Green Tip #91: Fast Food Etiquette

So the subject of my 91st Green Tip (probably more than that, I tend to throw in uncounted freebie Green Tips (side note: "Uncounted Freebie Green Tips" sounds like either a 60's psychedelic band or some gross incurable disease you can pick up from the jungles of South America) every now and then) was inspired by a question that one of my loyal readers posed to me a few days ago. (+2 points and lots of kudos for anyone who followed the sentence structure of that first sentence.) The question (in my own words) was "Is it more environmentally friendly to park your car and walk in or go through the drive through when you're getting fast food?"

Good question! The simplest answer I can give is: "no." The simplest answer that I can give that actually answers the question is that unless you drive a car made in the 1960's (I don't care if that 1961 Corvair reminds you of the good old days when you played tambourine for the Uncounted Freebie Green Tips, you need to give it up!), it takes less fuel to start the car than most people realize. I've heard that if you're going to be idling your car for more than 30 seconds, you're better off just turning off the car and turning it back on again. It has to do with electric starters getting more efficient and all that junk.

So when you pull into your favorite Rally's (you're not going to eat anywhere else, are you?) if there's more than one car in line at the drive through, you're better off parking and going... in... Shoot! You can't go in at Rally's! I mean, you can always sit at the picnic tables they have, but really? Are we savages, eating outside?

Hm... what a dilemma... I guess I might have to revise my statements in Green Tip #29. Maybe Rally's isn't the best after all. That title might have to go to Sonic. Yes, it's true they take up more space, but I think the fact that you park your car and turn the engine off might make up for it in the long run. (Better yet, the retro style of Sonic makes that Corvair not seem out of place!)

One final caveat. The above rules don't apply for hybrid cars. The more you brake in those, the more you charge your batteries. That's why many hybrids get better gas mileage in cities than on highways. And when do you brake and go more than in drive through lines? (Me personally, if I had a hybrid, I'd probably gassing and breaking every 15 feet like a teenage driver the first time behind the wheel just to charge the battery enough that I'm essentially driving a Chevy Volt.)