John Williamson wrote:
On 19/10/2018 15:22, wrote:
On Fri, 19 Oct 2018 07:18:18 -0700 (PDT)
Offramp wrote:
This stuck out:
"With pollution killing about 48,000 Parisians a year..."
Wow. That is a huge amount. I wonder what the figure is for London.
Whatever it is its probably hell of a lot less than it was even 20 years ago
with the improvements in vehicle emission controls. The whole thing is being
over hyped by politicians looking for an easy bandwagon and various eco idiots
and vested interests.
And when they say "killing 48,000 a year" what they mean is that all
Parisians (And Londoners) are having their lives slightly shortened by
the pollution compared with their predicted lifespans in unpolluted
places. Call it about 1.5% off your life exectancy.
To get a better idea of how pollution affects people you really need to see
what is has been like for the past 200 years rather than the last 50.
Comparing London and Paris would be interesting
London smogs used to be notorious till burning of plain coal was banned in
smokeless zones and even into 1980’s a trip to London resulted in a dirty
collars, hair and black snot which doesn’t happen now since vehicle
exhausts got treated.
In contrast homes in Paris tended to burn wood for much of the 19th and
20th centuries which is why the buildings never got that black look so
prevalent on London buildings till they got pressure washed from the
1970’s.
London shines now compared to what it used to look like but
Parisians may not have had such a great change.
GH