malumbu

It's our duty to reduce carbon emissions. That said most of our housing stock is poorly insulated, including mine, and it is faff to put up internal or external insulation. I don't fancy the disruption and costs of ground or air source heat pumps. My roof is not South facing and PV panels are ugly in any case. Let's have some combined heat and power, local networks running off more sustainable energy sources. I suppose I will just have to move to Denmark. PS think the scheme is legit. Whether it is good investment and will deliver is another question.

I reckon that Man City will walk it, and Palace will not get a lot more points/goals this season. Note to the OP, please use a proper title on the thread. Note to DD, you sound like a chap/chapess who knows about engineering and could do with a project (note to all, a friendly private discussion on a different thread) That's nicely confused things. Good post on routemasters, my knowledge was drawn from a documentary, trips to the transport museum and Acton, and some personal and professional interest. I can talk more about emissions standards, retrofitting buses and the like. And once drove a bus around a car park which was fab.

An article in a transport magazine about the school run and changes to behaviour. Some have grasped the opportunity to use the car less, although many haven't and some have shifted to driving. Survey size is a bit piddly. https://www.transporttimes.co.uk/news.php/Has-Covid-19-changed-the-school-run-617/?utm_source=Transport+Times&utm_campaign=b00d95f2ab-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_10_30_11_03_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c0cafa3f39-b00d95f2ab-250793593 Short quote from the blog: Our survey showed that the majority of respondents (80%) hadn't changed the way they travel to school since the start of the pandemic. Of the participants who hadn't changed the way they travelled, more than 60% walk for at least part of their journey, and just over one-fifth cycled or scooted for at least part of their journey. Almost 40% used the car for some or all of their journey. Interestingly, of those participants who had changed the way they travel to school, over half were now walking for at least part of their journey, and over one-third cycling. Alarmingly, some respondents had shifted to using the car, with over half of those who had changed their travel behaviour, using the car for at least some of their journey.

Scrap the monarchy (they can stay on for ceremonial reasons), and become a secular republic. Ditch that National Anthem. We could have a tune based on the anti Reagan Heaven 17 song, "Brothers, sisters, we don't need that fascist Groove Thang." Suggestions for lyrics before I speak with Glenn Gregory and the team. Maybe there are some budding Gil Scott-Heron's in our community. Also thinking Public Enemy. Scrap the Monarchy, Scrap the Monarchy, I'll get an ear worm.

We wont shift to driving on the right. Most of us know that the left is sensible and goes back, to at least, Roman times. Other countries just kowtowed to the US/Henry Ford. I once walked from Guyana into Brazil over a strange junction that converted the road from left hand to right hand drive and vice-versa. The resistance to the metric system is this bloody island nation superiority complex nonsense. Nonsense. Costs are relatively modest. All our text books are in metric. Everything you buy is metric. Just needs the Daily Express to come on board.

It's not that simple. Modern diesels are more fuel efficient than petrol engines. So efficient that they grab nitrogen from the air which leads to pollution. Further, the combustion process, ignition under compression rather than through a spark, leads to particles of pollution (soot). On the latest versions of diesels the nitrogen oxides are converted back to harmless nitrogen, and the soot captured on filters to be burned off at a later date. Petrol engines emissions were reduced through the adoption of fuel injection, and a three way catalyst. Much of this was driven by US environmental laws, following smogs in big cities like LA in the 70s. Funny that the US understood air quality, but not climate change. Round town there was no great case for diesels as they are more appropriate for longer distances, where fuel economy and their power was more appropriate. But around 20 years ago manufacturers started to produce small engined diesel cars which the masses brought contributing to the pollution hotspots. The technology introduced to reduce pollution from diesel vehicles never worked as well as it should have, but much better now. There are also those that drive diesel vehicles around that have faulty or removed equipment, you see them from time to time as you can see the fumes. Some garages have capitalised on this by saying that it is legal to remove equipment. And you can buy devices off ebay that can effectively bypass some of the technology. Various measures such as tighter MOTs and enforcement against dodgy garages are in place. So not that simple. Best not have a car and just hire one, use a car club etc, when needs arise! Or get a horse and have your own manure. With a cart that is an excellent means to get to the allotment. Perhaps there is a horse and cart club.

