How To Catch Polluting Vehicles
I’ve just read about the EDAR pollution sensor in the Sunday Times.
Read more above the device on this page of the Hager Environmental and Atmospheric Technoogies web site.
I think they’ll sell a lot of these and in some ways it’s the best way to cut pollution caused by vehicles in cities.
Most drivers will make sure they;re legal!
Is Violence Really In Decline?
The respected study from Cardiff University on violence as reported on the BBC’s web site is saying that injuries due to violence is at a new low. This is the first two paragraphs.
The number of violence-related injuries in England and Wales is at its lowest level for at least 15 years, an annual study suggests.
Cardiff University’s survey of 117 hospital units showed about 211,000 victims of violence went to hospital in 2014 – 10% fewer than in 2013.
All sorts of explanations have been offered and they’re probably all a bit responsible.
Since I moved here to Dalston in 2010, one of the biggest differences, is that the streets just feel so much safer. It’s only a personal view and not backed by any statistics, but generally everything just seems a lot quieter.
Why?
I put it down to an long list of little factors, which have worked together to create the improvement. The Overground has opened, pavements, the built environment and buses have improved, there are busy cafes everywhere and generally you see more families and older people on the street.
I think it’s probably mainly down to the beneficial link between a better environment and improved behaviour, that has been suggested by Stephen Bayley and other commentators.
Do We Featherbed Groups In Society?
I got my monthly State Pension today and at £677.16, that will do me for my day-to-day expenses for the next month. It doesn’t cover trips out of London, but it does allow me the odd light lunch in a restaurant.
But I also get other benefits just because of my circumstances, as a 67-year-old man, who lives alone.
I get a Council Tax discount because I live alone. But is that right as I live in a family house with a garage in a desirable part of London? If I didn’t get it, I’d still live here as that would be my choice, but I am blocking someone more worthy than me of buying this house.
I have a highly-insulated house with an efficient boiler, but should I get a winter fuel allowance? It would be better if the money was not paid at all, but used to improve our housing stock’s energy efficiency, so that those on a pension actually saved the money all through the year.
I have a Freedom Pass, which gives me free transport on buses, Underground, Overground and trains within the Central London area. This is one of the reasons I moved to Dalston. But is it too generous on the one hand and not universal enough on the other? Surely, a better system, would be one where you nominated your bank card as your transport pass and in the free areas, the system didn’t charge you. The advantage of this would be that London could enter into reciprocal arrangements with areas like Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, so that we could use each other’s concessionary area at a discount. Would this encourage more of us to travel to explore the country and perhaps spend money in attractions, cafes and shops, we wouldn’t dream of visiting now?
This morning according to this report on the BBC, the Liberal Democrats are saying that those who have a second house they use in a beautiful area, should pay double Council Tax on their second home. Here! Here!
I live in Central London and I am starting to resent the traffic. Not because I drive, but because of the pollution and noise often put out by cars used as glorified shopping trolleys and baby buggies. We let all drivers get off too lightly with the problems they cause in cities and if they got the message, we may see more cycling and walking, and better air quality. We might even see better delivery systems for goods, where transmissions were hybrid or electric, like London’s newer buses.
It will happen eventually, that all cars pay road charges based on mileage, fuel used and congestion. But I doubt we’ll see it soon, as there are no votes in it. It’ll probably be introduced in London first, as cycling gets more common and Crossrail shows everybody what real railways can be like.
But would a city like Birmingham, where the car is king, and pedestrians are targets to hit when crossing the road, accept charging to pay for the updating of the numerous railways and more trams in the city?
And then there’s lifestyle, fitness and health!
Many people drink, eat and smoke too much and governments don’t really discourage it forcefully. It would be an interesting exercise for a town or city to declare a city centre non-smoking and see what happens. I can remember, when ahead of the smoking ban the landlord of my local pub in Suffolk declared it a smoke-free zone. He got some moans, but not from his bank manager.
The NHS is in crisis, but this is mainly a problem of the irresponsible patients making. So if we can get people back to the straight and narrow, we might help the dear old NHS out.
For a start, I would like to see a law, that no-one could stand for elected office or sit on the board of an NHS body, if they were a smoker!
I could go on a lot more. But we must all change our lifestyle, if we want this country to be a place, that is really worth living in.
How To Be Scientifically-Correct For A Greener And Better World
Matt Ridley’s article about eco-toffs got me thinking. So if I was the world dictator, what would I recommend as a greener lifestyle that was scientifically-correct and hopefully gave you benefits as well!
