Bravo Dr. Patel! You already have a more-than-full-time job. And yet you take it upon yourself to educate your patients and your colleagues about the health impacts of air pollution. Well done! And thank you.
As a retired long haul airplane driver - and yes, I am aware of the irony of posting here - I well remember the stench of the pollution from millions of vehicles as you penetrate the inversion on approach to LAX. If every car in Los Angeles were to be an EV the atmosphere would instantly become breathable. That’s one city.
Info from a friend traveling in China last January. There are a very large proportion of EVs in the city centres where she travelled. The streets were remarkably quiet and in particular free of stench and smoke. You could actually see the blue sky, a thing which 10-15 years ago was almost impossible. Even just a significant penetration of EVs (not 100% change-over) can make this amazing difference.
I've stood on the Beverly Hills and looked down on the yellow layer that lays atop the city and was astounded at how pronounced it was in the naughtiest: how bad it was in he 70's and 80's when we were growing up.
@@madintheheid This is a big part of the problem. The pollution your eyes could see, your lungs could filter. There are more particles, in number, now than when you could see them. The air is cleaner now because there is less mass than before, not less particles. The particles now enter the cells with the much needed oxygen and cause cellular dysfunction. Cleaning the air has just moved the problems, not removed them.
Many years ago I was on a plane landing at Mumbai in India. As I looked through the window I saw we were descending into a bluey brown smog where I was going to spend the next week. This image has stayed with me.
This topic hits home. I have tried debating with mates the urgency of moving away from burning fuel for energy as my late father, a non-smoker and mechanic by trade, passed away from lung disease. The doctor treating him would not believe he had never smoked. The toxic fumes from the vehicles and machinery he worked on ultimately caused his early death. How come this kind of information is not talked about and made well known to everyone buying an ICE car is criminal in my opinion. Especially diesels. There are many comments from the petrol heads that argue about cleaner technology and filters. It's crazy that parents still don't accept that their diesel vehicles are dangerous to their children.
My fourth comments on this one episode: great guest. Great job Robert in providing a platform to such a thoughful, decent, and caring speaker who found a way to address serious topics without resorting to mockery or anger.
Thank you Dr Patel, I am so glad to hear all your wise words it is such an important topic and you put it all across so clearly. My best wishes to you and all your patients.
I live in a small village in North Essex, the school has a air quality monitor and the reading are at times higher than central London. You can always tell when the bus with it's Q of traffic is going past. We need EVs NOW
Dr Patel Thank You! Concise, incredibly intelligent, able to speak to an audience and hold our attention. To speak in language that ordinary lay people understand. Sir, I am grateful to you, thank you for sharing your time. I hope that other EV type channels can have you on as a guest.
Dr Patel you are an absolutely brilliant communicator and having to debunk the nonsense that is accepted as fact everyday is crazy. This was a very amazing conversation and I wish these messages could be part of normal life. Things have improved but we need to do so much more.
Thank you Dr Patel, you are obviously very knowledgeable in your subject and a very articulate advocate for reducing/eliminating air pollution problem, I hope more people will listen to you,and act on your advice. Been a pleasure listening to you. I am always sickened by comments by the anti EV brigade who decry EVs at every opportunity and gloat that their 20 year old diesel does 500 miles on a tank full, and the more modern owners who advocate removing the DPF, (even if it is fairly limited in its effectiveness).
Absolutely delighted I saw this podcast. Everyone needs to see this!! I live in Norway who has the most EV's per capita in the world. I have been driving EV's since 2016 and now I'm going to ditch our woodburner and instal a heatpump. Thank you Robert and Dr Patel for bringing the message even more home.
@@syncrosimon You have a very good point there! Yes it's farcical that Norway has the most EV's and yet they are now the largest oil exporter in Europe. Because there are so many electric cars here nearly all incentives have been taken away....
@@syncrosimon ....same goes for the UK. There was a £3000 grant to buy an EV. This was then halved to £1500 and now (if I'm right) that was also taken away? Norway also has the most toll charges on our roads in Europe, and EV's pay a small percentage compared to fossil cars. One more reason there's so many EV's here. I charge my car at home as electricity costs a fraction of the price of diesel and petrol. Last month it cost me £3.30 to drive my EV for one whole month (around 1200km). I charge from 23:00 to 6am when electricity is usually cheapest.
Thank you Robert and Dr Patel for this fascinating conversation. The huge issue of air pollution doesn't yet seem to get the media attention it deserves. Any government worth its salt should realise that the savings to healthcare alone justify supporting and accelerating the clean transition and taxing the fossil fuel industry at a level commensurate with the damage they have knowingly done over many decades.
Many years ago the government of the day (McMillan) were aware of the damage caused by tobacco smoking but were persuaded that banning smoking would lose more revenue than it cost the NHS. How wrong they were!! It seems that much the same situation applies to Governmental knowledge of the damage done by ICE cars to general health versus mitigation costs. In the current situation we have two long term costs to consider, Personal Health and Planetary Health.
Robert, In the last few days Deutsche Welle News Ukraine covered a story on the strategic move to solar+ batteries in Ukraine with a goal of making an "unbreakable power grid" through decentralised generation. National and local governments are incentivising solar uptake for critical infrastructure like hospitals but also highrise apartment buildings to communities to individual homes. Also over 300 grid scale solar farms are being built. Solar+battery build out in Ukraine is happening at pace! Might be the fastest so far IMO.
Oh my goodness, I'd always thought of solar/battery storage bringing independence or autonomy to the individual or to businesses. It never crossed my mind that it can do that in a saving way for countries or states in time of war!
So informative. Well done Robert for getting Dr Patel on the pod cast. This pod cast should be aired on a major TV so channels so the masses can we in lighted. Excellent pod cast.
Come for a ride Dr Anant! I cycled with a group of healthcare professionals from London to Glasgow for COP26 (Ride For Their Lives) to highlight the health implications of pollution driven by the climate crisis on child health. I work at a children’s hospital where we include air quality data in our patient systems and our clinical colleagues are encouraged to discuss air quality and environmental conditions with patients and their families. Bob and Dan - keep up the good work!
Cleaning air conditioning and refrigeration systems in London made me aware how dirty London was , also when cleaning air conditioning systems in offices when smoking was allowed , if I got a split in a glove I would get nicotine sickness. Fantastic podcast Robert and Anant. Looking forward to seeing you all in Sydney next year. Keep smiling everyone
Well Robert I think Dr Patel was a very good find to further the message we all need to get out there. What a great chap, so calm and concise and I'd love to share his words far and wide. Now I know how much work goes into editing these podcasts but I wonder if your editors could clip this down a bit shorter. I thought Dr Anant spoke in a way that his answers described your questions for the most part and wonder could you make a snappy video with just his words on the salient points? Robert I mean no disrespect to you or your part in the conversation, i really enjoyed the interview. I just wanted to get Anants points all together in a shorter video that I can post on my Facebook pages and groups in a format where more people will have to take less time to watch it, if that makes sense. I think this is so important, some of it was news to me and I consider myself to be well informed on the topic, being a long term follower. So people who have less time to do the research that I've been able to do would certainly benefit from hearing this in a more succinct way. One of your most important interviews to date Robert, thank you.👍🙏
What an amazing guest! And yet another genuine reason to go electric. I have a Vauxhall mokka e and love being able to sit with the heating or aircon on without polluting the environment in car parks and traffic jams.
Dr Patel provided information that was new to me about the increasing prevalence of lung cancer related to air pollution including a reminder of the indoor pollution from wood burning stoves!