What? I couldn't get Amazon Prime to work - only used it twice to watch footy because the kids have Amazon Prime free, but it wouldn't go onto the Handmaids Tale. So I watched Palin in India, which always makes me want to go back.

I found putting a cocktail stick up my nose hilarious. But then I often respond like this to stressful situations. Second time was quicker and easier. Not sure if I share the same concerns. Now having your privates tested, oohhhh. Found it more difficult watching an Otter sent mark on Countryfile. ughhhh.

One of the biggest things that has frustrated me over the past decades is the UKs backward thinking of adopting units of measurement based on the natural world, rather than those for people with 12 or 16 fingers, or based on the body dimensions in the middle ages. I go out of my way to use metric, and would happily dump miles too. As Canada did (OK half heartedly) but a more modern country Ireland. The little Islanders have used this as a justification not to join the rest of the world. I was looking through a 1970 Ford Cortina owners manual, loathe to get rid of it but I really need to chuck this sort of thing away when I surprisingly noted that 50 years ago everything was metric. Why haven't we grasped the nettle? Which brought me to the metric society, and a surprise that we tried to go metric well before we joined the then common market. In 1965 the UK decided to move to base 10 both for currency and units of measurement, sadly only the former was taken forward in totality, I expect there were howls of protest then too. In the early 70s there was even a campaign on Kellogs cereal packets to get kids to remember conversions from Imperial to metric - wish I could find a link. There's a nice history here https://ukma.org.uk/ which includes a link to a not particularly successful survey, but hey ho. Thanks for indulging me.

ULEZ, over 40 years exempt, otherwise Euro 6 diesel, Sept 2015, or Euro 4 petrol, Jan 2005. Some manufacturers may have adopted slightly earlier. On air quality you should really get a Euro 6d when real world testing was introduced which meant it did what it said on the tin. Or go hire car, thanks for the views on HiyaCar

Talking to one of our local nature reserves and they see sparrow hawks, a buzzard and another raptor - assume a falcon. Nice one!

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail/20200128/282102048646255

Costs are probably much higher Otto, need to take into account wear and tear, depreciation, and that is before you consider fuel and parking and the like. Most don't see it like that though, ie in full economic costs, many just looking only at fuel, which can be a third of the actual cost. With the fixed costs, the lower your mileage, the higher the cost per mile, so an even stronger case to ditch the car if you are doing low mileage. So when you argue that you wont pay ?100 on the train as it is too expensive, 450 mile drive to Manchester and back could cost you twice that much in terms of driving. Some would then take into account having passengers and convenience when at the location, but I'd also look at speed (train would be generally quicker), and convenience/comfort (I can look out of the window, read a book, sleep etc). Sadly whilst our trains have become faster, comfort in normal class has gone down for example ironing board seats, and higher density.

Afro is a hair cut. Just say 'black' it's not politically incorrect. Mental health is an interesting issue, as many criminals will have mental health issues. But this chap didn't come over as a psychopath. I'd make a judgment call about how to react, intervening etc. When he walked towards me it was a bit strange but then he veered away. If I'd seen him harassing more vulnerable people then I would have acted differently. As said he will be known to the authorities who would I expect have made an assessment of whether he is a danger to the community and any need for restraint, sectioning and the like.

Interesting that you only need a car for the tip and to pick up manure - I'd suggest a cheap run-around but those over 40 years old and hence no ULEZ charge are now considered classic vehicles and ????. There's lots of 15 year old petrol run-arounds on Autotrader that will be ULEZ exempt for under a grand. I've got unrealistic expectations of car hire, but generally have not been too shocked at the price and often, not always, you will get an upgrade.

