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AIR POLLUTION


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Not sure there's ever been the "push" for diesel engines in the UK that has long existed in France. I think they were a passing fad, but as diesel has historically been more expensive than petrol in the UK, they haven't been as popular, except among the 4x4 owners, where nothing else makes much sense. Last week, it was announced that a certain Mr Vincent Bolloré, with whom I had commercial dealings many moons ago, is funding a scheme in London to bring more electric vehicles to the streets, following the rather dismal failure of Boris's much-vaunted plans to make them the new black.

In this particular (no pun intended) instance, the pollution is being exacerbated by diesel fumes, but caused by a specific and somewhat unusual set of atmospheric conditions, if I understand correctly. These things happen, like flooding, from time to time, and I'm not sure that everyone rushing out and buying low-emissions cars will necessarily solve the problem. Still, on the plus side, Paris made public transport free over the weekend.

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Euro 5 diesels are far less polluting, maybe France (Paris, Lyon, Toulouse) etc need LEZ  areas like London and even in London they are still tightening up despite big improvements.  Of course the pollution caused by crappy old and crappy new log burners with the joke "flame vert" stickers on them doesn't help through the winter, mild though it was compared to the previous year.

Going solar to at least assist with hot water would help also the huge number of swimming pools in france using 10x the electricity they need to. All these areas need to be addressed to lower pollution. We all have a duty to care for our environment.

Betty, diesel historically been MORE expensive than petrol?  dates when that period was please.  Not as far as I can remember.

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Maybe I'm confused. Diesel is more expensive than petrol now, and has been for quite a long time. In the UK, anyway, which is what I was talking about....It's currently about 7-8p a litre dearer, unless my latest specs prescription is making me see things.

As for solar panels...when they stop looking so fugly, perhaps there'll be more takers. At present, that and the fact that not everyone has a large garden or a south-facing roof is probably keeping many people from even considering them, apart from the cost.

ETA...since 1999, according to a parliamentary briefing paper I just found. can't give you a link as it's a pdf file. In fact, before that it fluctuated a bit, and it hasn't been demonstrably cheaper than petrol since circa 1993.

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It is quite a bit cheaper in France.

Interesting snippet on French radio on Saturday, suggesting that the push for diesel driven cars was a political decision to try and save Peugeot (again) which made small engines of that type and was instigated by the operation of the old ENA boy net at work.

Hydrogen cars should start coming onto the market from next year so as volume sales increase, should become more generally available.

Governments know this are are probably waiting until there is an alternative to diesel but trying to take the credit for banning diesel engines.
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No you are quite correct now, the government increased the duty rates on diesel just as they began to be less smoky and rattly and people began to use them.  Even LPG (nice and clean burning ) began to increase in price but the Tunnel won't allow it because some insurer worked out it may be more risky than the butane in caravan tanks [8-)] and modern petrol cars with plastic fuel tanks!  I asked about LPG years ago and they said no, I asked if I could carry petrol in a plastic tank and again they said no. I then informed them that a large number of modern cars only had plastic fuel tanks, that just elicited a laugh. I wouldn't mind but I believe LPG is just wasted and burnt off on rigs.  Maybe AnOther could shed some light on that. 

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[quote user="You can call me Betty"]As for solar panels...when they stop looking so fugly, perhaps there'll be more takers. At present, that and the fact that not everyone has a large garden or a south-facing roof is probably keeping many people from even considering them, apart from the cost.

[/quote]

How right you are about solar panels!  They are hideous

Plus, if only their purveyors weren't quite so aggressive in their approach to potential customers![:'(]

Why do they employ shrill-voiced women and curt-sounding men who plough right into their sales pitch and, without drawing breath, start pumping you for what I consider very personal  information such as whether you are the proprietor and what your income is?

Betty, I wouldn't mind learning a short but pungent French phrase to stop these people in their tracks?  Preferably one that I can reel off the tip of my tongue and then can have a real smirk about?

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Théière.

