Mobility Matters Daily #107 - Leaded petrol, building road, and fat cars
And a fun and interesting video to boot
Good morning friend.
Today, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to those of you who came to our session at TPM yesterday. I hope that you found sharing your worries about the state of transport planning, and the reasons to be hopeful to be as therapeutic as I did. A huge, huge thank you should also go to my colleague Jo Ward for being a brilliant co-host!
James
Lead from leaded petrol is still a problem after over 20 years
A recent study by Imperial College London has found that lead from leaded petrol is still being found in London air, despite it being banned from sale since 1999 in the UK. That is a sobering reminder that the decisions that we make today have a lasting legacy on our world and it can sometimes be a really, really poor legacy.
Several reasons for why this is so are debated. The study authors themselves consider the lead particles are being steadily re-suspended in the air through air movements, explaining their persistence. The Science subreddit poses a number of other explanations, notably contaminated soil that is disturbed. Regardless of the explainer, it would seem that part of our environmental job over the coming decades will be to undo the damage of the last 50 years.
Invest in basic infrastructure to help humans
In case you hadn’t notice, I am a big advocate of - instead of the big, shiny new project - lets improve what transport infrastructure we have a basic standard. Doing so makes basic services more accessible, as those same services are partly designed around the infrastructure available. And analysis from Mozambique adds to the evidence for this.
A World Bank report estimated that simply improving roads in the country could have a small, but statistically significant, impact on people’s propensity to access healthcare services. In a country rocked by Malaria and COVID-19, this is not to be sniffed at. At all. A good quality, basic transport infrastructure has a significant impact on human development goals.
Stat of the Day
Cars in England are getting bigger, and spending more of their time parked. I honestly cannot think of a poorer personal investment for many people than in a private car (in terms of a return), and this report by the RAC Foundation lays out all of the stats. That are sobering.
Source: RAC Foundation
If you don’t do anything else today, do this…
Watch this video by Wendover Productions of the logistics of shutting down the cruise ship industry. Its a major polluter, but you cannot help but be impressed.