CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News

Air Pollution Warning

(77 posts)

  1. SRD
    Moderator

    http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/boost-for-active-travel-as-gov-t-to-be-forced-to-act-on-noxious-air/017790

    (Naturally, "effective transport measures" can mean one thing to one person and something completely different to another but this ruling is another arrow in the armoury for the fight for reducing dependence on motor cars, especially for short urban journeys.)

    Posted 9 years ago #
  2. kaputnik
    Moderator

    another arrow in the armoury for the fight for reducing dependence on motor cars, especially for short urban journeys

    Unless it leads to more (and in my opinion wasteful) big, lip-service type investments in electrical vehicle infrastructure that doesn't get used and heavy subsidies to buy cars powered in a different manner.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  3. Min
    Member

    electrical vehicle

    Astonishingly it is even worse than that. I saw this on the BBC last night and the solution is.... petrol cars. It is diesel cars that cause all the pollution you see.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  4. slowcoach
    Member

    The Court ruling relates to Nitrogen Dioxide, rather than carbon emissions. Was the Bikebiz headline on "noxious air" clever or coincidence? (The abbreviation for various nitrogen oxides is NOx)

    From clickgreen:
    "New diesel engines produce a higher amount of NOx than new petrol engines, but petrol-powered cars produce more NOx as time goes by.

    As we can see, when it comes to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrocarbons, it’s better to go with diesel engines. However when it comes to particulate matter, diesel engines lose to petrol. Both stand on equal ground when it comes to nitrous oxide." So it is better to cut back on engine use of either petrol or diesel.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  5. slowcoach
    Member

    "High pollution levels for Fife, East Lothian and Borders" - today and Saturday according to BBC or at least that was what was forecast yesterday. Looking at latest readings shows low levels so no need for alarm? (And DEFRRA forecast looks less worrying)

    Posted 8 years ago #
  6. jdanielp
    Member

    Just listening to a BBC Radio 4 Today Programme podcast on the subject of air pollution levels in London. The presenter was speaking to the parent of a pupil at a school in a particularly badly polluted part of London. To quote "I'm worried about this very much. I live in East London so I drive in towards the school and I was thinking 'that can't be fog, it must be pollution'"... Neither he nor the presenter audibly batted an eye. The podcast did go on to discuss diesel vehicle pollution and electic vehicles. Perhaps they were making a point but letting that quote hang the way it did, but still.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  7. Rosie
    Member

    @jdanielp - I heard that & was yelling at the radio.

    "With my plague rat in my pocket I approached the town among the cries of Bring Out Your Dead."

    Posted 7 years ago #
  8. jdanielp
    Member

    I've been keeping an eye on the 'Air Quality in Scotland' pollution map over the last year or two. It has been good to see numbers within the 'low' category across Edinburgh during much of the lockdown, usually with readings of 1 in most areas and 2 or occasionally (but increasingly, as the easing has started) 3 around the busiest roads. However, I noticed the first 4 for a while yesterday at Queensferry Road but that is up to a 10 today, which I don't remember ever having seen previously. This seems likely to be an error I hope? http://www.scottishairquality.scot/latest/

    Posted 4 years ago #
  9. jdanielp
    Member

    Queensferry Road is down to 2 today so hopefully just a blip.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  10. crowriver
    Member

    Traffic pretty much back to normal on Easter Road yesterday, so maybe not a blip, maybe just reflecting impending carmaggeddon.

    Posted 4 years ago #
  11. chdot
    Admin

  12. chdot
    Admin

    Tiny airborne particles, probably thrown up by train brakes or the friction between train wheels and rails, are rife in the 71 underground stations sampled by researchers during morning and evening rush hours in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington DC, the cities that contain the bulk of subway systems in the US.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/10/subway-air-pollution-new-york-washington-dc

    Posted 3 years ago #
  13. chdot
    Admin

  14. gembo
    Member

    I did once write to ,the Grauniad asking them to revert back to the paper they used when the ink used to compose off on your hand as it was much better for burning in my wood burning stove.

    I was too subtle?

    Wet wood Burns poorly in a stove, better in an open fire but all that hissing gets to you

    Posted 3 years ago #
  15. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Wood air-dries at about an inch a year (about 0.83 metres per gigasecond) but if you put the wood in the oven after you've made pizza it dries out pretty quick though you do get odd looks.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  16. steveo
    Member

    I just got a fire pit to deal with my mounting pile of kiln dried, furniture grade, artisan firewood!

    Posted 3 years ago #
  17. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    If you have furniture-grade firewood I will make you an offer you can easily refuse.

    Just rake skips for firewood.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  18. steveo
    Member

    Not just Firewood, bespoke artisan firewood.

    The scraps from my wood work are too small to be any use for anything other than firewood, by the time I decide it has no further value its basically a plane shaving away from being a pencil.

    Gave a huge box to my brother not long ago. If I can't burn it fast enough I'll let you know.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  19. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Aha. I have cornered the market in MDF dust. Filthy stuff. We can swap.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  20. chdot
    Admin

  21. chdot
    Admin

  22. chdot
    Admin

  23. the canuck
    Member

    I was thinking that last study might explain grumpy old men, but it appears that they only included older men in the study, and I wonder why??

    Posted 3 years ago #
  24. chdot
    Admin

  25. chdot
    Admin

  26. chdot
    Admin

    Air pollution is slashing years off the lives of billions, report finds

    Dirty air is a far greater killer than smoking, car crashes or HIV/Aids, with coal burning the leading cause

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/01/air-pollution-is-slashing-years-off-the-lives-of-billions-report-finds

    Posted 3 years ago #
  27. chdot
    Admin

  28. chdot
    Admin

  29. chdot
    Admin

    Proposed air pollution limit in England is twice as high as WHO recommends
    Measures to reduce PM2.5 ‘fall a long way short’, say campaigners, as government publishes new targets under Environment Act

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/16/proposed-air-pollution-limit-england-environment-act

    Posted 2 years ago #
  30. chdot
    Admin


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