Economists call them “externalities.” They’re the costs of people’s actions on other people or communities—though the people taking those actions don’t have to pay for those costs, even as they harm others. The emissions from combusting fossil fuels to propel vehicles are clearly a prime example. While complaints about air quality in the Los Angeles Basin
Nearly 40 million people in the UK are living in areas where illegal levels of air pollution from diesel vehicles risk damaging their health, according to analysis commissioned by the Labour party. The extent of the air pollution crisis nationally is exposed in the data which shows 59% of the population are living in towns
The eco-dream of the ’90s is alive in the electric car I haven’t bought gas in a year. Yes, you read that right. Go ahead and let that sink in a bit. Last April, when I was looking for a new ride, my wife told me I should try an electric car. Why not? Skeptically,
Every trainee journalist is taught about a model of behaviour exhibited by the general public called ‘moral panics’. In a moral panic the media pumps out stories like it has bad guts after a curry and people get enraged over the issue. Currently there’s a swirl of stories going out on pollution killing us and
As air pollution levels reach new highs, Vogue investigates the best ways to minimise the impact on your health and beauty. Take a deep breath. Or maybe, don’t: the director general of the World Health Organisation has just described air pollution as “one of the most pernicious threats” facing global public health today, and UK
Diesel was the dream fuel, promoted by governments and the car industry as a cheaper way to save the planet. Then the cracks started to appear It’s hard to believe, as diesel vehicles find themselves thrust into the spotlight of a global urban environment crisis, that Audi’s Superbowl advert was made just seven years ago.
I got pretty excited when I heard that London was committing to buying only 100% emission-free buses for all single-decker city center routes. Likewise, when Eindhoven and Helmond bought 43 extra-long electric buses, it felt like one more step toward cleaner, greener cities. Given that Paris, Athens, Mexico City and Madrid are pledging to ban
Employers have been told they are legally obliged to protect their staff from diesel fumes — and could be sued if workers develop cancer later in life. The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have issued the warnings because diesel fumes have been reclassified as a “grade 1
Cheating, dodging rules and heavy lobbying by motor manufacturers fuelled the toxic air the UK is struggling with today. Conniving car makers and their lobbying might, assisted by the 2008 financial crash, were the key factors in producing the diesel-fuelled air pollution crisis the UK is struggling with today, according to key observers of the
Exclusive: More than 2,000 schools and nurseries close to roads with damaging levels of diesel fumes, joint investigation by Guardian and Greenpeace reveals Hundreds of thousands of children are being exposed to illegal levels of damaging air pollution from diesel vehicles at schools and nurseries across England and Wales, a joint investigation by the Guardian