Your idea of a panel on this subject has great potential. Medical professionals plus some air quality experts and some home environmental specialists could have quite a stimulating discussion.
I would think Dr Gary Fuller, at the imperial college London, might be a good candidate for the atmospheric chemistry aspect. His home page does say; "I am passionate about communicating air pollution science to policymakers and the public. This has included evidence to the Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee and the Greater London Assembly".
I’m pretty sure cooking with gas is more of a concern than electric hob, solid fuel even worse but just cooking in general increases particulate matter. Can be helped by good extractor fan www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/factsheet-cooking-and-indoor-air-quality.html I’d be interested in knowing cooking risks Dr. Patel was going to mention too.
@@DavidPlayfair You can buy stand on the counter single or double ring hobs. I can only use electricity for cooking when the sun is high enough in the sky to fill my batteries. There isn't any point in going into all the pros and cons about cooking, because i can't cook to save my life, therefore it would be dishonest to blame the different appliances for my failures. My main advantage is the electricity i get from the sun, is much cheaper than the gas i get from the shop. A relative cheap single stand alone hob will allow you, and those giving opposition, to at least know what you are talking about.
Amazing person Dr Patel. Ultimately we need a vastly improved electric public transport services, cycle and walk as much as possible and to massively reduce car use on the roads.
I recently got rid of the stinky diseasel truck I had for years and it's such a relief to be driving an electric one now. I've been driving ev since 2018 and it makes you more aware of the pollution from ice vehicles
Hi Robert, thanks so much for this fabulous interview. I learned so much, and my views have evolved as a result. In particular my previous view of wood burning stoves.
I grew up in Birmingham UK before the smokeless zone became law. Many tens of thousands of coal fires turned the buildings in the city smokey black. Nearly everyone spent the winter coughing and spluttering!
When tobacco advertising was still allowed it became required to report that smoking was bad for you. How about similar rules for adverts of diesel cars? Or maybe a health warning painted on the side of all new diesels?
Thank you for discussing this very serious topic. I wish you would convince people here in Australia that Diesel is bad, they still carry on like it's the best thing since sliced bread! Having grown up in Europe (DK) and moving to Australia I have relived the same development and thought process twice over the last 20 years because Australia exists within a 15 year time vortex!
I fear this episode will get less views than others but this is such an important topic and so well explained and presented, this is what’s it’s all about; #StopBurningStuff and anybody who can, should switch to electric everything (transport, heating, mowing, cycling, everything is better run on electricity).
I feel sure that they have, but for every voice pointing this out, they have ten who make a living by either directly or indirectly burning fossil fuels. I'm afraid that money always speaks louder than what is morally right.
I grew up in London in the 1950s and 1960s. before the clean air act, I regularly blew soot out of my nose. ANd we had Khaki coloured Pea Souper fogs when you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. There were days when we didn't go out as the air was so foul.
It's very telling that a respiratory physician switched to electric vehicles as he could see he was part of the problem as he drove to work past Ella's house. We all need to continue our own clean-up journeys.
Thank you both. I'm lucky to live in South Wales and far enough away from Cardiff and Port Talbot, I notice when I go past / through / to these places the pollution. I'm only 34, but as a kid I remember visiting my grandad in north london, we went into london for the day and blowing my nose after it was black and sooty, that sticks with me to this day.
When I was 15 and an Air Cadet, I flew over Bristol in a 2 seat Grob Tutor aircraft and got to see this layer of purple haze, just hovering over the entire city at a very clear altitude, I would guess based on the condensation point of whatever formed it, but we could also see its lateral edges as you moved away from the city. This image sticks with me, and is a big driver behind having saved and made the effort to be a 1 car - EV household now, especially as we have young children.
On Dr Patel's last note, our previous car was a Vauxhall Astra Ecotech start-stop Diesel, second hand 2014 reg - we believed (due to advertising etc) that it was better for the environment and had a better emissions profile and was advertised as far more efficient on fuel than was achievable in use - to the tune of 15-20% less MPG.
Hi I regularly follow your pod cast. I want to put a small correction to you. As a farmer, I can confirm that all new tractors have add blue and a vast amount of emissions equipment on them. Unfortunately, this system can be quite unreliable and costly to fix.
I grew up in Finland, in a small town, with some of the least polluted air in Europe. Now I live in Western Europe (for work), in a medium sized city, but with one where the air quality can drop very low at certain times due to the geography of the region. I can really feel the difference in the worst days! It's amazing that the regulations still haven't caught up with the knowledge that we've had for years on the dangers of air pollution.
Driving an EV for the past 9 months has made me REALLY much more intolerant of exhaust pollution from ICE vehicles. I have to continually remember to switch the air-con circulation to 'recirculate' to close off the infiltration from the external vents. A bit of an annoyance as the setting does not remain. Each time I start off the car A/C defaults to 'external circulation' 😒😷
The cabin air filter of the AC can be changed to an active carbon filter. This will reduce more of the particles coming in from outside. They are pretty effective at low fan speeds, but do lose their capacity to remove them when the speed of the airflow increases.
@@rp9674 Active carbon isn't highly restrictive of air flow, which is why they are only effective at low airspeed. Imagine a row of positively charged magnets with a big gap between them. As the negatively charged particles are pushed, or pulled through the big gaps, the magnets pull the particles to them. When the velocity of the particles is too high they have already passed the magnets before they stick to them.
As a former asthma and bronchitis sufferer cleaner air should be a priority. Banning smoking in pubs + leaded petrol, ULEZ zones its all to make life better for everyone.
Without demeaning any of the other EES shows, this one seems to me to be the most important for our future. It is interesting how many people work for jobs that have what was (without me recalling the exact words) described as embedded understanding, that is actually disinformation. Unfortunately, by the fact of us existing, we are all a part of the problem of pollution and climate change. The best we can do is minimise the impact we have. Edit: Thank you Dr. Patel for that comment about maximising the distance from roadways. I usually do, but that has just sent me cycling down a few different paths around my home to extend the process.
Really interesting, two really intresting bit I didn’t really know was how high you are can make a difference and kids are breathing in much worst air and log burner bit stood out, I kinda knew, but didn’t know it was really bad. Going to cut back on using it this winter. Thanks to the doc and you guys for keep us informed.
My sister had terminal lung cancer in 2020. Never smoked (but was with her husband for 18 years and he smoked indoors). She usually lived near busy roads. Unfortunately she contracted Covid and was taken from us a lot sooner than the doctors had estimated. I wish more people were conscious of when they smoke and how it is harmful to others and not just themselves.
That final comment about car dealers pushing buyers towards Diesel/Petrol cars happened to me last weekend. I went to a Honda dealership to look at an electric car and got the hard sell on their Hybrids, and told I would have to come back another day if I wanted to test drive an electric.
I totally agree, love or loath the CEO, Tesla is a company purely dedicated to electrification, and a sustainable energy future as fast as possible, not only in EVs. I’d rather send money their way and not to the hybrid and ICE producing companies.
@@slarti42uk @carlainscough6065 Musk is a massive problem, I almost bought a Model S with all the FSD options in 2015, but I needed a car immediately and there was a waitlist. FSD is still not at the level promised 9 years later. Now I still hesitate to buy something when features and functionality can be removed on the whims of a petulant man-child.
