Mixed messages over the role of diesel to power our vehicles

Fiona Harvey writes in the Guardian about the confusion over how “green” diesel fuel is. She writes that diesel's popularity with motorists has surged, but its green image was an illusion. Now concern is growing over the damage caused by emissions, with children particularly vulnerable. While not in her article, countries such as France have … Continue reading Mixed messages over the role of diesel to power our vehicles →

OECD finds air pollution from road transport costs member states US$1.7 trillion annually

Deaths and health impacts from air pollution cost advanced economies, together with China and India, US$3.5 trillion annually, according to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, 'The Cost of Air Pollution: Health Impacts of Road Transport.' Air pollution and its impacts on human health cost society an estimated US$1.7 trillion per year … Continue reading OECD finds air pollution from road transport costs member states US$1.7 trillion annually →

Good air quality is fundamental

Just this week, the World Health Organisation reported that nine cities in the UK breached safe air pollution levels. We have also reported on the dire situation in China’s cities. Recently, Suzanne Goldenberg reported in the Guardian that almost half of Americans are having to deal with unsafe levels. It is worth reading Ms Goldenberg’s … Continue reading Good air quality is fundamental →

We cannot take the air we breathe for granted

With EiD team surviving the smog crisis in Paris and now with the city enjoying the first days of spring, it is time to reflect on what we take for granted. Luce Irigaray and Michael Marder write in the Guardian that, as smog contaminates Paris, Shanghai and other world cities, we should regard pollution as … Continue reading We cannot take the air we breathe for granted →

With spring in the air, we can seriously thinking of cycling but . . .

Peter Walker writes a blog in The Guardian about the problem that urban air pollution poses for cyclists in London, although the problems exist in many if not most major cities. This week we are seeing unbelievable levels of pollution in cities such as Beijing and the thought of cycling is daunting. Air pollution: … Continue reading With spring in the air, we can seriously thinking of cycling but . . . →

Dealing with air pollution creating greater transparency in China

China knows it has an air quality problem that has to be tackled directly and effectively. Surprisingly, this is including the disclosure of data on air pollution, as shown in the following article by Simon Denyer in the Washington Post, and now 15,000 factories are required to publicly report details on their air emissions and … Continue reading Dealing with air pollution creating greater transparency in China →

Quote of the week

Patti Waldmeir is the Financial Times correspondent in China. This week she had a blog on “dirty doublethink”. In the blog she quotes about the “benefits” of smog: . . . some Communist party media outlets helpfully pointed out that smog is actually good for me. In an online commentary titled “Five unexpected gains the … Continue reading Quote of the week →

China looking to energy efficiency to address urban air quality problems

China is facing pollution challenges today similar to what Los Angeles faced during the 1980s, a problem that energy efficiency helped mitigate. In China, combining cleaner heating fuels with better-insulated buildings is one concrete measure that would support cleaner skies in northern China and beyond, Clay Stranger writes in the Christian Science Monitor. China smog: … Continue reading China looking to energy efficiency to address urban air quality problems →

Health concerns from air pollution raised

The European Environment Agency has come out with a new study showing that air pollution in Europe is still harming health. John Vidal provides an excellent article on this in The Guardian. Curiously, he mentions that countries have downplayed hazards of air pollution despite evidence that it leads to 430,000 shortened lives a year. When … Continue reading Health concerns from air pollution raised →