I was brought up in Poplar, which is in the East End of London and is now part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. My school was separated from a main road by a very narrow pavement. The road was dirty and dusty because it carried mainly lorries and commercial vehicles going to and from London’s docks, around the Isle of Dogs and further east at Tilbury. The noise from the traffic was such that being taught in some rooms was a trying experience and it was disturbing, mildly so, when we took examinations, but the traffic dirt was the worst problem. Tower Hamlets has not changed much, in terms of traffic since then; I suppose that there is now more traffic but the traffic is less polluting with higher emission standards and catalytic converters. Continue reading →
Filed under: carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, climate change, Climate Change and health, Coal, fuel, global warming, natural gas, pollution, rubbish, transport, Travel | Tagged: air pollution advisory guide, breathing, EU clean air requirements, lung capaicty in young people, particulates, poplar, puffer, thermal inversions, Tower Hamlets, UK air standards, US air standards | 3 Comments »