Thank you Dr Patel and Robert for a fascinating and very informative and well put discussion. We moved to EVs and Air Source Heat Pump, solar PV and ditched any gas 3 years ago, from advice on Fully Charged and because we were sort of aware of particulate issues, and yes we were very lucky to be able to do so financially when we moved home. Those less fortunate need help from government and incentives to do so. I became more aware of fuel pipe particulates when investigating why one of our cars fuel pump had failed due to Ethanol in the fuel in around 2014. At the time I accidentally came across a medical research paper by a German Medical Proffesor from the 00's who had investigated the stark rise of Asthma in people/children in large cites in Germany. He showed that when a petrol engine running on unleaded fuel with Ethanol was first started (from cold) until the catalytic converter got to its operating temperature one of the additives in modern engine oils (to make it more slippery) reacted with the ethanol when burnt to produced a chemical, which in turn reacted with a metal in the CAT converter at lower temperatures and produced Phosgene gas in small amounts. His experiment involved exposing flies in a net behind the tail pipe emissions of a car with the a catalytic converter and another batch without. All the ones exposed to the catalytic converter car died and autopsy testing showed Phosgene present in them, the others nearly all survived and when tested had no Phosgene present. His paper went on to explain how Phosgene inhibits the lungs to be able to transfer oxygen to the blood, and went on to discuss low levels in humans especially children and increased incidents of asthma and lung damage. As you can imagine his paper was set upon by several industries questioning/rubbishing it and the Professor.
@@alanhat5252 Also Ethanol if it separates from the Petrol in the tank, usually starts at +30 days I believe, then it will react with any H2O and the result is a mild acid which then corrodes lots of things over time. Our Mini Petrol pump (a submersed one) was a diaphragm pump with a synthetic rubber diaphragm which was rotted away by the Ethanol, only 3-5% mix at the time.
Another example about urban areas: I love Italy and have been there many times. It's a popular destination for tourists every year. The old cities like Pisa or Florence, beautiful narrow small streets etc but god dammit the amount of scooters and cars all around you while you walk is awful. The air, the smell it's just horrible. I wonder when they will start creating low-emission zones in places like these. Like always amazing episode - thank you!
In Ontario Canada they put ventures on diesel exhausts to pull in extra air to dilute the fumes so you cannot see them. But all the bad stuff is still there.
It occurs to me that, during lockdown, we all still had heat and electricity. We didn't sit in the cold and dark. Sure, some polluting factories paused production for a while. But the big thing that happened is that they were far fewer cars on the road everyday. And what happened? Even still "burning stuff" for electricity and heat, we saw an exponential reduction in air pollution in our cities. You could see the fish in the Venitian canals! (Who knew anything could live in there?!) That was JUST from reducing the amount of cars on the road. Oil refineries were still refining oil. Coal- and gas-fired power plants were still burning their dirty fuel. And yet we saw SUCH a big difference in air quality. I'm not suggesting we allow these polluters to persist business as usual. Of course fossil fuel heat and power needs to be replaced. But we proved everyone wrong who said that not driving ICE cars won't change anything. It DID. We all saw it. Proof of concept. So get rid of your diesel inner-city buses. If you have to have a car, get an EV. We'll all breathe easier immediately.
Yes, this is exactly the point I make to those idiots who say that my EV isn't clean because it gets its power from dirty power stations. Leaving aside the fact that more and more of our power comes from renewables I always ask wouldn't it be "nice" if all the cars on the road were not pumping crap into the lungs of children going to school? That's the starting point isn't it, just get the air immediately around us clean so maybe more young people can grow up to be clever enough to finish the job in their lifetimes if not in ours who inadvertently did the damage in the first place.
Absolutely. My abiding memory from lockdown is walking down the road and being able to smell the flowers in people's gardens instead of the fumes from the traffic. I long for the day when that is common place!
Could Dr Patel provide some suggestions of education resources for health care professionals regarding respiratory disease and air pollution, ideally online resources. Thank you.
Brilliant. I shall be sharing this video. However, the question of using public transport and/or walking or cycling does cause me a problem personally. I live in flats where there is no space provided for a bicycle and no alternative provision either. Coupled with that, living in Malvern, everywhere I need to go is either a long distance and/or involves steep uphill. Recovering from Long Covid, even walking up to the main shops is a problem for me. Public transport? Very limited and does not take me where I need to go either! Move somewhere else? Yes, but I was evicted during Covid (long story!), and I am on pension & benefits, so moving is not financially possible. My Renault Clio, albeit nearly 16 years old, is my only viable means of transport. I would love an EV oh, but there is no charging at the flats, and no public charging locally. I feel trapped and unable to do anything about my transport emissions. However, keep up the good work to enable us to stop burning stuff.
We lived just off Hangar Lane roundabout during the pandemic, and when the first lock down happened, about a week after all the traffic stopped, we had small birds appear in our garden for the first time since we moved there in 2002 - the likes of blue tits, great tits, robins etc. Before this the only birds in the area were large crows and seagulls. As soon as the traffic started again, within a week all the small birds were gone. I'm pretty sure that if a canary in a cage was put near Hangar lane it would die, quickly. We've now moved to the south coast, and when we have to go back to London to visit friends and family, I can taste the pollution even through all of the filters and clever technology in my car, and when I get out I feel it in my lungs almost instantly.
We could do with some public information videos on TV highlighting the risks and the ways that the exposure of children can be reduced. People need to understand that not only is the CO2 damaging the atmosphere but that the particulates continue to damage health. They may then appreciate why moving to EV transport is a good thing.
When I go out walking I try to figure out the best route I can take which avoids going near traffic and I'll walk as far as I can get away from the roadside. I've even held my breath while I cross the road and get as far away as I can before breathing again.
I remember from being a very young child when I crossed the road near to traffic I always held my breath! I can't remember if someone had told me that car exhaust was poisonous (this was back in the 1960s) but I always regarded it as such.
Only yesterday, my brother tried to tell me his diesel Merc was better than my EV - because it didn’t record anything at its MoT test gas analysis and cost less C02 at manufacture. He will never accept that fossil burning is bad. 1) His isolated test result ‘proved it’ and 2) His car clearly didn’t produce CO2 because that wasn’t recorded by the computerised testing kit! I, as usual, attempted to argue the EV case, but he will never, ever, accept any reasoned argument on the subject. As far as he is concerned it is no contest - EVs are worse for the environment than his diesel! There must be millions like him, unfortunately.
It's pretty frightening really, when you think about it. We do often read quotes about it being easier to fool someone, than it is to convince them they have been fooled.
@@robinhood4640 You are right on that one! I will say that while he is very practical, he is not the most academic - he always says he did not try to pass the 11+ exam because he had seen all the homework I had to do most evenings. My wife used to be really amused at his excuse.🙂🙂
10-100s of millions. Not just cars. Those that know little on a subject don't realise just how little they know. Those that know a lot realise how much there is to know. Unfortunately the uneducated prefer to believe someone like themselves rather than someone who has spent their life studying the topic.
Also, even if all the particulates are being collected in the Diesel Particulate Filter during testing, they can't stay there forever or they would block the filter. At some point when driving-usually on high speed roads under acceleration-the DPF will heat up and burn off those particulates, emitting them into the air. The MOT test does not include that stage (regenerating the DPF), it only checks to see if the DPF is fitted/faulty.
@@nettlesoup On a scientific level, those diesel particles will/should be burned to carbon dioxide - but we all know some are not! Some are emitted ad thick black smoke (some larger particles, admittedly). Still no getting away from the fact that it is burning fossils, generating carbon dioxide and thus aiding climate change, etc, etc. Renewable/sustainable/nuclear generation for EVs is the only way we currently have of reducing those emissions. Hydrogen is not even on the charts for this change/improvement. Green hydrogen may be a help in the future, but not at the present time.
