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When's the referendum on departure from the EU? Must be within 5 years if Cameron heads up the next government....

Ironic that the very first cause of smog NOx compounds is still a problem nearly 50 years after the first emissions controls were introduced in 1968 MY.
 
Discussion starter · #42 ·


It must be those same 17 member states that Jaguar had in mind when they claimed the diesel engine is being demonised ;)
Given that the UK government, along with others no doubt, will need to take some action to address the issue and head off the imposition of a fine by the ECOJ. What might they do ? Maybe we will all be in electric and hybrid cars sooner than some might have thought :D
Whatever happens we will just have to live with it but the short term answer is not electric. Over half of all NOx emissions are due to electricity production and heating at the moment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32512152
 
The NOx issue is not so much the total amount but the concentration in urban areas. It is the concentration that is concerning health authorities. So while coal power plants produce lots of CO2 and NOx (the technology for big NOx burners exists for big furnaces and big powerplants but not so easy for tiny car engines) the immediate issue for diesel transport is spewing the stuff into crowded city centers.
 
Over half of all NOx emissions are due to electricity production and heating at the moment.
Makes no sense to compare NOx emitted 100 miles away from a city center and 250 feet above ground from a powerplant smoke stack, with NOX emitted right at the city center and 12 inches from the ground by a car tail pipe.

That is like saying desert rats (the animal, not the 8th Army) are as much a health problem as rats roaming around London.
 
Whatever happens we will just have to live with it but the short term answer is not electric. Over half of all NOx emissions are due to electricity production and heating at the moment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32512152
It is plain Bernard that you have not accepted the solution to the above emissions problem set out in the Green party election manifesto ;)

Put simply we need to do more to reduce demand by taking a leaf out of the Scandinavian countries books and properly insulate homes and by embracing new technology to utilise natural energy.
 
Discussion starter · #47 ·
Makes no sense to compare NOx emitted 100 miles away from a city center and 250 feet above ground from a powerplant smoke stack, with NOX emitted right at the city center and 12 inches from the ground by a car tail pipe.

That is like saying desert rats (the animal, not the 8th Army) are as much a health problem as rats roaming around London.
Not your fault for not understanding UK problems but there are two issues. The government has just been told by our highest court that they must comply with the EU limits on NO2 emissions which are over the limit in 17 cities and regions. Three cities have emissions well over the limit due to diesel cars but overall the UK is suffering due in part to power stations contributing over 50% of the total.
My argument is adding electric cars will only add to this part of the problem despite reducing city emissions. Net gain zero. Another solution is necessary if only to move to petrol cars which will increase the CO2 and create even more trouble.
Do you save the people or the planet? What's your answer?
 
Discussion starter · #48 ·
It is plain Bernard that you have not accepted the solution to the above emissions problem set out in the Green party election manifesto ;)

Put simply we need to do more to reduce demand by taking a leaf out of the Scandinavian countries books and properly insulate homes and by embracing new technology to utilise natural energy.
I would take more note of the Green Party if they kept well out of politics and concentrated on issues such as you mention. Their manifesto is beyond a joke, but no politics, I only mention it because you did.
 
HI Bernard, I think Piker does understand, the EU limits are determined by concentrations in the cities not by output. The output by the power stations doesn't affect the concentrations in the cities (measureably). The issue is entirely down to old diesel engines moving too slowly. If all the old diesel engines were replaced by modern engines (electric, hybrid, pegtrol or even diesel) it would probably be OK. The next Government should basically make running old diesel engines uneconomical. The intentional slowing down of traffic in city centres (traffic calming) to discourage driving into cities has not helped matters either.
 
I would take more note of the Green Party if they kept well out of politics and concentrated on issues such as you mention. Their manifesto is beyond a joke, but no politics, I only mention it because you did.
Well thousands of diesel car owners have learned that the beloved Mayor of London has confirmed plans to charge nearly all diesel drivers a daily ÂŁ12.50 charge on top of the ÂŁ11.50 congestion charge :(
I predict the reaction to this news will be to cause company car drivers to move to an Hybrid.or Electric vehicle. They will seek to reduce their costs and will pay scant regard to the issue of emissions arising from power generation, that’s a government problem. The benefits of lower fuel costs and the avoidance of all taxes and licence fees will be too strong to resist.
Mercedes have 10 more hybrids on the stocks to accompany the S 500 Plug-in and the C Class 350e plug-in .
Mercedes are positioning themselves to exploit an obvious consumer demand that is being created by governments all over the world.
And of course Mercedes are not alone:)
 
Makes no sense to compare NOx emitted 100 miles away from a city center and 250 feet above ground from a powerplant smoke stack, with NOX emitted right at the city center and 12 inches from the ground by a car tail pipe.

