There is some lingering confusion about whether or not it is illegal in Iowa to leave your car idling while waiting for it to warm up. I still occasionally see dire warnings online, claiming Iowans risk big fines for the offense of not wanting to climb into an ice-cold car first thing in the morning. Fortunately, that law was changed.
Up until fairly recently, Iowa Code 321.362 stated that drivers in Iowa could not leave their running vehicle unattended or parked on a steep grade without the emergency brake on and the wheels turned to the curb. This did not seem to apply to cars parked on private property or in rural areas.
Then, in March 2017, the ban on leaving a car running unattended was overturned by the Iowa State Senate 49-0, apparently acknowledging that it’s better to waste a little gas than risk leaving residents frozen to their steering wheels, windshields frosted over, skating down the highway, trailing a plume of ice crystals in their wake like a comet.
Currently, leaving a running vehicle unattended is still against the law in 32 states. The fine in Illinois, for example is $150. The reasoning is that it wastes gas, contributes to pollution and makes it easy for car thieves who don’t mind all that much of a car is cold—as long as it’s free. Also, tests show that it is actually faster to warm up a car by driving than idling so you might as well put up with the cold for a little while. It is winter after all.
Leaving your car to idle in the morning while you have your coffee is not only a waste of fuel, but causes air pollution and adds to greenhouse gases like methane. Not as much as cows do, of course.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, livestock accounts for about 37 percent of all methane emissions in the US and cattle are the number one source of greenhouse gases worldwide. Every year, a single cow burbs 220 pounds of methane which is considered to be 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Christopher Booker, professor at the University of California, Davis is studying how dietary supplements like seaweed can dramatically cut down on a cow’s methane production. “Almost all of which comes out of its front end,” he says.
Ermias Kebreab, associate dean at the Agricultural College at UC Davis states that 89 percent of the methane is produced in a cow’s gut and almost all of it is belched out from, “the nostrils and the mouth.” He explains, “We don’t care about the back end.” (What do you mean “we”? Speak for yourself!)
It’s curious that Iowa legislators have been more concerned about the minor polluters like idling cars than the major polluters like idling cows that apparently just stand around all day eating and burping. Cows need to eat more seaweed. And while they’re at it, they should park themselves downhill with their hooves pointed to the curb.