New electrical hook-ups at truck stops prevent diesel pollution
Long-haul truckers, hardy though they may be, occasionally need rest. Traditionally they have pulled into truck stops and taken naps with their trucks idling, to avoid, you know, freezing to death. Unfortunately, idling diesel trucks produce emissions that likely cause asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer, heart disease, and premature death, both in the truckers themselves and those who live around the truck stops. Now, a truck stop in New Jersey has installed a system that will allow truckers to turn off their trucks, hook up a long yellow tube to a truck window, and receive heat, cooling, satellite TV, and even internet access. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell says that if the systems become common and diesel emissions are substantially reduced, “we can save more lives, avoid more premature deaths than if we were to prevent every homicide and motor vehicle accident in the state.” Here we pat ourselves on the back for resisting the urge to use a bad “keep on truckin'” joke.