Also worth mentioning... lung cancer still has among the highest death rates... with modern procedures most cancers have become way more survivable but not lung cancer
in the 90s I Spent my time driving around Central London and Suffering from Asthma for years. As soon I found out that it was Diesel car I immediately sold it and bought a Hybrid and changed my job. As soon as I stopped driving in Central London my Asthma stopped. I now have all-electric and Hybrid. Cannot wait until Diesel is no more.
It must be weird to live somewhere for thirty odd years and wake up one morning, to find that someone had put a mountain behind the church steeple, while you were asleep.
My son lives in London and I have visited many times me and my wife from Yorkshire.We used to go for a walk about and sometimes the air was so foul you could smell the fumes due to the amount of traffic.I would say small children will suffer the most and cancer is a killer believe me.
If any youngsters don't know how bad the air was in London back in the 70's, go and race a petrol go kart on an indoor course. A lot of people are physically sick from the quality of the air in those places and that's what it was like in London. 2 things that still shock me are people who go jogging in London even now, they are opening up their lungs and scooping up all the particulates but think they are making themselves more healthy. And the people who say "remember how bad the air was, it's much better now" and think that's an excuse to stop making it even more better.
Its is very concerning that diesel cars are still being sold. But it is true the UK government pushed people into buying diesels because they were more efficient rather than less pollution.
I’m a marine engineer who works with giant, old, smoky, leaky, diesels… I’m a little afraid of the damage my lungs are taking from that smoke. I don’t smoke, but I’ve watched so many of my loved ones die of lung cancer from smoking.
I am a long term fan of FC/EE and a regular watcher. My minor criticism here is that I wish RL had prepared his interview script a little better. I generally enjoy the rather casual style of these chats, but at times I felt that the fluff detracted a little from what is a very important message. Sorry for the small bit of negativity, Robert, please please please don't give up the great work that you do. On a personal level, here is my small input. I visited LA many years ago as quite a young man, and was puzzled by the brown sky and the strange aroma in the air. But that's just the way it was. Until 3 years ago, when I went EV, I had driven ICE cars for most of my life, including about 16 years on diesel. I knew that this produced "some bad air", but really never gave it a second thought, as I suggest is true of most current ICE drivers. "It's probably a problem, but cars are getting cleaner, aren't they, and how else would I get around, take the kids to school, avoid the useless or non-existent public transport, etc, etc." But this is just the way it is. More recently, I worked on and off for about 10 years in China. One time, flying into Shanghai, I noticed the yellowy brown sediment flowing out of the Yangtze into the ocean. I also noticed that the sky was similar yellowy brown. Hang on, what's happened to the horizon? There seemed to be no dividing line between sea and sky. Hope the pilot knows where he's going... First visit to the town where I worked, about 50 miles outside Shanghai. Mainly push bikes, blue state lorries, a few motor scooters. Over the years, more cars, more scooters. By about the 6th or 7th year, brown sky, itchy eyes, sore throat. But this is just the way it is. Then, the local authority initiated a ban on the sale of motor scooters. (Ring any bells, UK gov?) People switched, seemingly almost overnight, to electric bikes. A year or so later, air you could breathe without coughing. The transformation in the town, and also in Shanghai and Beijing which I visited as recently as 2023, has been dramatic. No, it's still not perfect, still a lot of coal being burnt, but hugely improved. Even London, with the recent introduction of electric buses, low emission zones, etc. has seen significant change. We all, or most of us watching this site, worry about greenhouse gases and global warming, but even if you are a climate sceptic, how can you not notice the poor air many of us are forced to breathe? Maybe it's because, like me, you are also a contributor? Yes, I now have an EV, but I still buy goods delivered to my local supermarket, I still have a gas boiler. Bottom line, we need a lot more podcasts like this. It's a tough transition, and the Merchants of Doubt are in top gear, just as they were with tobacco. Keep it up, RL, and keep asking those difficult questions!
Catalysation from a hybrid car don´t work. The gas motor starts over and over and every time it starts it is a "cold start". Only really hot catalysator does the job! So hybrid cars cold spread toxics more than a pure cas car.
Hell ya planet doesn’t care if we are here and we are sucking out the oil and crap that makes it more hot to live here. We all live here thank you for what you do ! More for the next generations 👋🏻🔌📸😎
Re smoking, there is a creeping health issue that is coming on from one of the solutions to smoking addiction: the vapes! Here in Australia we have a surging adoption of vapes as a lifestyle choice by young people who have NEVER been smokers; by teenagers even who by law cannot buy vapes, but order them on-line and through black market sellers. These vapes are not aimed at smokers but have fancy fruity flavours - strawberry, mint, lemon. The use of them is even heavier than smokers ever smoked, and the nicotine dose is often very high (especially in unregulated vapes). There are prescription vapes for ex-smokers but the prescriptions are hard to get and chemists are less willing to supply them. A looming health issue is going to become the chemicals in these vapes, the level of exposure, and the extreme addiction to nicotine that they are engendering in young adults and teenagers. I don't know what the solution is, but the damn things need to be outlawed globally.
Speedway. Make a giant bowl with a race track at the bottom, race the most inefficient polluting cars in that bowl, now invite families to bring their children to sit within that bowl to watch the race. If this scenario sounds familiar how about "welcome to your new home and work camp, please file through to the so not deadly showers in an orderly fashion".
Bravo Dr. Patel! You already have a more-than-full-time job. And yet you take it upon yourself to educate your patients and your colleagues about the health impacts of air pollution. Well done! And thank you.
Dr. Anant Patel is a real "find." More Anant!
As a retired long haul airplane driver - and yes, I am aware of the irony of posting here - I well remember the stench of the pollution from millions of vehicles as you penetrate the inversion on approach to LAX.
If every car in Los Angeles were to be an EV the atmosphere would instantly become breathable. That’s one city.
Info from a friend traveling in China last January. There are a very large proportion of EVs in the city centres where she travelled. The streets were remarkably quiet and in particular free of stench and smoke. You could actually see the blue sky, a thing which 10-15 years ago was almost impossible. Even just a significant penetration of EVs (not 100% change-over) can make this amazing difference.
I've stood on the Beverly Hills and looked down on the yellow layer that lays atop the city and was astounded at how pronounced it was in the naughtiest: how bad it was in he 70's and 80's when we were growing up.
@@madintheheid This is a big part of the problem.
The pollution your eyes could see, your lungs could filter.
There are more particles, in number, now than when you could see them. The air is cleaner now because there is less mass than before, not less particles.
The particles now enter the cells with the much needed oxygen and cause cellular dysfunction. Cleaning the air has just moved the problems, not removed them.
Many years ago I was on a plane landing at Mumbai in India. As I looked through the window I saw we were descending into a bluey brown smog where I was going to spend the next week. This image has stayed with me.
@@robinhood4640
You think those "small particles" weren't there before?
Amazing interview with great people! Thanks a lot for that - you do make a difference to our lifes!
This topic hits home. I have tried debating with mates the urgency of moving away from burning fuel for energy as my late father, a non-smoker and mechanic by trade, passed away from lung disease. The doctor treating him would not believe he had never smoked. The toxic fumes from the vehicles and machinery he worked on ultimately caused his early death. How come this kind of information is not talked about and made well known to everyone buying an ICE car is criminal in my opinion. Especially diesels. There are many comments from the petrol heads that argue about cleaner technology and filters. It's crazy that parents still don't accept that their diesel vehicles are dangerous to their children.