Cheers Paul, a brilliantly run club and welcome further expansion. A general point on gender, can/do female coaches train boys teams and vice versa? Not sure if there are specific rules in children/youth football, I can recall that at a certain age you can no longer have mixed teams.

Wow this thread has moved from 2021 to 1971, with some old testament retribution thrown in and perhaps some casual racism. Beating somebody up who has mental health issues will not solve anything, and makes you the criminal. It's been reported to the authorities, and looks like this person is already known of. Leave it to them. Share your sympathies with those who have been targeted. Share warnings with others. Keep your views on the direct action you'd take to yourself. When I spoke about kids in the playground having rocks thrown at them because they were a bit strange (now rightly diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum) how did that help? Perhaps some of you would have been the 'cowards' throwing the stones. And before you accuse me of being some bleeding heart liberal I have intervened many times, using physical presence, body language and words to calm situations down etc. Just never felt the inclination to set upon someone, either by myself or with others.

And another link about community car clubs http://www.communitycarshare.org/ seems to be useful info rather than a tool to take this forward

Anyone any knowledge of local car shares ie where you set one up for say the street. There was thread a couple of years ago where one of the less known electric car manufacturers set up a scheme where you clubbed together. The admin could be a bit challenging. I shared a car with mate years ago and could be tempted to do this again. Here's a link to peer to peer sharing but I imagine the owner will be making a profit rather than sharing at cost price with the community https://www.hiyacar.co.uk/

Nothing to do with the thread but some light relief - the 'governors' control over Dulwich Village, my fave was no cashpoints (I expect the former Barclays was one of the few in the country without one). How quaint! Hope nobody proves me wrong on cashpoints as went to the Dog maybe ten years ago and they didn't take cards and had a fee cashpoint inside the pub so we didn't bother.

SpringTime Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Unhinged but still a coward and idiot. I'll call the police if I see the match, dial 999 if a situation is in play, and challenge/disable the individual if appropriate and possible. Not really very helpful if he has mental health problems. Not sure how it helps using terms like coward and idiot. Inform the authorities as people have. Warn people as people have. Using terms like coward and idiot are emotive and suggest that you have a poor understanding of mental health. Reminds me of my school days when anyone was a bit odd was bullied, rocks thrown at them etc. I suspect many were on the spectrum and things are so much better now at the right interventions and understanding mental health. Funnily enough these were my first thoughts when I saw this post, and then I recalled I'd come across him a couple of weeks ago. I expect that the authorities will be aware and do their job.

Suddenly we've all become experts on air quality. Well I am. I've kept that quiet but from time to time post something about vehicle technology which shows that my knowledge goes beyond Google. Siting pollution is just another reason that many use to try to block measures to reduce vehicles. I doubt whether many cared until things started to affect them in terms of driving and inconvenience. OK here we go again. 1. Vehicles are cleaner. The ULEZ will get rid of most of the polluting vehicles 2. The latest diesels no longer produce the levels of nitrogen oxides than those in the past. There is the VW gate and manufacturers cheating the tests, but this has at last been sorted. 3. Modern cars produce much less PM than ten or twenty years ago 4. If you see a vehicle spewing out smoke it generally because either the equipment has failed, or worse still been illegally removed. Has been clamped down on but essentially this is because the owner/driver doesn't care a fig. And again more will come off our local roads in the Autumn 5. Most of you are rubbish drivers and don't know how to anticipate the road ahead, drive over traffic calmed streets etc, Speed bumps - accelerate/brake. Gap in the traffic, accelerate. Green light ahead, race to try to get through, brake hard at the last second. I've got the badge, done the training etc. Poor driving adds to pollution through unnecessarily putting the engine under stress, braking particulates, tyre wear particulates, and leads to more CO2 (and higher fuel costs). You can pass your test at 17 and not have any further training or examination until you are too old to drive. 6. Most modern cars have stop start technology and should turn the engine off when in stationary in traffic. I suspect many turn this off due to selfishness or some scare stories in twitter about damaging the engine, and draining the battery. 7. Local authorities have a duty to measure air quality and take action. This doesn't mean monitoring every metre of local road but representative monitoring and modelling 8. This is a longer game of behaviour change, and not going to produce overnight results 9. Air quality is not a problem that manifested itself due to the advent of LTNs. We've been failing to meet standards for years hence government was ordered by the courts to sort things out. The previous Mayor took action in proposing the ULEZ. Local authorities have done lots, albeit not well joined up at times. I just wonder how many of you clocked this, and did your own bit to help. At the end of the day we are causing the pollution on our roads, be it from driving, deliveries, building work etc. 10. There is always more that can be done. There is no such thing as zero pollution and perfect air quality, society needs to decide what is acceptable in terms of the impact on health vs living in a Western country that needs some level of traffic to maintain our normal living standards. And we need to protect those most vulnerable. I was looking for a link that shows how local air quality has improved over recent years (it has) but found the FOE article about a high number of pollution hotspots (SE22 does not feature in the worse streets in London). This recommends action by the authorities but as ever we as individuals need to do more without having to be told or made. https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/mapped-more-one-thousand-locations-england-still-breaching-air-pollution-limits As for the local measures to discourage driving, you can come up with 'better' plans for LTNs or whatever. I'm talking principles here. I will be inconvenienced by roads closing, roads narrowing, junctions changing. I just choose to see the big picture.

