No new petrol or diesel cars by 2040

[JohnD]

it's of interest to criminologists and the assistants to politicians and chief constables, who like to claim that crime reduction is a result of their own policies.

 

[Doggit]

So, lead makes you criminals, yet we had lead water pipes well before we had lead added to petrol, and yet since lead was removed over 20 years ago, and crime levels haven't dropped, it does make you wonder how accurate that report is.

 

[JohnD]

over 20 years ago, and crime levels haven't dropped

where did you get your figures from?

So, lead makes you criminals, yet we had lead water pipes

the better-known result is that it lowers intelligence by a few points, and makes youngsters more likely to be inattentive and badly behaved in school. Was there any of that in your younger days?

I did know a builder who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers as a result of working with lead in his early career. He had not reached retirement age and went downhill very fast.

older plumbers will have worked with lead and a blowlamp.

 

[JohnW2]

it's of interest to criminologists and the assistants to politicians and chief constables, who like to claim that crime reduction is a result of their own policies.

I would think that it's only of theoretical academic interest to criminologists, since it is all 'history' and, at least in most countries, the putative 'cause' has been removed.

As you say, politicians and chief constables will have an interest, for reasons you give, but they will presumably be on opposite sides of the argument - the politicians would like to claim that violent crime had reduced as a result of elimination of leaded petrol, whilst chief constables would presumably like to claim that it was nothing to do with leaded petrol but, rather, to improvements in their policing!

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I don't recall the studies comparing absolute figures between two or more countries.

I find your lack of attention disturbing.

When you've found a decent attention span again, go back and look at your earlier post, and you will see that you mentioned 3 different countries.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Aston Martin made a very interesting point today, in that the specialist car makers don't have the ability to make the conversion to EV, and whilst Tesl make intersting EV's would Aston and Bentlys fare as well.

It will be irrelevant.

If they want everybody to drive electric cars then that is going to have to go hand-in-hand with no more private car ownership, and a significant change in the way that we all use them.

Astons and Bentleys (other fine marques are available) will be no more.

banned drivers from sitting with their engine running.

That's already an offence. But as usual those charged with enforcing the law are trying to obfuscate their dereliction of duty by claiming that yet more laws are needed.

And what about the fact that just 15 of the giant tankers put out more CO than all the cars in the world.

Electric aeroplanes anybody?

Spoiler: Get real

And before you think to quote Solar Impulse 2, I mean electric replacements for the ones we currently have which can carry several hundred people with all their luggage, food, cabin crew etc for well over 12 hours.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I did know a builder who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers as a result of working with lead in his early career.

Please provide a link to the medical literature which supports that diagnosis.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I hear buses will be modified to cut their emissions.

I'm starting to wonder if we should all take what you hear with a hypertensive, stroke inducing, bucket of salt.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

One has to wonder why there has apparently been so much interest in this matter many years after the culprit toxin was removed from petrol

I am certainly wondering why JohnD is so exercised by it.

 

[JohnD]

When you've found a decent attention span again, go back and look at your earlier post, and you will see that you mentioned 3 different countries.

"comparing absolute figures"

I find your lack of attention disturbing.

 

[JohnD]

I hear buses will be modified to cut their emissions.

I'm starting to wonder if we should all take what you hear with a hypertensive, stroke inducing, bucket of salt.

http://www.arrivalondon.com/news/ar...-turn-older-diesel-engine-powered-buses-green

http://blog.cumminsengines.com/2016...ed-double-decker-bus-goes-green-with-cummins/

http://www.cvnews.in/london-buses-will-be-at-least-euro-vi-by-2020/

The other article was about an engineering company that has a conversion system and has landed a contract to modify some buses. They mentioned they are one of a number of companies with such contracts, I expect there will be trials to see which is best. I can't find the article today.

 

[JohnD]

Please provide a link to the medical literature which supports that diagnosis.

He and his wife told me about it in several conversations when he was first diagnosed. He was running a small building firm but getting forgetful and confused. They were both very distressed. Within a year, he wasn't capable of holding a conversation.

You will be disappointed to learn that I didn't ask them to provide me with documentary evidence so I could copy it to internet randoms.

Do you find it difficult to believe that lead poisoning is (a) possible (b) leads to damage to the brain?

 

[JohnW2]

Do you find it difficult to believe that lead poisoning is (a) possible (b) leads to damage to the brain?

He shouldn't. It is very well established that lead has a detrimental effect on the brain and, more specifically, that exposure to lead can markedly increase the chances of developing Alzheimer's Disease (real Alzheimer's Disease, not just dementia).

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Another plausible hypothesis is different ways of classifying and recording crime. These change over time within countries, and can vary between countries to such an extent that figures cannot ever be compared.

Indeed so. In the UK, for example, if we are talking about "police recorded" violent crime, I believe there were major changes in how that was done (i.e. what offences were, and were not, classified as 'violent crimes') in both 1998 and 2002. If that is true then it would be impossible, on the basis of the recorded figures, to look meaningfully at changes over periods which include one or both of those 'threshold' years.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnD]

So it's lucky you can look at the figures for multiple countries and (in the US) 51 states. There's not much chance that all of them will have changed their counting methods in the same direction and the same year(s).

When I heard the researchers interviewed, they had worked through quite a number of countries, and not yet found one that didn't fit the 20-year pattern. No doubt, when (if?) such a country is found, those who find the hypothesis difficult to accept will want to challenge it with the new evidence. Strangely, that does not seem to have happened yet. It's been ten years so far.