George Pakenham describes his one-man crusade to reduce emissions from idling vehicles. (9/18/18)
Idling engines consume more than 6 billion gallons of gasoline annually in the U.S., a significant but little-known contributor to local air pollution, respiratory disease and global climate change. In George Pakenham’s documentary “Idle Threat” the Wall Street banker is shown helping improve local air quality, and gaining worldwide recognition for the anti-idling cause in the process, with articles about his underdog fight featured in the Wall Street Journal, New Yorker magazine and the Financial Times. George has walked the streets of New York for over five years, courteously confronting over 3,000 motorists to explain idling’s impact and the law prohibiting running a parked vehicle for more than a short time. Responses vary from thanks to anger, but he never wavers. He’s determined that the problems idling poses be recognized, and lobbies successfully for the city to enforce its idling laws. After hearing this show, you may never look at an idling car in the same way again.