I thought that you could take an LPG powered vehicle through the tunnel.

Not owning one I havnt put it to the test but I thought that if you ticked the box to declare that your vehicle was LPG powered you could continue with the booking process but that they would put a marker flag on your vehicle at check in and possibly (this is only my guess) put you at the front or rear of the train.

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Sweet, of all the French i can remember I learnt a phrase from a Parisian my Brother was dating and have never forgotten it, very rude though and towards the male population.

I went to a green expo with 50-60 solar panel manufacturers and said the same thing to each one, make them red/brown and look like tiles.  (personally I think tiles are a crappy 14th century addiction) that we are stuck with for a little longer and their only purpose is to keep roofers employed.

 

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[quote user="sweet 17"]

Betty, I wouldn't mind learning a short but pungent French phrase to stop these people in their tracks?  Preferably one that I can reel off the tip of my tongue and then can have a real smirk about?

[/quote]

How about ' nous sommes des locataires' ? It is what I used to say when we were renting; the caller would apologise (!) and ring off asap.

I still say it today if the situation arises, even though nowadays we are owners.

Sue

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I am long past the stage of pithy phrases, Sweets.

Depending on my mood and the persistence of the caller, I either:

a) hang up

b) tell them I'm the cleaner

c) tell them there is no benefit to me in what they're offering, or that it doesn't affect me.

The latter has worked quite well on a few occasions, especially with people trying to flog me health insurance, where I say " ça ne me regarde pas" and listen to a stunned silence whilst they compute "how can this be possible?" and then say "mais madame...." and I say "je ne suis ni française ni résidente en France" and all their hard-sell c**p about the tax benefits I'll be reaping are null and void.

Mind you, by far the easiest is just not to answer the phone between about 12 and 2 pm because it's a dead cert they'll be trying to sell me something.

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[quote user="Chancer"]

Théière.

I thought that you could take an LPG powered vehicle through the tunnel.

Not owning one I havnt put it to the test but I thought that if you ticked the box to declare that your vehicle was LPG powered you could continue with the booking process but that they would put a marker flag on your vehicle at check in and possibly (this is only my guess) put you at the front or rear of the train.

[/quote]

It doesn't appear so Chancer,            T&C's

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Well Betty, it seems I may be appologising, haven't got any data pre 1995 which from memory is when diesel began to rise but they were certainly closer at the pump than I remember, not worming out but the extra mileage from the diesel may have been what I remember as making it cheaper.

http://www.ukpia.com/files/pdf/unleaded-95-petrol---pump-prices-1995-1999-fi.pdf

http://www.ukpia.com/files/pdf/fuel-diesel-pump-prices-1995-to-1999.pdf 

[:$][:$]

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Betty, Theiere probably remembers a time when diesel was indeed less expensive than unleaded petrol, as I do (an age thing[;-)]  It was Gordon Brown who first increased the tax on diesel in 1997, Since then the discrepancy between the costs of both has increased.

I think it was that you used the word "historically" which caused confusion.

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Ha! I remember as a student my then boyfriend, now Mr Betty, saying "If this carries on, petrol will soon be 50p a gallon!" I vaguely remember diesel being cheaper than petrol, but I think a good 20 years of it not being so is historical enough for me[:D]. Not weaseling out of my use of the word, which I stand by, but I was also thinking in context about cars.....there are, I suspect, very few people driving around in cars which date back to when diesel was cheaper, hence I sort of associate the purchase of a diesel car in the UK with the sure and certain knowledge that fuel will cost more.

Let's face it, prior to the early-mid 90's there weren't that many diesel cars around as a proportion of the whole. I remember sometime in the 90's my neighbour had a petrol-engined Range Rover. I think he regretted it. A lot.

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With both now being over £6.10 a gallon it's not surprising memories fade.  There were plenty of commercial diesels around like mine but you couldn't see those until the smoke cleared first thing in the morning.  I remember you had to close all windows and switch off the fan when you went through the Blackwall Tunnel etc, these days you can even have the window open.

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