Interesting & informative, especially reading between the lines. The motor industry obviously has to be profit-first, hence skewing the results to show how friendly their cars are. Yet we all know what it’s like sitting in stalled traffic, with pedestrians moving faster than us. Our car exhausts adding to the general disgusting atmosphere that is a daily feature of city life. London is one of the worst polluted places, but China & India are too. When I lived in Bath, the air was unbreathable at times: the main part of the city was in a hollow with large hills all around ~ the traffic fumes stayed down rather than being able to dissipate 🙁
4 thoughts on “Vehicle air pollution”
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Just testing the hyperlink by repasting here.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/03/car-makers-face-real-world-emissions-tests-in-eu-pollution-clampdown?CMP=EMCENVEML1631
OK Janos, I just used the same copied URL: pasting without recopying. In the post it is not hyperlinked, in the comment it is. So that narrows down our search. Thanks, Mike 🙂
Normally I am not too bothered about this Mike. If it is not hyperlinked, I just highlight the link, right click, and a window will give me the option of opening the link. The long way round really.
Now about vehicle exhausts. These new types of tests are good news, but if we look again at older vehicles running around, especially in non-European countries, then we start thinking whether wearing of face masks should not become part of culture.
Thank you Ven, I do the same with non hyperlinks. It was just something that we noticed, and Janos may be able to figure out why comments link, but posts didn’t 🙂
I agree that with vehicles the realities in many countries would not support such tests, or even legislation. I forget where it was, but sometime ago I saw an idea to not allow cars above a certain age. That’s unrealistic of course and way too general. Better is to get rid of the hydro-carbon fuels altogether.
We’ve seen the steady evolution in vehicle technology. Clean-burn, low emissions, higher efficiency etc. [in fact I just bought a brand new Yamaha outboard for my surveys: in terms of limiting pollution it rates 4 out of 5 stars; and it is over 30% more efficient that a similar sized 2-stroke].
Electric vehicles, and hybrids, had been limited by battery power & duration. Yet we’ve used such things for decades in the mines, and as milk-floats. Not fast, but strong. Now the batteries have improved dramatically; and solar-powered charging outlets are spreading around the major roads in Britain. Comes down to intent really: “when is enough enough?” At what point will the vested interests say: we continue with our planetary destruction, or we start being honest about our anthropogenic impacts? Mike 🙂