I have been enjoyed, so thank you for delivering.
I love the "It's very common to drive a car. It's not "normal"." comment. Great episode.
Great video, very informative. This needs to be watched by millions of people.
Probably the best episode ever
Agreed
My fourth comments on this one episode: great guest. Great job Robert in providing a platform to such a thoughful, decent, and caring speaker who found a way to address serious topics without resorting to mockery or anger.
What a pleasure to listen to Dr. Patel. Thank you for bringing him on.
What an amazing guest.
Thank you Dr Patel, I am so glad to hear all your wise words it is such an important topic and you put it all across so clearly.
My best wishes to you and all your patients.
I live in a small village in North Essex, the school has a air quality monitor and the reading are at times higher than central London. You can always tell when the bus with it's Q of traffic is going past. We need EVs NOW
Brilliant! Need more of these doctors talking out loud about these problems!! And teaching more doctors, GPs… !!
Dr Patel Thank You! Concise, incredibly intelligent, able to speak to an audience and hold our attention. To speak in language that ordinary lay people understand. Sir, I am grateful to you, thank you for sharing your time. I hope that other EV type channels can have you on as a guest.
Dr Patel you are an absolutely brilliant communicator and having to debunk the nonsense that is accepted as fact everyday is crazy. This was a very amazing conversation and I wish these messages could be part of normal life. Things have improved but we need to do so much more.
Very good guest today.
Great podcast Robert & a big cheers to Dr Patel.
Thank you Dr Patel, you are obviously very knowledgeable in your subject and a very articulate advocate for reducing/eliminating air pollution problem, I hope more people will listen to you,and act on your advice. Been a pleasure listening to you.
I am always sickened by comments by the anti EV brigade who decry EVs at every opportunity and gloat that their 20 year old diesel does 500 miles on a tank full, and the more modern owners who advocate removing the DPF, (even if it is fairly limited in its effectiveness).
Excellent episode, thank you. We need educators like Dr Patel on the bbc and itv.
Thank you Doctor 👏👏
Absolutely delighted I saw this podcast. Everyone needs to see this!! I live in Norway who has the most EV's per capita in the world. I have been driving EV's since 2016 and now I'm going to ditch our woodburner and instal a heatpump. Thank you Robert and Dr Patel for bringing the message even more home.
Are you going to stop your country from producing oil, which subsidies your EV?
@@syncrosimon You have a very good point there! Yes it's farcical that Norway has the most EV's and yet they are now the largest oil exporter in Europe. Because there are so many electric cars here nearly all incentives have been taken away....
@@syncrosimon ....same goes for the UK. There was a £3000 grant to buy an EV. This was then halved to £1500 and now (if I'm right) that was also taken away? Norway also has the most toll charges on our roads in Europe, and EV's pay a small percentage compared to fossil cars. One more reason there's so many EV's here. I charge my car at home as electricity costs a fraction of the price of diesel and petrol. Last month it cost me £3.30 to drive my EV for one whole month (around 1200km). I charge from 23:00 to 6am when electricity is usually cheapest.
Thank you Robert and Dr Patel for this fascinating conversation. The huge issue of air pollution doesn't yet seem to get the media attention it deserves. Any government worth its salt should realise that the savings to healthcare alone justify supporting and accelerating the clean transition and taxing the fossil fuel industry at a level commensurate with the damage they have knowingly done over many decades.
Many years ago the government of the day (McMillan) were aware of the damage caused by tobacco smoking but were persuaded that banning smoking would lose more revenue than it cost the NHS. How wrong they were!!
It seems that much the same situation applies to Governmental knowledge of the damage done by ICE cars to general health versus mitigation costs.
In the current situation we have two long term costs to consider, Personal Health and Planetary Health.
Robert,
In the last few days Deutsche Welle News Ukraine covered a story on the strategic move to solar+ batteries in Ukraine with a goal of making an "unbreakable power grid" through decentralised generation. National and local governments are incentivising solar uptake for critical infrastructure like hospitals but also highrise apartment buildings to communities to individual homes. Also over 300 grid scale solar farms are being built. Solar+battery
build out in Ukraine is happening at pace! Might be the fastest so far IMO.
thew way to go for every country...solar/wind/battery is so democratic and independent!!!
Oh my goodness, I'd always thought of solar/battery storage bringing independence or autonomy to the individual or to businesses. It never crossed my mind that it can do that in a saving way for countries or states in time of war!
Excellent. Informative. Hoping the move to pure EV is faster than expected.
So informative. Well done Robert for getting Dr Patel on the pod cast. This pod cast should be aired on a major TV so channels so the masses can we in lighted. Excellent pod cast.
Come for a ride Dr Anant! I cycled with a group of healthcare professionals from London to Glasgow for COP26 (Ride For Their Lives) to highlight the health implications of pollution driven by the climate crisis on child health. I work at a children’s hospital where we include air quality data in our patient systems and our clinical colleagues are encouraged to discuss air quality and environmental conditions with patients and their families.
Bob and Dan - keep up the good work!
Cleaning air conditioning and refrigeration systems in London made me aware how dirty London was , also when cleaning air conditioning systems in offices when smoking was allowed , if I got a split in a glove I would get nicotine sickness. Fantastic podcast Robert and Anant. Looking forward to seeing you all in Sydney next year. Keep smiling everyone
Well Robert I think Dr Patel was a very good find to further the message we all need to get out there.
What a great chap, so calm and concise and I'd love to share his words far and wide.
Now I know how much work goes into editing these podcasts but I wonder if your editors could clip this down a bit shorter.
I thought Dr Anant spoke in a way that his answers described your questions for the most part and wonder could you make a snappy video with just his words on the salient points?
Robert I mean no disrespect to you or your part in the conversation, i really enjoyed the interview. I just wanted to get Anants points all together in a shorter video that I can post on my Facebook pages and groups in a format where more people will have to take less time to watch it, if that makes sense.
I think this is so important, some of it was news to me and I consider myself to be well informed on the topic, being a long term follower.
So people who have less time to do the research that I've been able to do would certainly benefit from hearing this in a more succinct way.
One of your most important interviews to date Robert, thank you.👍🙏
Possibly my most favourite episode
What an amazing guest! And yet another genuine reason to go electric. I have a Vauxhall mokka e and love being able to sit with the heating or aircon on without polluting the environment in car parks and traffic jams.
Dr Patel provided information that was new to me about the increasing prevalence of lung cancer related to air pollution including a reminder of the indoor pollution from wood burning stoves!
Great episode. Thank you Dr Anant Patel and Robert. You are making a difference.
Brilliant podcast. Please can you interview Dr Anant Patel on the podcast every year.
Thank you Robert, excellent insight. Stuart from Melbourne AU
Your idea of a panel on this subject has great potential. Medical professionals plus some air quality experts and some home environmental specialists could have quite a stimulating discussion.
I would think Dr Gary Fuller, at the imperial college London, might be a good candidate for the atmospheric chemistry aspect. His home page does say;
"I am passionate about communicating air pollution science to policymakers and the public. This has included evidence to the Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee and the Greater London Assembly".
A great show, Robert.
The good doctor started to talk about air pollution in kitchen from cooking.
I would have liked to hear him expand on that.