Not really sure why you post the cycle lobby doesn't want electric vehicles. We need vehicles and they need to move to zero emission. We just need less vehicles, rather than simply replace the internal combustion engine with electric motors. And when I say 'we' I am talking about society not cyclists. And bemused by the comparison with Bromley. Whilst I have expressed a view that some on this thread aren't progressive in their thinking, many in Bromley are in the dark ages when it comes to more environmentally friendly transport. And most have the space in their homes to keep a bike. So often the choice is: I'll use my car as it is more convenient, vs I'll use another form of transport as although it is less convenient it is better for society, the environment and my health and well being. I've made the transition to the latter, irrespective of the hills and the absolutely dreadful public transport (it's not). Join me.

There are definitely lots of 'ives' - not aggressive, but obsessive and emotive. The 'Southwark is corrupt, incompetent, and in the pockets of the rich' is a prime example. I find it difficult to get into proper debate on this thread about how we tackle carbon emissions from cars - it's as much about reduced demand as technology. There are exciting times ahead as we move into 'mobility as a service' and the current model of car ownership and use may soon be a thing of the past. Connected and autonomous vehicles will be a massive game changer. https://www.smmt.co.uk/industry-topics/technology-innovation/connected-autonomous-vehicles/ Yet I feel that many views on this thread are backward. I've shared my own experience of a time when I was obsessive about a planning decision. I took to social media. I considered the local authority were useless. It became personal. I badgered the national and local media (the latter backfired spectacularly with a counter piece in the South London press. People would cross the street when they saw me. I wasn't aware about how obsessed I had become. I'm still not happy with the planning decision but there became a time to move on. And learn from my behaviours.

Well that has put the cat among the pigeons. I was trying not to post on this thread, as there are too many closed minds. But in the last few weeks it was good to see that there were others who tried to bring in some balance. I've given my views a number of times, but just to reiterate them if we are serious about tackling climate change we need to reduce the number of cars on our roads. Call me a pro LTNer or whatever, I'd rather be known as an environmentalist. I've not read, nor feel like I needed to read, the Guardian articles, as I'm pretty informed already. I've just deleted some comments about issues with some of the coverage about emissions in the mid 10s as this doesn't help the discussions here. But I can't comment on the more recent articles, which as said don't influence me. I do read articles in more specialist publications and post them on here from time to time. Back to the topic, one area I have been involved in in the past is consultations. You get strong views on either side, and where people are particularly angry this tends to be against rather than for. But in almost all circumstances these are still the minority and most people just get on with their lives and get used to it. As I have for a variety of traffic initiatives since I moved here 30 years ago, you grumble a bit, and then it becomes the norm.