, she’s noticed more and more students letting their cars run unnecessarily. She said that people need reminding of environmental impacts and that idling is not permitted.  

“I’m concerned about pollution,” she said.  “I don’t like unnecessary pollution.”

She claimed that idling happens regardless of the weather.

“When the temperature is not cold, people are still sitting there with their engines on,” she reported.  “It’s not necessary.”

Gerstein noted that “maybe some more signage” could help spread more awareness about turning off engines when the vehicle is not in use.

Gerstein also referred to the Vermont state law regarding idling via email which can be viewed at legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/013/01110. 

In addition, she also forwarded sources from the Agency of Natural Resources and their “Be Idle Free” document that can be viewed online at dec.vermont.gov/air-quality/mobile-sources/be-idle-free.

Andrew Vermilyea, professor and chair of Environmental Science Program, also referred to the state law.

“It’s at least five years old,” he claimed.

He said that although he has not noticed it too much on campus, he does agree with the negative impacts of it.

“There are some safety issues,” he said.

He also referred to the Castleton campus policy that had been implemented regarding idling.

“I’m part of the campus sustainability team…” he reported.  “We wrote a campus policy for idling a number of years ago.”

He said the policy was written in 2014 “on the heels of state law.”

“It’s never been officially enforced,” he said, although he said it was approved by Castleton campus.

He added that the school policy is stricter than the state policy, setting the maximum number of minutes of idling at three, whereas the state policy is five minutes.

He also pointed out that, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, idling excessively leads to carbon buildup and engine wear and tear, aside from the environmental impacts.

Vermilyea talked about the culprit of much of the idling.

“A lot of the idling actually comes from drop offs…loading and unloading vehicles,” he claimed.

Associate Professor of Physics Timothy Thibodeau, who stated he and Gerstein are also on the sustainability team, said that he has not witnessed a lot of student idling first-hand, adding that he has actually witnessed the opposite.

“I see lots of people being respectful and responsible,” he said.

In regards to his experience being different from Gerstein’s, he pointed out one reason that might be the case.

“I wonder, too, if it depends on what parking lot you’re in?” he said, questioningly.

He mentioned that when VTSU was Castleton University, there was more language regarding sustainability, whereas that seems to be missing in VTSU’s mission statement.

He pointed out that, historically, older cars needed to warm up, but that is not the case with newer cars.  

“It’s actually better to just get going,” he said.

He added that electric vehicles are only environmentally efficient if the electricity is not derived from fossil fuels. However, he claims that Vermont is “in pretty good shape” as far as electric energy is concerned.

Thibodeau questioned why some students seem to be adhering to the no-idling rules.

“Is it the policy that causes people to do the right thing?” he asked, adding that he hopes it is education and knowledge of environmental sustainability that causes this respectful behavior, rather than the policy.