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Stop expanding the ULEZ to all the London boroughs in 2023

There appears to be little benefit to western societies in handing China, who dominate EV battery production worldwide, all the cards under the guise of environmental concerns.


You raise an interesting point. And, of course, some people will point-out that Western Europe's dependency on Russian gas was mistake.

The counter argument, however, is that without Russian dependency on gas revenues from the West, war would have happened much sooner.

Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, just 8 years after the Soviet Union collapsed, and in the same year the Putin first came into power.

And yet, Putin did not annexe Crimea until 2014, and only invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Therefore I, for one, think that creating reciprocal inter-dependencies (which is all part of globalisation) actually increases international stability.

Globalisation has the benefit of allowing each country to specialise and do what it does best, rather than each country attempting to become a 'Jack of all trades" for fear of being dependent on others.

The key, however, is reciprocity. Let China manufacture everything the West needs, and as long as their population's livelihood depends on what the West has to offer in return, it's a winning formula. War with China (or China invading Taiwan) becomes much less likely this way.
 
...I pointed out that Sadiq Kahn also gets ferried about in a chauffeur driven Range Rover...

I think you'll find it's a Defender.....:
Someone mentioned on another forum that the London Underground is the most polluted place in the city.



That's alarming. Might be a good idea to use dust masks (like many cyclists do in traffic), when travelling on the polluted lines - personally, I wouldn't rely on TfL's statement that the particles found in the study are 'not known to be carcinogenic' 😯

And, it does highlight the need to invest and modernise out public transport network. Clearly, the £60m that TfL say they spend every year on 'cleaning the trains', are not enough.
 
Indirectly, this touches on EVs.... My view is that one benefit of having electrically-powered vehicles is that the power plants are central and not local to each vehicle (an ICE engine being a local mobile power plant burning carbon-based fuel and converting it into energy).

This means that the method of energy production can be improved (cleaner fuels, better filters) or changed completely (renewable, hydro, electric, etc) centrally, and seamlessly as far as motorists are concerned. In contrast, getting rid of older leaded petrol vehicles took a couple of decades, and getting rid of old polluting Diesels will take a couple decades more.

As for the Tube, it only takes TfL to get their act together to fix the problem. It's a big ask, I know, but still easier and quicker to do than getting 32m motorists to change their cars.
 

'Councillor Colin Smith, Leader of Bromley Council said...

"The scheme isn't actually about air quality in the final analysis. The stealthy, unstated and cynical intention remains, under the guise of ULEZ, to erect a network of traffic cameras across the whole of the capital which can then be used at the flick of a switch to introduce road price charging for all."

"Whether that is a good thing, or bad thing, clearly depends on your point of view, but it should at least be fully debated and publicly scrutinised as a policy initiative in its own right, rather than slyly slipped in through the back door under a false agenda as a fait accompli." '

If this is the basis for the Councils' rejection of ULEZ, then it does not sound like an irreconcilable disagreement. Assurance can be given and legal and physical measures can be put in place to ensure that the cameras cannot be used for any purpose other than ULEZ, without the Council's consent. If TfL objects to this type of arrangement, then the Council will have been proven right.
 
'Councillor Colin Smith, Leader of Bromley Council said...

"The scheme isn't actually about air quality in the final analysis. The stealthy, unstated and cynical intention remains, under the guise of ULEZ, to erect a network of traffic cameras across the whole of the capital which can then be used at the flick of a switch to introduce road price charging for all."

"Whether that is a good thing, or bad thing, clearly depends on your point of view, but it should at least be fully debated and publicly scrutinised as a policy initiative in its own right, rather than slyly slipped in through the back door under a false agenda as a fait accompli." '

If this is the basis for the Councils' rejection of ULEZ, then it does not sound like an irreconcilable disagreement. Assurance can be given and legal and physical measures can be put in place to ensure that the cameras cannot be used for any purpose other than ULEZ, without the Council's consent. If TfL objects to this type of arrangement, then the Council will have been proven right.
Well said Councillor!
 
ULEZ seems to be useless as they should rather look at engine size and usage rather than just the metrics they're looking at
 
I think you'll find it's a Defender.....:

That's alarming. Might be a good idea to use dust masks (like many cyclists do in traffic), when travelling on the polluted lines - personally, I wouldn't rely on TfL's statement that the particles found in the study are 'not known to be carcinogenic' 😯

And, it does highlight the need to invest and modernise out public transport network. Clearly, the £60m that TfL say they spend every year on 'cleaning the trains', are not enough.
I was in central London all day yesterday walking and on the tube and ended up with black bogies.
 
I am walking today between various meetings around the West End (nice sunny day). I am near Green Park at current. My bogies are a private matter, thank you very much, I will not be commenting on them on a public forum :D
 
I’m in central London all day and everyday. I cycle in and out and I’m up on a roof.

No black bogies here.
hmm that’s interesting - I always thought black bogies was part and parcel of going to London. Alongside a cheeky Gourmandise from Paul!
 
I was in central London all day yesterday walking and on the tube and ended up with black bogies.

I’m in central London all day and everyday. I cycle in and out and I’m up on a roof.

No black bogies here.
It's the tube that does it - lots of dust, which has a larger particle size than exhaust fumes.
 
I am walking today between various meetings around the West End (nice sunny day). I am near Green Park at current. My bogies are a private matter, thank you very much, I will not be commenting on them on a public forum :D
I think we are going to need pics buddy ;)
 

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