I’m pretty sure cooking with gas is more of a concern than electric hob, solid fuel even worse but just cooking in general increases particulate matter. Can be helped by good extractor fan www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/factsheet-cooking-and-indoor-air-quality.html
I’d be interested in knowing cooking risks Dr. Patel was going to mention too.
ruclips.net/video/hX2aZUav-54/видео.htmlsi=oK3MWKCnQsV5CGjg
that the link I wanted to share, from Climate town
Burning gas is not a good idea in a kitchen. An induction hob is the answer. I have had an induction hob for more 20 years.
@@charleswillcock3235 I'm considering getting one. Getting some opposition to the idea though. ;)
@@DavidPlayfair You can buy stand on the counter single or double ring hobs.
I can only use electricity for cooking when the sun is high enough in the sky to fill my batteries.
There isn't any point in going into all the pros and cons about cooking, because i can't cook to save my life, therefore it would be dishonest to blame the different appliances for my failures.
My main advantage is the electricity i get from the sun, is much cheaper than the gas i get from the shop.
A relative cheap single stand alone hob will allow you, and those giving opposition, to at least know what you are talking about.
A wonderfully articulate and compelling speaker - thank you Dr Patel
I am impressed with "I teach my sons to call it [DIESEL] "diseasel""
What a lovely man! Well done both
Amazing person Dr Patel. Ultimately we need a vastly improved electric public transport services, cycle and walk as much as possible and to massively reduce car use on the roads.
Best episode yet!
I recently got rid of the stinky diseasel truck I had for years and it's such a relief to be driving an electric one now. I've been driving ev since 2018 and it makes you more aware of the pollution from ice vehicles
Think everyone needs to watch this episode.
Great discussion. Thank you Dr Patel for your calm and persuasive views.
Fantastic discussion. Would love to hear more from him!
Hi Robert, thanks so much for this fabulous interview. I learned so much, and my views have evolved as a result. In particular my previous view of wood burning stoves.
I grew up in Birmingham UK before the smokeless zone became law. Many tens of thousands of coal fires turned the buildings in the city smokey black. Nearly everyone spent the winter coughing and spluttering!
When tobacco advertising was still allowed it became required to report that smoking was bad for you. How about similar rules for adverts of diesel cars? Or maybe a health warning painted on the side of all new diesels?
Thank you for discussing this very serious topic. I wish you would convince people here in Australia that Diesel is bad, they still carry on like it's the best thing since sliced bread! Having grown up in Europe (DK) and moving to Australia I have relived the same development and thought process twice over the last 20 years because Australia exists within a 15 year time vortex!
I fear this episode will get less views than others but this is such an important topic and so well explained and presented, this is what’s it’s all about; #StopBurningStuff and anybody who can, should switch to electric everything (transport, heating, mowing, cycling, everything is better run on electricity).
Probably the best podcast you have done really hits home the point ❤
It’s a shame no one has ever informed politicians about all these facts about air pollution.
I feel sure that they have, but for every voice pointing this out, they have ten who make a living by either directly or indirectly burning fossil fuels. I'm afraid that money always speaks louder than what is morally right.
It's hard to make a person understand something when their salary depends on them not understanding it.
Just a fantastic talk, 👍
I grew up in London in the 1950s and 1960s. before the clean air act, I regularly blew soot out of my nose. ANd we had Khaki coloured Pea Souper fogs when you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. There were days when we didn't go out as the air was so foul.
It's very telling that a respiratory physician switched to electric vehicles as he could see he was part of the problem as he drove to work past Ella's house. We all need to continue our own clean-up journeys.
please show Dr Patel's talk/ fireside chat at the next Fully charge show.
Thank you both. I'm lucky to live in South Wales and far enough away from Cardiff and Port Talbot, I notice when I go past / through / to these places the pollution.
I'm only 34, but as a kid I remember visiting my grandad in north london, we went into london for the day and blowing my nose after it was black and sooty, that sticks with me to this day.
When I was 15 and an Air Cadet, I flew over Bristol in a 2 seat Grob Tutor aircraft and got to see this layer of purple haze, just hovering over the entire city at a very clear altitude, I would guess based on the condensation point of whatever formed it, but we could also see its lateral edges as you moved away from the city.
This image sticks with me, and is a big driver behind having saved and made the effort to be a 1 car - EV household now, especially as we have young children.
On Dr Patel's last note, our previous car was a Vauxhall Astra Ecotech start-stop Diesel, second hand 2014 reg - we believed (due to advertising etc) that it was better for the environment and had a better emissions profile and was advertised as far more efficient on fuel than was achievable in use - to the tune of 15-20% less MPG.
Hi I regularly follow your pod cast. I want to put a small correction to you. As a farmer, I can confirm that all new tractors have add blue and a vast amount of emissions equipment on them. Unfortunately, this system can be quite unreliable and costly to fix.
I look forward to the day, soon I hope, when we don't need to "take evasive action" to find safer place to live or travel.
I grew up in Finland, in a small town, with some of the least polluted air in Europe. Now I live in Western Europe (for work), in a medium sized city, but with one where the air quality can drop very low at certain times due to the geography of the region. I can really feel the difference in the worst days! It's amazing that the regulations still haven't caught up with the knowledge that we've had for years on the dangers of air pollution.
Driving an EV for the past 9 months has made me REALLY much more intolerant of exhaust pollution from ICE vehicles. I have to continually remember to switch the air-con circulation to 'recirculate' to close off the infiltration from the external vents. A bit of an annoyance as the setting does not remain. Each time I start off the car A/C defaults to 'external circulation' 😒😷
You sound like a reformed smoker bore off.
I do the same. 😂
The cabin air filter of the AC can be changed to an active carbon filter. This will reduce more of the particles coming in from outside.
They are pretty effective at low fan speeds, but do lose their capacity to remove them when the speed of the airflow increases.
@@robinhood4640be careful with highly restrictive filters in house or vehicle, extra strain on the fan motor
@@rp9674 Active carbon isn't highly restrictive of air flow, which is why they are only effective at low airspeed.
Imagine a row of positively charged magnets with a big gap between them. As the negatively charged particles are pushed, or pulled through the big gaps, the magnets pull the particles to them. When the velocity of the particles is too high they have already passed the magnets before they stick to them.
As a former asthma and bronchitis sufferer cleaner air should be a priority. Banning smoking in pubs + leaded petrol, ULEZ zones its all to make life better for everyone.
There ought to be a requirement for new petrol and diesel cars to show a government health warning on the windscreen, just as with cigarettes...
Without demeaning any of the other EES shows, this one seems to me to be the most important for our future.
It is interesting how many people work for jobs that have what was (without me recalling the exact words) described as embedded understanding, that is actually disinformation.
Unfortunately, by the fact of us existing, we are all a part of the problem of pollution and climate change. The best we can do is minimise the impact we have.
Edit: Thank you Dr. Patel for that comment about maximising the distance from roadways. I usually do, but that has just sent me cycling down a few different paths around my home to extend the process.
Great podcast episode.😊❤❤ We need to clean the most out cities school buses and inner-city transport need to be EV.
Thanks for a vey very good show.. Bothg of have hi-lighted the point of good air for all.. ,, Keep up the good work
Really interesting, two really intresting bit I didn’t really know was how high you are can make a difference and kids are breathing in much worst air and log burner bit stood out, I kinda knew, but didn’t know it was really bad. Going to cut back on using it this winter. Thanks to the doc and you guys for keep us informed.
My sister had terminal lung cancer in 2020. Never smoked (but was with her husband for 18 years and he smoked indoors). She usually lived near busy roads.
Unfortunately she contracted Covid and was taken from us a lot sooner than the doctors had estimated.
I wish more people were conscious of when they smoke and how it is harmful to others and not just themselves.
