Diesel engines 'pose health risk'
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4302211.stm
Just what is needed on a Monday morning
Tony
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London mayor Ken Livingstone said: "London has long-suffered the worst air quality in the country, with air pollution estimated to cause 1,600 premature deaths every year.
"By the end of this mayoral term we will declare the whole of Greater London a Low Emission Zone, banning the most polluting lorries, coaches and buses from the capital."
So, no buses as part of the integrated transport policy???? :)
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Yep, I remember ages ago a study of one central London street with the worst pollution in the country.
And no provate cars were allowed-only buses and taxis.
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Surely the world has known about diesel particlulates for years? That was what made it so funny that, as every other environmentally concerned country in the world tried to cut down on diesel usage, our country set up taxation so that anyone with a company car pretty much HAD to get a diesel.
Well done lads, that was guaranteed to help out with the pollution.
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Ask anyone in their fifties or sixties whether inner-city air quality is better or worse now than when they were a child.
A lot of hype over a problem of questionable existence. And no doubt an 'issue' which provides plenty of jobs for the boys.
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Hmmm!
Anything in there about smaller PM from other fuels or PM from non vehicle sources. And if I wanted expert advice on respiratory issues I don't think a physio would be my first point of call
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Urban air is cleaner than it has been for over 100 years.
What a load of Marxist cobblers! Remember pea-soupers? I don't but my Parents and Grandparents do.
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Modern diesels are cleaner than old ones, but truck and bus engines last a very long time. On the other hand the tiny, invisible particulates produced by petrol engines are not the kind of thing you want in your lungs, which is where they end up.
Saying "Oh well, my grandparents had a worse time so I mustn't grumble" is just foolish: bad luck for them, I say. I hope my daughter's kids get to breathe better air than I've had. If wanting to breathe clean air is Marxist, then I guess I'm a Marxist. You and Adam Smith can go choke if you want to.
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I am old enough (!) to remember London fogs caused by a combination of traffic fumes but mainly the imoact of sunlight of the sulphur dioxide and other fumnes from coal fires:-)
But today the worst offenders are: London buses (Routemasters were dreadful, London taxis and cars driven away from cold: especially large ones: that means almost all limos Government Ministers for the use of..
I suspect any diesel trains are not too clever either : emissions? whatsthat? Anyone seen an emission test for a train?
BIG diesel engines..Catalysts? Carbon soot? Bet they are terrible offenders.
Now if the Mayor was logical he would
ban all buses
ban all taxis
ban all Gov't limos
ban all trains
UNLESS they met modern car emission levels..
Bang goes HRH 's fleet of old Rollers:-)
madf
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I remember TRL did research in London about 6 years ago, amd concluded that an average bus gave out 8x more pollution per passenger than an average car. What surprised me more was the redundancy in the bus system, ei how many miles they travel empty or nearly empty.
For those who are getting hysterical....some pollution is inevitable but most of the time, there is a net benefit to what the vehicles are being used for which outweighs any negative impact.
People don't drive/bus/train round London for fun, that's for sure.
I for one, am sick of people who pitch a fit about living next to a road, why don't they go and live in the middle of nowhere, where they have to ramble for hours to get anywhere if it bothers them so much?
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Now if the Mayor was logical he would ban all buses ban all taxis ban all Gov't limos ban all trains UNLESS they met modern car emission levels..
>>Bang goes HRH 's fleet of old Rollers:-)
London mayor, logical, can't see that! Despite being a non-driver and general car hater, especially of the 4x4 variety, Ken, or at least the London assembly or TfL, are sort of doing the above.
The buses in London are often quite new. Almost all the dirty old Routemasters are being sold off to collectors and replaced with new double-deckers or bendy buses. The purists don't like the loss of the RMs but the bendy Merc Citaros are more environmentally friendly, except for being a bit prone to catching fire.
I think Ken is keen to get all the FX4s/Fairways off the road. Cabbies aren't keen but the TXII is cleaner, it's just that it's the only car they can buy new now.
Cleaning up public transport is slowly trying to keep pace with cars.
Most trains in London are electric. However, pollution from those is now worse, as the new trains replacing the slam doors on my line need much more power. However, the pollution is shifted from the city to the power station in the countryside.
The Queen had her new Bentley presented to her for the jubilee year. A monster of an engine in that but I read that most of her car engines have been LPG converted.
James
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I think Ken is keen to get all the FX4s/Fairways off the road. Cabbies aren't keen but the TXII is cleaner, it's just that it's the only car they can buy new now.
According to the London Standard there's a good chance of the TX being joined/beaten into a cocked hat by a Peugeot MPV.
Judging by the piccies it's not the 806/7, but a van derived car based on the Expert.
The Fiat or Citroen equivalents are already authorised as taxis in other cities including Leeds.
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>>According to the London Standard there's a good chance of the TX being joined/beaten into a cocked hat by a Peugeot MPV.
Judging by the piccies it's not the 806/7, but a van derived car based on the Expert.
They's have to change the turning circle regulations before MPV-based taxis could ply for hire in London. Don't want the capital's streets held up by Galaxies and Espaces doing 3-point turns all over the place, do we!!
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All vehicles pollute. Aren't petrol engine emissions more damaging to the atmosphere globally, while diesels are worse for localised air quality?
Most activities have a downside - Computers: eye strain, exposure to electomagnetic radiation. Bicycles: high accident risk. Swimming: exposure to chlorine. Etc.
cheers, Sofa Spud
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Read an article recently linking the rise in diesels to the rise in child asthma - apparently the link is irrefutable ? Unfortunately can't remember where the article was.
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