Minneapolis officials have put a three-minute limit on car idling. The only exception is if you’re in traffic. But what about the bank drive-up teller line, or the fast-food pick-up line? The comments of Mayor R.T. Ryback show as well as anything could the paternalistic, we-know-better attitude of nanny-state liberal politicians.

“In these times of high gas prices, it’s a way for people to save fuel. If you’re sitting in an idling car, you’re getting zero miles a gallon. That’s not good for your pocketbook or the environment,” Rybak added.

Ten, 20 or 30 years ago, the public reaction to this would have been, “What the hell business is it of yours whether I am willing to pay for idling my vehicle?” But we’re becoming a nation of sheep, willing to have our individual freedoms eroded for “the children” or “the environment.”

Unsurprisingly, the reporter writing this story points out all the wonderful reasons why this is a good thing, stating them as fact, with no attribution, pushing the ever-present environmental and “for the children” rationales (emphasis added):

Vehicle motors release particulate matter, dirt, nitrous oxides, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide into the air. These chemicals are linked to increased rates of cancer, heart and lung disease and asthma and are the major source of human-caused climate change. Children are especially vulnerable to vehicle air pollution because their lungs are still developing, and they inhale more pounds of pollution per pound of body weight than adults do.