Learn about why you don’t need to “warm up” your car, even when it’s freezing; fossils proving that Antarctica used to be covered in forests; and research that shows why buying less is better than buying green. In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: You Don't Need to Warm Up Your Car, Regardless of the Weather — https://curiosity.im/2pW1emV Antarctica Was Once Covered in Forests — And We Have the Fossils to Prove It — https://curiosity.im/2QD05LU Research Shows Why Buying Less Is Better Than Buying Green — https://curiosity.im/2rRkQck Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing! Just click or tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Learn about why you don’t need to “warm up” your car, even when it’s freezing; fossils proving that Antarctica used to be covered in forests; and research that shows why buying less is better than buying green.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing! Just click or tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/you-dont-need-to-warm-up-your-car-buy-less-instead-of-buying-green-and-antarcticas-ancient-forests
CODY: Hi! We’re here from curiosity-dot-com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about why you don’t need to “warm up” your car, even when it’s freezing; fossils proving that Antarctica used to be covered in forests; and why buying less is better than buying green.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
You Don't Need to Warm Up Your Car, Regardless of the Weather — https://curiosity.im/2pW1emV (from 12/22) (Cody)
True or false: when the temperature is below freezing and you get in your car, you should let it idle for at least five minutes before driving? If you said false, you’re right. You don’t need to “warm up” your car, regardless of the weather. So get ready for some science that’ll save you time AND gas money — at least, assuming your car was made in the last 25 years or so.
Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, you did need to run your engine before you drove. That was to warm it up and prevent it from stalling. At that time, cars relied on carburetors. Carburetors mix the right amount of gasoline and air for the engine to run properly, and yes, it needs to warm up to do that. But carburetors became obsolete once electronic fuel injection systems were introduced. These modern systems rely on sensors, which adjust to the current temperature conditions to get the right air and fuel mix to the engine.
So, basically, if you drive a modern car, idling offers you zero benefits.
Plus, every minute you idle your car, you're wasting fuel and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. In an experiment performed by Natural Resources Canada, researchers found that total fuel consumption increased by 7 to 14 percent with a 5-minute warm-up and by 12 to 19 percent with a 10-minute warm-up.
Not only is idling an environmental no-no, but it turns out that, depending on where you live, it might also be illegal. In Ohio, for example, idling your car at any time is strictly forbidden. The engine anti-idling law in Washington, D.C. states that: "Motor vehicles powered by gasoline or diesel are not allowed to idle for more than three minutes while the vehicle is parked, stopped or standing, or up to five in freezing temperatures.”
So no more idling unless you absolutely have to! And if you’re wondering if you can legally idle, then look up your home state on the EPA's anti-idling regulations.
Antarctica Was Once Covered in Forests — And We Have the Fossils to Prove It — https://curiosity.im/2QD05LU (from Wednesday 12/11) (Ashley)
You probably think of Antarctica as a chilly place where you’d be tempted to idle your car to warm it up. But it wasn’t always that way: in fact, Antarctica was once covered in forests — and
scientists are uncovering fossil evidence to prove it!
If you want to know how this is possible, then we need to talk ancient geography. Antarctica was originally part of the supercontinent Gondwana. Over hundreds of millions of years, Gondwana had broken away from the single supercontinent Pangaea, until it sat near where Antarctica is today.
The higher temperatures of Gondwana could sustain life. But its location on the South Pole meant vegetation had to withstand four to five months of darkness, followed by four to five months where the sun never set. That meant plants had to transition in as little as a month to survive the rapid change in light and temperature.
The kings of the Gondwanan forest during the Permian Period were towering trees that grew from 20 to 30 meters tall, and had huge, flat leaves longer than your forearm. But around 251 million years ago, disaster struck, when the Permian-Triassic mass extinction killed off as much as 95 percent of Earth's species. The cause is still unknown, but lots of scientists think that greenhouse gas emissions from volcanoes raised the planet's temperatures to hazardous levels — AND caused the oceans to acidify.
In reaction, the forests of Gondwana quickly fossilized. According to researchers, the fungi in the wood itself were probably mineralized and turned into stone within a matter of weeks.
Today we have the resultant fossilized wood fragments, and even tree trunks. These fossils are like precious souvenirs; a nice keepsake to remind us that our now coldest continent was once an exotic vacation destination.
[NHTSA]
CODY: Today’s episode is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Everyone knows about the risks of driving drunk. You could get in a crash. People could get hurt or killed. But let’s take a moment to look at some surprising statistics.
ASHLEY: Almost 29 people in the United States die every day in alcohol-impaired vehicle crashes. That’s one person every 50 minutes. Even though drunk-driving fatalities have fallen by a third in the last three decades, drunk driving crashes still claim more than 10,000 lives each year.
CODY: Many people are unaware that driving while high can be just as dangerous. In 2015, 42% of drivers killed in crashes tested positive for drugs. Not so harmless after all, is it? And get this, from 2007 to 2015, marijuana use among drivers killed in crashes doubled.
ASHLEY: The truth is driving while high is deadly. So, stop kidding yourself. If you’re impaired from alcohol or drugs, don’t get behind the wheel.
CODY: If you feel different you drive different. Drive high get a DUI.
ASHLEY: Drive sober or get pulled over.
Research Shows Why Buying Less Is Better Than Buying Green — https://curiosity.com/topics/research-shows-why-buying-less-is-better-than-buying-green-curiosity (Cody)
Picture this: you’re drinking your coffee out your old reusable travel mug, when you notice everyone else has one of those eco-friendly travel mugs. If you’re feeling a bit of cultural pressure to go out and buy green rather than to just keep using what you already have, then welcome to the world of “Green Materialism”. And a new study of millennials says that while “Green buying” might be marketable, it’s not helping as much as you’d think. There’s a better way to save the planet and yep, you guessed it: just keep using your old flask. Turns out, it’s psychologically better for you too!
For this study, researchers wanted to find out how young Americans are adjusting their financial behavior in the face of climate change, and whether our purchasing choices are making us feel better about the fate of the planet.
The researchers focused on two categories of eco-friendly action. First, the most obvious way, by consuming less. Stuff like repairing instead of replacing, and avoiding impulse purchases. Then, there's "green buying”, where you buy goods made from recycled materials.
Here's where the well-being part comes in. The least materialistic participants were most likely to reduce their consumption. Makes sense: The less you want to buy, the easier it is to walk away from a purchase. But here's the twist: The study showed that reducing consumption was linked to higher personal well-being and lower psychological distress. And not just for the less materialistic participants!
While "green buying" could have some positive environmental impact, it doesn't improve consumers' well-being. In other words, no matter how many beeswax wraps you buy for your leftovers, more won't make you feel better.
In the study's conclusion, the researchers wrote that experts need to convince millennial consumers that materialism is harming them — even when it’s environmentally conscious green buying. Not to mention that it's harming the planet.
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Today’s stories were written by Anna Todd, Ashley Hamer, and Kelsey Donk, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity.com.
ASHLEY: Scriptwriting was by Cody Gough and Sonja Hodgen. Curiosity Daily is produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!