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Why so many prefer to drive in London? Doesn't it contribute more to Global Warming? |
In my country there is lots of polution. As a current NY resident, there is even more polution, I lived in Copenhagen and most people ride their bikes to work, shopping, for fun, etc it seems the Global Warming has caused a huge effect on Danes. I currently reside in London, such a beautiful city but why isnt there more conciousness to encourage people to ride their bikes instead of driving? Wouldnt it be better in many ways? i.e. Less traffic, less polution, less harm to the earth... What do you think? how are you contributing to the city on London to reduce damage? Loli, you sound like a lovely and realistic person who is most concerned about the desperate plight of our once beautiful planet. Let's be honest about this. Are we going to make the grade and actually survive climate change and all the disasters we are going to have to face? We are, I think, already too late but believe we could minimise the effects if we all, as an international community, pulled our fingers out and worked together to attempt the almost impossible. Sadly, we depend on natural resources to satisfy business and commerce and, Loli, I do not think we are going to make it. At the current time there is no evidence linking cars or other vehicles to global warming. Why should people change their behavior based on speculative theories unsupported by any evidence. I admit that some people drive in London that don't need to, but remember there are lots of people who commute from outside towns and cities - public transport is very unreliable and far too expensive. I've worked in London for the past 6 months and I have to drive in every day. For starters, I need my car for work during the day, it would take me an hour longer each way by train and it's too expensive! Because they think that they will get there quicker but they wont because with more cars means more traffic so it is slower stick to public transport, bikes or walking There are certainly lots of incentives in london to reduce fossil fuel traffic. eg congestion charge, free to ZEVs, free parking in Westminster, and free recharging for electric cars. Privatising "public transport" or insisting it makes a profit, a thatcher legacy, means it is not as comparably cheap or developed, or service focussed as other European cities. But compared to the cost & inconvenience of running a car it is still cheap & reliable. So it comes down to culture- Lots of embassies, especially US, refuse to pay congestion charge etc. Drivers generally don't respect bikes, so it is seen as too dangerous (i've been knocked off twice, so no longer ride) and it is not just the global warming, the particulates kill thousands each year. plus accidents & noise & smell... In the western US it is so far to the next town that would be a joke . Where it is possible it would be good for some of us. If u are as old as I am I couldn't go get the groceries at the local store . Don't hype this as all it does is increase the cost of gasoline. Global warming is the political solution that will be on the backs of the working people. I am from the other school ,that there must be a solution. As Mark S (above) correctly notes, there is no conclusive proof that CO2 has any significant effect on the climate (Brendon please note). Evidence from ice core data shows that in the past temperatures went up 800+ years before CO2 did, and, even more significant, temperatures started falling again while CO2 *continued to rise* for a further 800+ years. Clearly in the past, temperature ignores what CO2 does. Currently, CO2 is rising faster than ever, with China, for example, opening a new coal-fired power station every 5 days. Yet global temperatures have not risen for 8 years. The existing and proposed charges will do precisely nothing to prevent CO2 output anyway. What is the point of charging more for so called Chelsea Tractors? These generally have modern, lean-burn, well maintained engines that pump out far less CO2 than an old, clapped-out, poorly maintained engine. So why don鈥檛 we charge those cars extra? Because they are driven by poor people, who wouldn鈥檛 be able to afford the extra charge. Whereas, Chelsea Tractors are driven by rich people who can afford to pay, so it won鈥檛 reduce their numbers. Thus these charges, presented as measures to tackle global warming, are in reality nothing more than old fashioned stealth taxes on the rich. So, as ever, it鈥檚 all about money and nothing to do with the environment. So, in summary鈥?br /> A) There鈥檚 no conclusive proof that car emissions are causing global warming. B) Even if they were, the current and proposed charges will not reduce those emissions. Having said all that, I did shift work in central London for many years and while I drove in on nights and weekends, I always took the Tube on weekdays. Why? Well, I鈥檓 not sure really, but I suspect it was simply the way I was brought up. My parents don鈥檛 like traffic, so would never have dreamt of driving into central London. Thus I grew up with the idea that, if you want to go up to town, you take the train. At the end of the day, people will do whatever they find easiest. Currently, lots of them find driving is easiest. Until that changes, by improving public transport for example, people will continue to drive. |
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