That final comment about car dealers pushing buyers towards Diesel/Petrol cars happened to me last weekend.
I went to a Honda dealership to look at an electric car and got the hard sell on their Hybrids, and told I would have to come back another day if I wanted to test drive an electric.
I went to a Tesla showroom yesterday and had a completely different experience. Pay them a visit.
I totally agree, love or loath the CEO, Tesla is a company purely dedicated to electrification, and a sustainable energy future as fast as possible, not only in EVs. I’d rather send money their way and not to the hybrid and ICE producing companies.
@@slarti42uk @carlainscough6065 Musk is a massive problem, I almost bought a Model S with all the FSD options in 2015, but I needed a car immediately and there was a waitlist. FSD is still not at the level promised 9 years later.
Now I still hesitate to buy something when features and functionality can be removed on the whims of a petulant man-child.
The salesman at my Local Nissan Dealer drives a LEAF, by choice.
Thank you Dr Patel and Robert for a fascinating and very informative and well put discussion. We moved to EVs and Air Source Heat Pump, solar PV and ditched any gas 3 years ago, from advice on Fully Charged and because we were sort of aware of particulate issues, and yes we were very lucky to be able to do so financially when we moved home. Those less fortunate need help from government and incentives to do so.
I became more aware of fuel pipe particulates when investigating why one of our cars fuel pump had failed due to Ethanol in the fuel in around 2014. At the time I accidentally came across a medical research paper by a German Medical Proffesor from the 00's who had investigated the stark rise of Asthma in people/children in large cites in Germany. He showed that when a petrol engine running on unleaded fuel with Ethanol was first started (from cold) until the catalytic converter got to its operating temperature one of the additives in modern engine oils (to make it more slippery) reacted with the ethanol when burnt to produced a chemical, which in turn reacted with a metal in the CAT converter at lower temperatures and produced Phosgene gas in small amounts. His experiment involved exposing flies in a net behind the tail pipe emissions of a car with the a catalytic converter and another batch without. All the ones exposed to the catalytic converter car died and autopsy testing showed Phosgene present in them, the others nearly all survived and when tested had no Phosgene present. His paper went on to explain how Phosgene inhibits the lungs to be able to transfer oxygen to the blood, and went on to discuss low levels in humans especially children and increased incidents of asthma and lung damage. As you can imagine his paper was set upon by several industries questioning/rubbishing it and the Professor.
Ethanol also dissolves zinc from certain engine components, zinc is a "heavy metal" known to cause health problems.
@@alanhat5252 Also Ethanol if it separates from the Petrol in the tank, usually starts at +30 days I believe, then it will react with any H2O and the result is a mild acid which then corrodes lots of things over time. Our Mini Petrol pump (a submersed one) was a diaphragm pump with a synthetic rubber diaphragm which was rotted away by the Ethanol, only 3-5% mix at the time.
Another example about urban areas: I love Italy and have been there many times. It's a popular destination for tourists every year. The old cities like Pisa or Florence, beautiful narrow small streets etc but god dammit the amount of scooters and cars all around you while you walk is awful. The air, the smell it's just horrible. I wonder when they will start creating low-emission zones in places like these. Like always amazing episode - thank you!
In Ontario Canada they put ventures on diesel exhausts to pull in extra air to dilute the fumes so you cannot see them. But all the bad stuff is still there.
Great show as always, id love to see the heat geeks on here!
It occurs to me that, during lockdown, we all still had heat and electricity. We didn't sit in the cold and dark. Sure, some polluting factories paused production for a while. But the big thing that happened is that they were far fewer cars on the road everyday. And what happened? Even still "burning stuff" for electricity and heat, we saw an exponential reduction in air pollution in our cities. You could see the fish in the Venitian canals! (Who knew anything could live in there?!) That was JUST from reducing the amount of cars on the road. Oil refineries were still refining oil. Coal- and gas-fired power plants were still burning their dirty fuel. And yet we saw SUCH a big difference in air quality. I'm not suggesting we allow these polluters to persist business as usual. Of course fossil fuel heat and power needs to be replaced. But we proved everyone wrong who said that not driving ICE cars won't change anything. It DID. We all saw it. Proof of concept. So get rid of your diesel inner-city buses. If you have to have a car, get an EV. We'll all breathe easier immediately.
Yes, this is exactly the point I make to those idiots who say that my EV isn't clean because it gets its power from dirty power stations. Leaving aside the fact that more and more of our power comes from renewables I always ask wouldn't it be "nice" if all the cars on the road were not pumping crap into the lungs of children going to school? That's the starting point isn't it, just get the air immediately around us clean so maybe more young people can grow up to be clever enough to finish the job in their lifetimes if not in ours who inadvertently did the damage in the first place.
Absolutely. My abiding memory from lockdown is walking down the road and being able to smell the flowers in people's gardens instead of the fumes from the traffic. I long for the day when that is common place!
Could Dr Patel provide some suggestions of education resources for health care professionals regarding respiratory disease and air pollution, ideally online resources. Thank you.
Brilliant. I shall be sharing this video. However, the question of using public transport and/or walking or cycling does cause me a problem personally. I live in flats where there is no space provided for a bicycle and no alternative provision either. Coupled with that, living in Malvern, everywhere I need to go is either a long distance and/or involves steep uphill. Recovering from Long Covid, even walking up to the main shops is a problem for me. Public transport? Very limited and does not take me where I need to go either! Move somewhere else? Yes, but I was evicted during Covid (long story!), and I am on pension & benefits, so moving is not financially possible. My Renault Clio, albeit nearly 16 years old, is my only viable means of transport. I would love an EV oh, but there is no charging at the flats, and no public charging locally. I feel trapped and unable to do anything about my transport emissions. However, keep up the good work to enable us to stop burning stuff.
Great interview, learnt a lot
We lived just off Hangar Lane roundabout during the pandemic, and when the first lock down happened, about a week after all the traffic stopped, we had small birds appear in our garden for the first time since we moved there in 2002 - the likes of blue tits, great tits, robins etc. Before this the only birds in the area were large crows and seagulls. As soon as the traffic started again, within a week all the small birds were gone. I'm pretty sure that if a canary in a cage was put near Hangar lane it would die, quickly.
We've now moved to the south coast, and when we have to go back to London to visit friends and family, I can taste the pollution even through all of the filters and clever technology in my car, and when I get out I feel it in my lungs almost instantly.
We could do with some public information videos on TV highlighting the risks and the ways that the exposure of children can be reduced. People need to understand that not only is the CO2 damaging the atmosphere but that the particulates continue to damage health. They may then appreciate why moving to EV transport is a good thing.
When I go out walking I try to figure out the best route I can take which avoids going near traffic and I'll walk as far as I can get away from the roadside. I've even held my breath while I cross the road and get as far away as I can before breathing again.
I remember from being a very young child when I crossed the road near to traffic I always held my breath! I can't remember if someone had told me that car exhaust was poisonous (this was back in the 1960s) but I always regarded it as such.
100% the reason I bought an EV the cost was not the issue, but clean air for future generations.
Only yesterday, my brother tried to tell me his diesel Merc was better than my EV - because it didn’t record anything at its MoT test gas analysis and cost less C02 at manufacture.
He will never accept that fossil burning is bad. 1) His isolated test result ‘proved it’ and 2) His car clearly didn’t produce CO2 because that wasn’t recorded by the computerised testing kit!
I, as usual, attempted to argue the EV case, but he will never, ever, accept any reasoned argument on the subject. As far as he is concerned it is no contest - EVs are worse for the environment than his diesel!
