22 replies to this topic

[Still Waters]

www.telegraph.co.uk said:

Air pollution from traffic is killing vast numbers every year - and the problem is getting worse.

What is the biggest killer on our roads? It's not black ice, or drunk driving, or even badly installed accelerator pedals. In fact, it's air pollution – and it's getting worse.According to the most recent official figures – published back in 1998 – up to 24,000 people in Britain die before their time every year as a result of air pollution caused by vehicles, compared with 2,600 killed in road accidents.

Yet EU researchers say that this figure could represent less than half of the true toll, given that new studies are increasingly linking long-term exposure to traffic pollution to a range of chronic diseases.

Read more...

[MichaelW]

I'm guessing all those who died from "pollution" related diseases had some underlying medical problems anyway. And did, I just read that the latest figures released where back in 1998? Most cars these days are much cleaner in terms of emissions. In fact, mostly air pollution comes from factories and homes with open fires, which I take are still in use in much of Britain?

[Mattshark]

MichaelW, on 20 February 2010 - 09:24 PM, said:

I'm guessing all those who died from "pollution" related diseases had some underlying medical problems anyway. And did, I just read that the latest figures released where back in 1998? Most cars these days are much cleaner in terms of emissions. In fact, mostly air pollution comes from factories and homes with open fires, which I take are still in use in much of Britain?

Nope, traffic pollution is the main cause of pollution in the UK, especially because it is everywhere, unlike a lot of industrial pollution.

Open fires are extremely rare in the UK.

[stevewinn]

Mattshark, on 20 February 2010 - 09:48 PM, said:

Nope, traffic pollution is the main cause of pollution in the UK, especially because it is everywhere, unlike a lot of industrial pollution.

Open fires are extremely rare in the UK.

well, i guess within 30 to 40 years 90% of Transport will be cleaner, if not totally clean. or maybe we can go back to horse and cart.

[Mattshark]

stevewinn, on 21 February 2010 - 07:24 PM, said:

well, i guess within 30 to 40 years 90% of Transport will be cleaner, if not totally clean. or maybe we can go back to horse and cart.

To be honest, we could probably make it cleaner than it is already now, it is getting the technology into the manufacture that takes a lot of the time. It is certainly better than it was 20 years ago.

[stevewinn]

Mattshark, on 21 February 2010 - 07:26 PM, said:

To be honest, we could probably make it cleaner than it is already now, it is getting the technology into the manufacture that takes a lot of the time. It is certainly better than it was 20 years ago.

remember not so long ago when lead was in petrol. well i remember seeing a autopsy and when the coroner took the lungs out the inside of the lung had what looked like pockmarks and in these marks was small bits of lead. that had built up in the persons lungs over time.so just goes to show the type of effect air pollution has and you don't really notice it.

Edited by stevewinn, 21 February 2010 - 07:39 PM.

[Mattshark]

stevewinn, on 21 February 2010 - 07:38 PM, said:

remember not so long ago when lead was in petrol. well i remember seeing a autopsy and when the coroner took the lungs out the inside of the lung had what looked like pockmarks and in these marks was small bits of lead. that had built up in the persons lungs over time.so just goes to show the type of effect air pollution has and you don't really notice it.

Aye, I think it is a reason we can all agree on to clean up our technology.

[MichaelW]

Thing is is that those results were published back in 1998, so that means you are saying that pollution effects from vehicles are still the same levels as in 1998? I am aware that open fires are rare in the UK and I admit I was thinking about NZ on that one, but how can someone attibute a normal, fit and healthy person's death soley from car pollution alone? I also think you didn't read it entirely because I did say that a majority of those people may have had underlying health problems anyway, so one cannot attribute those deaths to healthy people. I read that article and nowhere in it did it state that there were any deaths aided by the pollution.

Also, why did it state that the smog clouds in Southern California were banished by the catalytic converter? Don't all European cars sold today and even when this study was conducted have CC's installed anyway?

It just seems a bit odd that the media are using twelve year old statistics to determine present pollution trends. Seems a bit biased in my opinion.

[Alien Being]

Maybe smog was bad 60 years ago but really?

In my city I dont notice any signs of pollution.

[MichaelW]

That's because all the cars built since then are much, much cleaner than they were 12 years ago. It's just scare mongering as in someone saying: "You can't see it, but it's there."

[Mattshark]

MichaelW, on 22 February 2010 - 04:55 AM, said:

That's because all the cars built since then are much, much cleaner than they were 12 years ago. It's just scare mongering as in someone saying: "You can't see it, but it's there."

Sorry but cars give out lots of poisons and particulates, unless you think walking through a cloud of benzine and carbon monoxide is perfectly healthy.

But hey you ignore the data all you like, I mean it is not like other studies recently have shown such things..........................



oh wait, they have
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC2235230/
http://ehjournal.net/content/8/1/27
http://www.teamsofan...ung_functio.pdf
http://assets0.pubge...df/18380234.pdf
http://www.thelancet...1443-3/fulltext
http://www.scopus.co...bjW9ONSjpjc7A:2
http://arno.unimaas....w.cgi?fid=14556

[Mattshark]

Alien Being, on 21 February 2010 - 11:11 PM, said:

Maybe smog was bad 60 years ago but really?

In my city I dont notice any signs of pollution.

It is not about smog, it is about other pollutants, a lot of studies have shown that walking in any area with heavy traffic is very bad for your health. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.

[Raptor]

Mattshark, on 22 February 2010 - 01:26 PM, said:

It is not about smog, it is about other pollutants, a lot of studies have shown that walking in any area with heavy traffic is very bad for your health. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.

Living in London, I have to wonder about the number of people that can be seen jogging out in the open air alongside an enormous crawl of clunking and wheezing traffic.  

Edited by Raptor, 22 February 2010 - 01:55 PM.

[Mattshark]

Raptor, on 22 February 2010 - 01:54 PM, said:

Living in London, I have to wonder about the number of people that can be seen jogging out in the open air alongside an enormous crawl of clunking and wheezing traffic.  

I can imagine! It is bad enough in Liverpool and Belfast!

[SolarPlexus]

pollution and also STOP WHALING !