POLLUTION SOLLUTION          by Veronica B., Suffern, NY

Here in the United States and all around the world, there is pollution. Pollution affects human beings as well as animals and plants. It can also trigger other things that cause the earth to break down. Cars, machinery and industry pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Although this solution is not going to save everyone, my idea will help the earth cut down on one of the most deadly pollutants.

Say you start driving down the highway from vacation or work and you hit traffic. It's bumper to bumper and cars have not moved an inch. Everyone sits there with his or her car running, waiting for the traffic to move. There are signs on the highway where a computer displays a message every few seconds/minutes. Well, my idea is that we would feed those signs information about traffic and how many cars are on that road. The computer then estimates what the CO2 level should be if those cars are moving at a normal or slow pace. If the computer finds that the CO2 level is currently above the acceptable amount and the cars are moving slowly or not at all, it would flash a sign telling the drivers to turn off their engines. Hopefully the drivers would comply. Police would ticket drivers who did not.

This is only an idea, but it would be effective in vacation spots and crowded cities such as Los Angeles. I am sad to say that this idea will probably never happen. The government would not support the cost and people required to complete the innovation. But who knows?