There must be millions like him, unfortunately.
It's pretty frightening really, when you think about it.
We do often read quotes about it being easier to fool someone, than it is to convince them they have been fooled.
@@robinhood4640 You are right on that one! I will say that while he is very practical, he is not the most academic - he always says he did not try to pass the 11+ exam because he had seen all the homework I had to do most evenings. My wife used to be really amused at his excuse.🙂🙂
10-100s of millions. Not just cars. Those that know little on a subject don't realise just how little they know. Those that know a lot realise how much there is to know. Unfortunately the uneducated prefer to believe someone like themselves rather than someone who has spent their life studying the topic.
Also, even if all the particulates are being collected in the Diesel Particulate Filter during testing, they can't stay there forever or they would block the filter. At some point when driving-usually on high speed roads under acceleration-the DPF will heat up and burn off those particulates, emitting them into the air. The MOT test does not include that stage (regenerating the DPF), it only checks to see if the DPF is fitted/faulty.
@@nettlesoup On a scientific level, those diesel particles will/should be burned to carbon dioxide - but we all know some are not! Some are emitted ad thick black smoke (some larger particles, admittedly).
Still no getting away from the fact that it is burning fossils, generating carbon dioxide and thus aiding climate change, etc, etc.
Renewable/sustainable/nuclear generation for EVs is the only way we currently have of reducing those emissions. Hydrogen is not even on the charts for this change/improvement. Green hydrogen may be a help in the future, but not at the present time.
Also worth mentioning... lung cancer still has among the highest death rates... with modern procedures most cancers have become way more survivable but not lung cancer
in the 90s I Spent my time driving around Central London and Suffering from Asthma for years.
As soon I found out that it was Diesel car I immediately sold it and bought a Hybrid and changed my job.
As soon as I stopped driving in Central London my Asthma stopped.
I now have all-electric and Hybrid.
Cannot wait until Diesel is no more.
Physically watching the views and likes go up on this video ❤
the difference we saw in city air quality during the pandemic is undisputable
not just cities, it was noticeable worldwide.
It must be weird to live somewhere for thirty odd years and wake up one morning, to find that someone had put a mountain behind the church steeple, while you were asleep.
I am an American, and awhile back went to the UK, and walking along a streets, I was amazed how bad the air was there, due to so many Diesel cars. 😢.
Ex mechanic here 🤷♂ and sat on a small excavator for years so yes this is always on my mind.
My son lives in London and I have visited many times me and my wife from Yorkshire.We used to go for a walk about and sometimes the air was so foul you could smell the fumes due to the amount of traffic.I would say small children will suffer the most and cancer is a killer believe me.
I live in rural Cumbria, my son lives in the Scottish Highlands and the difference in air quality is noticeable. I have a wood burner though.
If any youngsters don't know how bad the air was in London back in the 70's, go and race a petrol go kart on an indoor course. A lot of people are physically sick from the quality of the air in those places and that's what it was like in London.
2 things that still shock me are people who go jogging in London even now, they are opening up their lungs and scooping up all the particulates but think they are making themselves more healthy.
And the people who say "remember how bad the air was, it's much better now" and think that's an excuse to stop making it even more better.
Its is very concerning that diesel cars are still being sold. But it is true the UK government pushed people into buying diesels because they were more efficient rather than less pollution.
'He found a gap in his schedule'. You mean he found time for a breather! 😉
Thanks for a very interesting and useful conversation. I'll be sharing this one with people.
I’m a marine engineer who works with giant, old, smoky, leaky, diesels… I’m a little afraid of the damage my lungs are taking from that smoke. I don’t smoke, but I’ve watched so many of my loved ones die of lung cancer from smoking.
I am a long term fan of FC/EE and a regular watcher. My minor criticism here is that I wish RL had prepared his interview script a little better. I generally enjoy the rather casual style of these chats, but at times I felt that the fluff detracted a little from what is a very important message. Sorry for the small bit of negativity, Robert, please please please don't give up the great work that you do.
On a personal level, here is my small input. I visited LA many years ago as quite a young man, and was puzzled by the brown sky and the strange aroma in the air. But that's just the way it was. Until 3 years ago, when I went EV, I had driven ICE cars for most of my life, including about 16 years on diesel. I knew that this produced "some bad air", but really never gave it a second thought, as I suggest is true of most current ICE drivers. "It's probably a problem, but cars are getting cleaner, aren't they, and how else would I get around, take the kids to school, avoid the useless or non-existent public transport, etc, etc." But this is just the way it is.
More recently, I worked on and off for about 10 years in China. One time, flying into Shanghai, I noticed the yellowy brown sediment flowing out of the Yangtze into the ocean. I also noticed that the sky was similar yellowy brown. Hang on, what's happened to the horizon? There seemed to be no dividing line between sea and sky. Hope the pilot knows where he's going...
First visit to the town where I worked, about 50 miles outside Shanghai. Mainly push bikes, blue state lorries, a few motor scooters. Over the years, more cars, more scooters. By about the 6th or 7th year, brown sky, itchy eyes, sore throat. But this is just the way it is.
Then, the local authority initiated a ban on the sale of motor scooters. (Ring any bells, UK gov?) People switched, seemingly almost overnight, to electric bikes. A year or so later, air you could breathe without coughing. The transformation in the town, and also in Shanghai and Beijing which I visited as recently as 2023, has been dramatic. No, it's still not perfect, still a lot of coal being burnt, but hugely improved.
Even London, with the recent introduction of electric buses, low emission zones, etc. has seen significant change. We all, or most of us watching this site, worry about greenhouse gases and global warming, but even if you are a climate sceptic, how can you not notice the poor air many of us are forced to breathe? Maybe it's because, like me, you are also a contributor? Yes, I now have an EV, but I still buy goods delivered to my local supermarket, I still have a gas boiler.
Bottom line, we need a lot more podcasts like this. It's a tough transition, and the Merchants of Doubt are in top gear, just as they were with tobacco. Keep it up, RL, and keep asking those difficult questions!
Catalysation from a hybrid car don´t work. The gas motor starts over and over and every time it starts it is a "cold start". Only really hot catalysator does the job! So hybrid cars cold spread toxics more than a pure cas car.
Hell ya planet doesn’t care if we are here and we are sucking out the oil and crap that makes it more hot to live here. We all live here thank you for what you do ! More for the next generations 👋🏻🔌📸😎
Re smoking, there is a creeping health issue that is coming on from one of the solutions to smoking addiction: the vapes!
Here in Australia we have a surging adoption of vapes as a lifestyle choice by young people who have NEVER been smokers; by teenagers even who by law cannot buy vapes, but order them on-line and through black market sellers. These vapes are not aimed at smokers but have fancy fruity flavours - strawberry, mint, lemon. The use of them is even heavier than smokers ever smoked, and the nicotine dose is often very high (especially in unregulated vapes). There are prescription vapes for ex-smokers but the prescriptions are hard to get and chemists are less willing to supply them. A looming health issue is going to become the chemicals in these vapes, the level of exposure, and the extreme addiction to nicotine that they are engendering in young adults and teenagers.
I don't know what the solution is, but the damn things need to be outlawed globally.
This ^ 👍
Speedway. Make a giant bowl with a race track at the bottom, race the most inefficient polluting cars in that bowl, now invite families to bring their children to sit within that bowl to watch the race. If this scenario sounds familiar how about "welcome to your new home and work camp, please file through to the so not deadly showers in an orderly fashion".