Cook From Scratch
I have a list of quick delicious nutritious recipes, that I can cook from a series of staples kept in my fridge and store cupboard. I also experiment.
One thing I don’t use is a freezer, except to store frozen peas, although with some dishes I make enough for two and put the one in the fridge for a couple of days later.
Don’t Live In Two Houses
I’ve lived in two houses twice in my life. Once we lived between London and Suffolk and at another we had a second house in Antibes.
Never again! It’s just so much hassle and eventually C and myself got fed up with it all.
So either rent the second house or sell it and invest the money. Any income could be used to have holidays in your favourite hotels!
Don’t Smoke
I look forward to the day, when you don’t see any signs of this filthy habit.
I feel very strongly about this, as our longest son died in part because he smoked.
Don’t Use Lifts For A Couple Of Floors Unless Someone Younger Than You Is Also Riding
We’re all lazy and climbing a few stairs is a good exercise.
But do use a lift, when a lazy soul is using it. And make them feel guilty about their lack of exercise.
Feed Your Mind
Nothing improves your inner self, than seeing exciting events or places you’ve not seen before.I travel a lot and even when I’m at home, I use my Freedom Pass to explore new places in London and the area around.
Go Gluten-Free
I have to be gluten-free as I’m coeliac. But it is a diet choice with a bonus. According to Nottingham University, those on a gluten-free diet are 25% less likely to get cancer.
Invest In Peer-To-Peer Lending
Choose a reputable peer-to-peer lender with the right rate and risk profile for you. Not only will you be getting a better rate on your savings, but you’ll be lending money to individuals and businesses at a rate less than the banks. You’ll also be giving that wunch of bankers a good kicking.
Keep Your Body At Its Ideal Weight And Fitness
I am virtually the same size as I was when I left University in 1968. One doctor told me that the main reason, I recovered from the serious stroke so quickly, was because of the good state of my body.
Smart Meters and Thermostats
I have smart thermostats for my heating that I can set precisely, but despite trying hard, I haven’t managed to get a smart meter fitted for either gas or electricity yet, so I can see my usage on my computer.
Think Seriously About Your Car Usage
Too many households have car ownership that is poorly matched to their needs.
I for example, don’t have a licence any more and don’t have a car. My eyesight is getting better and I suspect that in a year or so, I could get my licence back with ease. But I don’t want the hassle of car ownership, especially as I have so many bus routes everywhere.
My son has also decided he doesn’t need a car and if he wants one for a few hours, he uses something like a Zip-car.
A friend too, had their car stolen and hasn’t replaced it.
So as a car costs several thousand a year to own and run, are your current car arrangements the best and most capital efficient?
In many cases the answer is no!
Traditional Terry Nappies
C and I were very keen on these, especially if they’re paired with a nappy service, which takes away the dirty ones and then delivers the freshly-laundered ones. I can still see C burying her face in the clean nappies and luxuriating at the experience. I have heard mothers of my generation, say that their babies almost begged to be put back in a cloth nappy when they were put in a disposable one.
I’ve also seen in the sewers how many disposable nappies end up there, before being sent to landfill.
We shouldn’t force parents to use traditional nappies by increasing taxes on the disposable ones, as there are people, who for various reasons have to use disposable ones. But we should get the water companies and councils to encourage traditional ones, as they are the major commercial beneficiaries of such a product.
I wonder if I can still fold and fit a traditional nappy.
Use Contract Cleaners
I have a three-bedroomed house and I use contract cleaners, who send two girls once a week for two hours, at a price comparable with what I’d pay for a lady to do say a whole morning.
But the big advantage of this type of cleaning, is that I don’t have to have any cleaning equipment or materials.
So other than food, I have to buy very little in the supermarket. I think it’s just soap, washing-up liquid and washing tablets for clothes.
Walk In Cities
Cities are very interesting places to walk, as there is always something to see and you might just find a nice cafe for a coffee or see a jumper that goes with your favourite trousers or skirt.
Cities should encourage walking by putting up maps and information.
Africa’s Great Green Wall
The Sunday Times has an article today about the Great Green Wall. Wikipedia describes the project like this.
The Great Green Wall is a planned project to plant a wall of trees across Africa at the southern edge of the Sahara desert as a means to prevent desertification. It was developed by the African Union to address the detrimental social, economic and environmental impacts of land degradation and desertification in the Sahel and the Sahara.