That is like saying desert rats (the animal, not the 8th Army) are as much a health problem as rats roaming around London.
your analogy is not apt, perhaps not the same thing as inept.

Living in one of the two places on this planet where there are no rats at all (Antarctica is the other) I can assure you that the only good rat is a dead rat.

NOx emissions are known to cause smog and smog is known to cause health problems for humans. All man made NOx emissions are of concern. It so happens that in the West dangerous levels of NOx are so far confined to areas thought to be polluted by motor vehicles. In Shanghai this is not the case.
 
There's no doubt that hybrid power trains currently just being released onto the market and those contemplated probably by all manufacturers in the very near future are the answer to vehicle pollution in crowded European city centres. The capability of electric only drive for a range of around 10-20 miles specifically suits the particular requirements of these areas. Since stop and go traffic is continuous in those areas hybrid drivetrains are the best solution. All electric is better if you can have a City car only and an IC powered car for ex urban use.

Such drivetrains make no sense over here. For example, my local city of 1.1 m inhabitants sprawls over a land area exceeding 400 sq miles. Current hybrid range would mean I would run out of electricity before I left town.
 
Discussion starter · #53 ·
HI Bernard, I think Piker does understand, the EU limits are determined by concentrations in the cities not by output. The output by the power stations doesn't affect the concentrations in the cities (measureably). The issue is entirely down to old diesel engines moving too slowly. If all the old diesel engines were replaced by modern engines (electric, hybrid, pegtrol or even diesel) it would probably be OK. The next Government should basically make running old diesel engines uneconomical. The intentional slowing down of traffic in city centres (traffic calming) to discourage driving into cities has not helped matters either.
In fact the limits relate to emissions in cities and background concentrations in regions of which we are in breach of limits in 16 as I remember. Some are vast areas and power stations play an important part. I agree about old Diesel engines also lack of proper attention during MOT tests.
 
There's no doubt that hybrid power trains currently just being released onto the market and those contemplated probably by all manufacturers in the very near future are the answer to vehicle pollution in crowded European city centres. The capability of electric only drive for a range of around 10-20 miles specifically suits the particular requirements of these areas. Since stop and go traffic is continuous in those areas hybrid drivetrains are the best solution. All electric is better if you can have a City car only and an IC powered car for ex urban use.

Such drivetrains make no sense over here. For example, my local city of 1.1 m inhabitants sprawls over a land area exceeding 400 sq miles. Current hybrid range would mean I would run out of electricity before I left town.
Interesting that today in The Times the car maker Nissan has a full page advert for the Leaf electric car and, a few pages on, Toyota have a half page advertising their Auris hybrid. And as I write this Classic fm the radio station has just broadcast an advert for another electric car, missed the brand.
 
Discussion starter · #55 ·
Interesting that today in The Times the car maker Nissan has a full page advert for the Leaf electric car and, a few pages on, Toyota have a half page advertising their Auris hybrid. And as I write this Classic fm the radio station has just broadcast an advert for another electric car, missed the brand.
It follows all the publicity over the last two days. When opportunity knocks.......... Or strike whilst the iron is hot. Take your choice.
 
Do you save the people or the planet? What's your answer?
The planet, in all likelihood, will be around and do just fine, regardless of what we do. We are no more that a mild irritant for the planet.

The answer is clear. We should do all we can for the clear and present negative health effects that are affecting people today, first.

CO2 emissions will continue to grow massively globally, regardless of what the UK does. Every year, China and India alone are adding more CO2 spewing capacity than all the UK power plants combined.

I understand that it may make some people feel good to try to bail a sinking ocean liner with a small bucket. But we all know it is quite futile. If CO2 in the atmosphere and warming ever becomes a truly critical problem, it will have to be dealt with by adaptation/remediation techniques. You will never ever prevent developing societies from exploring cheap energy. Planet scale CO2 scrubbing and/or other technological solutions like high altitude reflective spraying is what is needed. Not this crazy obsession with reducing a tiny fraction of CO2 emissions in one country, while other countries build one new coal plant a week.
 
CO2 isn't growing massively. The rate of increase has declined noticeably.

NOx health hazards are direct and have been well known since the word smog was coined (Hint, it's a British term).

NOx is critical and CO2 is not.

Don't confuse the two. CO2 has a natural counterpart and is subject to a complex and as yet not well understood climate dynamic.

NOx is a well understood poison to humans and other organisms.
 
The answer is clear. We should do all we can for the clear and present health negative health effects that are affecting people today, first.
You are quite right and the sensible environmental and economic solution today is the greater take up of hybrid and electric vehicles :)
 
The planet, in all likelihood, will be around and do just fine, regardless of what we do. We are no more that a mild irritant for the planet.
This reminds me of:
two planets meet. One says "and… how's going?" Replies the other "you know I've got this thing called **** sapiens". Replies the other "it will pass!"
 
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