The role of control in damaging health

[Martin Cassini]

Today's story about traffic pollution damaging lung function in children is not new. Despite the work that many of us are doing, the authorities fail to take note, let alone action. Under Livingstone, it was TfL's duty to reduce seven key emissions, but he choked traffic flow with hundreds of new traffic lights, and left lights operating even when side roads were closed. Policymakers continue to preside over a system of grotesque inefficiency and waste. One of the points made in my 2007 article No Idle Matter was that accelerating away from a standing start at traffic lights multiplies fuel use and emissions by a factor of 4 compared with the low emissions from traffic gliding through on opportunity. The BBC story is here.