Thursday, December 14, 2006
Confessions of a Polkadot Pt. 3
In addition to the post below about air travel, I'm going to go polka-dot about the next biggest polluter - driving. In terms of journeys, taking public transport generates a LOT less carbon, with the good old London tube being the least polluting (it runs on electricity which is generated by coal-fired power-stations, but... oh bloody hell, you're just going to have to trust me on this one. E-mail me if you want the stats).
But, of course, the best solution of all is to either get a bike or walk. It doesn't take a genius, and there's very little else to say about it, other than that you'll get fit, make sure you get a helmet, and be lit up like a Christmas tree.
However, if you must drive, here are some things to think about. You can convert your car to run on gas (that's Liquid Petroleum Gas - or LPG - to you, sir) for a few thousand quid. Running your car on LPG is unbelievably cheap compared to diesel or petrol, especially if you're doing a lot of miles. You're exempt from the congestion charge. And the car farts when you drive it as well, which is very amusing. Actually it doesn't.
I'm trying to make a conversation about petrol sound sexy, but unless you're name's Pete Doherty, it's not going to happen. Bear with me.
Here's a little teaser - If you were to put the most polluting fuels in order, starting with the most evil first, and the cleanest last, most people would put them in this order:
1. Diesel - evil, nasty horrible stuff
2. Petrol - still evil, but not as bad as diesel
3. LPG - next to God.
Well, no. You'd be surprised.
1. Petrol generates a LOT of carbon when it burns. More than any other.
2. LPG - a lot better than petrol, but it's natural gas, dummy! Of course it generates carbon when you burn it!
3. diesel - some carbon (including the carbon created in it's production), but best fuel of a bad bunch.
Only snag with diesel. It may not produce as many gases that contribute to global warming, but it generates soot. If we all converted to diesel, we'd drastically reduce global warming, but then asthma-related problems would go through the roof, smog would be an issue and buildings would be corroded by the other stuff in the fumes. So whilst we'd be reducing carbon emissions, we'd create other health-related problems, especially in the city.
A few other pointers: i) Don't rev your engine. You're not going to make that pensioner cross the zebra any quicker, and you're sending a load of shit into the air without actually going anywhere. ii) Drive at lower speed in higher gears. You won't burn quite as much fuel. iii) Accelerate slower, and brake more gently. I know you can do 0-60 faster than a bride's nightie hits the floor on her wedding night, but do you really have to prove it every 5 minutes?
It's your call.
