Drive-thrus are a waste

In our high-paced, go-go-go society, the drive-thru window at the old fast-food restaurant is a necessity to save time, right?

Nope!

TreeHugger reports that a Toronto evaluation found you can get breakfast in about the same time whether you drive up or walk into a restaurant. McDonalds and Starbucks were among the four places in this admittedly unscientific test.

The big difference between using the drive-thru and walking into the joint is environmental. Idling in your car at the drive-thru window burns between 100-244 grams of C02, which if this is a regular habit means you could be emitting up to 60 kg of C02 a year.

And don't forget, idling wears down your engine, in addition to being a major source of air pollution. Environmental Defense points out that when a car idles for more than 10 seconds, it actually uses more gas and creates more global warming pollution than simply restarting the engine.

So next time, park it when you need that McMuffin in the morning. The planet will thank you.