Steve Graham is an award-winning freelance Web and magazine writer living in a Fort Collins, Colorado, neighborhood that will 
| Keep on Trucking for the Earth—With Idling Reduction Systems |
| Wednesday, 19 August 2009 | Steve Graham | Blog Entry |
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Idling-reduction systems convert battery power or provide other power sources for appliances and HVAC systems. The DOE said that a new idling-reduction system could pay for itself within two years. Congress will cut the payback period in half if it passes HR 3383. The American Trucking Associations support the bill and note the new systems can slash fuel consumption by at least 80% while the truck idles. The group said some of the devices are cost-prohibitive for trucking firms, but tax incentives may get more companies rolling on the technology. The US Department of Energy estimates trucks use more than 8% of their total fuel while idling overnight or at workday stops—mainly to run in-cab appliances, heating and air conditioning. The wasted fuel adds up to more than 3.1 billion gallons of gasoline, or 67 billion pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions per year. The ATA supports five other sustainability measures for truckers including lower speed limits and new fuel-economy standards. The group estimates that all five measures could lower fuel use by 86 billion gallons in a decade. On the other hand, the group opposes federal climate-change legislation. An ATA leader testified before a Senate committee in July. “Constraining the country’s freight-delivery system would change our way of life for the worse by significantly increasing the cost of everything we buy,” said Ray Kuntz, chairman of ATA’s Executive Committee and CEO of a Montana trucking company. He said trucks should be regulated differently than passenger vehicles. He also urges senators to include highway improvements in climate-change legislation as a way to further minimize fuel consumption. Kuntz obviously has his biases for the trucking industry, yet we are all dependent on a healthy planet. By building bridges between business and environmental groups, ecological progress can be made that benefits all parties and future generations most of all.
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Truckers, get ready for a celebratory pull on your air horns. You could soon trim your tax bill by minimizing time spent idling. HR 3383 (the Idle Reduction Act of 2009) would provide up to $3,000 in tax credits for installing an idling-reduction system. And trucking companies could deduct 50% of the cost of systems that provide auxiliary power for trucks while they are parked. 
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