The aims are wider than this according to the Sunday Times, with hopes that trees can be planted that provide useful crops and income, so that the men aren’t drawn to terrorism and general mayhem.
The article also talks about how Kew Gardens is being drawn into the project, because it has the expertise to make sure the trees germinate and thrive.
By the end of this year they hope to have planted 162,000 trees in 2,500 acres. The forty species include gum arabic, tamarind and desert date.
This project is one of the ways to help stop poverty in the poorer areas of the world, whereas the article is the reason to buy the Sunday Times today.
Putin sends a missile battery, whereas Kew sends in and trains botanists and gardeners.
Do As I Say Not As I Do!
I don’t support Greenpeace directly, although I follow some of their ideas and I’m happy to use their research to back up a principle I believe in.
My reasons for not supporting them financially, is that they have chugged me and I don’t support charities who do that.
But also, I feel some of their stunts are more about raising money than anything else.
I also feel in some cases their views are wrong and that these views have set back the lot of some people, who don’t live in the same decent circumstances, as most who work for and support the charity.
But today, I read the report on how one of their senior executives commutes from Luxembourg to Amsterdam by air, rather than uses the train. It’s reported in several newspapers and the report in the Daily Mail is here.
On reading this report, I suspect a lot of Greenpeace’s supporters have decided not to do so any more!
It’s not as though there aren’t other charities working in the same area.
A Worrying Report On CFCs And HCFCs
It is being reported that mysterious CFC and HCFC gases have been found in the atmosphere. Here’s the first part of the report.
Scientists have identified four new man-made gases that are contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer.
Two of the gases are accumulating at a rate that is causing concern among researchers.
Worries over the growing ozone hole have seen the production of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases restricted since the mid 1980s.
I have no theory about how these gases got there, as I’m no chemist or environmental scientist.
But I do feel that there are an awful lot of unnecessary drug inhalers powered by HCFCs used in the world.
I don’t mean unnecessary from the medical point of view, although in the 1990s, there were some amazing anomalies in the prescribing of these devices.
Some years ago, I backed a company that went on to produce an inhaler, that used no compressed gases, no batteries or any other noxious or environmentally-unfriendly substance.
It was so impressive that we were brought up at the Montreal Protocol talks, where some delegates tried to get the banning of HCFCs as well. They failed as some countries and Big Pharma didn’t want a ban.
So what happened to our device?
We sold it to Bohringer Ingelheim for a lot of money and it is described on this website.
How To Be Green
This arrived as an e-mail from that green island across the sea; Ireland. It cried out to be posted.
When at a store checkout the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own shopping bags in future because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment..
The woman apologised and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days.”
The cashier responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.”
She was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the shop. The shop sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got blunt.
But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every shop and office building. We walked to the shop and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two streets.
But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby’s nappies because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 2200watts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.
But that young lady is right. We didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the county of Yorkshire. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us.. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the post, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not polystyrene or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn.. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she’s right. We didn’t have the green thing back then.
We drank water from a fountain or a tap when we were thirsty instead of demanding a plastic bottle flown in from another country. We accepted that a lot of food was seasonal and didn’t expect to have out of season products flown thousands of air miles around the world. We actually cooked food that didn’t come out of a packet, tin or plastic wrapping and we could even wash our own vegetables and chop our own salad.
But we didn’t have the green thing back then.
Back then, people caught a train or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mothers into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical socket in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerised gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza place.
But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we oldies were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?
Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart-ass young person.
Remember: Don’t make old people mad. We don’t like being old in the first place, so it doesn’t take much to piss us off…
High Buildings And High Winds
This tragic story from Leeds about high winds round a high building is a cautionary tale.
All too often we don’t fully test a building’s affect on the environment properly, before it is actually built. Look at the problems of the Walkie-Talkie in the sun.
I tend to not linger in the bus station at London Bridge, as sometimes the downdraught from The Shard is more than too much for me.
The only thing that would make architects think more, is if one of these troublesome buildings had to be demolished.
How Will A Plastic Bag Tax Affect This?
I bought a heavy and expensive casserole at John Lewis today.
How Will A Plastic Bag Tax Affect This?
To get it home, the assistant skilfully wrapped it in three plastic carrier bags.
The packing worked and I got it home safely on a train and a bus.
Will the plastic bag tax make this sort of use of plastic bags rather frowned on?
The Anonymous Widower 