Should families be restricted to one car?

"Ella died at the age of 9. She had severe, hypersecretory asthma causing episodes of respiratory and cardiac arrest and requiring frequent emergency hospital admissions. On 15 February 2013 she had a further asthmatic episode at home and was taken to hospital where she suffered a cardiac arrest from which she could not be resuscitated.
Air pollution was a significant contributory factor to both the induction and exacerbations of her asthma. During the course of her illness between 2010 and 2013 she was exposed to levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in excess of World Health Organization Guidelines. The principal source of her exposure was traffic emissions.
There was no dispute at the inquest that atmospheric air pollution is the cause of many thousand premature deaths every year in the UK. Delay in reducing the levels of atmospheric air pollution is the cause of avoidable deaths. "
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Ella-Kissi-Debrah-2021-0113-1.pdf

I think it should be, and public transport should be nationalised and supported in the UK, London particularly.

So we're going to sell one of our two cars.

@yo-its-me said
[i]"Ella died at the age of 9. She had severe, hypersecretory asthma causing episodes of respiratory and cardiac arrest and requiring frequent emergency hospital admissions. On 15 February 2013 she had a further asthmatic episode at home and was taken to hospital where she suffered a cardiac arrest from which she could not be resuscitated.
Air pollution was a significant c ...[text shortened]... nalised and supported in the UK, London particularly.

So we're going to sell one of our two cars.

What if you need two incomes and both need a car to get to work?

@shavixmir said
What if you need two incomes and both need a car to get to work?

That's where public transport needs improving though, isn't it.
This needs to be tackled across the whole of the UK. It can't just be a new law or something- there needs to be the infrastructure to make it work in place first.

But things need to change, don't they.
In other European countries (I know we left the EU, but we're still European) there's public transport that people want to use, that is on time, that is clean and uses clean energy. I guess a better debate is how do we get the public transport to be efficient in the UK

@yo-its-me said
[i]"Ella died at the age of 9. She had severe, hypersecretory asthma causing episodes of respiratory and cardiac arrest and requiring frequent emergency hospital admissions. On 15 February 2013 she had a further asthmatic episode at home and was taken to hospital where she suffered a cardiac arrest from which she could not be resuscitated.
Air pollution was a significant c ...[text shortened]... nalised and supported in the UK, London particularly.

So we're going to sell one of our two cars.

All the second cars don't do as much harm as the corporations actually responsible for ecological damage.

Yes, we should carpool as much as possible. Yes we should design more efficient cars. Yes we should help people change their clunkers for a newer car.

Restrict families where both spouses are working and need a second car before we phase out dirty fuels? Absolutely not.

@zahlanzi said
All the second cars don't do as much harm as the corporations actually responsible for ecological damage.

Yes, we should carpool as much as possible. Yes we should design more efficient cars. Yes we should help people change their clunkers for a newer car.

Restrict families where both spouses are working and need a second car before we phase out dirty fuels? Absolutely not.

In this case the principal source of Ella's exposure to nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter was traffic emissions, and this that caused her condition and lead to her death.

But was that from cars?
I think it must have been. Taxis and private cars.
Since 2017, TfL has worked to phase out polluting diesel buses and to retrofit older buses with cleaner engines. Now completed, this will see harmful NOx emissions from buses fall by an average of 90%.
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2021/january/london-s-buses-now-meet-ulez-emissions-standards-across-the-entire-city#:~:text=Since%202017%2C%20TfL%20has%20worked,by%20an%20average%20of%2090%25.

Maybe more charges is the answer, at the moment there is a £15 daily charge if you drive within the Congestion Charge zone 07:00-22:00, every day, except Christmas Day.
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge

Edit: It could have been buses. I forgot it was 2013 that she died.

@zahlanzi said
Restrict families where both spouses are working and need a second car before we phase out dirty fuels? Absolutely not.

Do you really need a car to get to work?
I see lots of people who don't need a car to go to the local shop, but they still use one.

Electric vehicles are coming on strong. Hopefully that will alleviate a lot of the problem

@earl-of-trumps said
Electric vehicles are coming on strong. Hopefully that will alleviate a lot of the problem

Yes, I hope so.

In the age of COVID-19, having to rely on public transport rather than private vehicles would be more a public health hazard.

As Zahlanzi already said, we should all do our part to reduce carbon footprint like carpooling, but business and corporations are incomparably larger sources of pollution than individual citizens.

Cruise ships are nice but are entirely unnecessary and need to be eliminated. The pollution from just one ship is terrible. Companies dumping contaminants into our streams, lake and oceans must be stopped, the unfathomable food waste from chain restaurants not only releases methane into the atmosphere, but the amount of food needless wasted is shameful given how many people go hungry all around the world.

I can truly go on and on, but the point is we should fry the bigger fish first.

@yo-its-me said
In this case the principal source of Ella's exposure to nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter was traffic emissions, and this that caused her condition and lead to her death.

But was that from cars?
I think it must have been. Taxis and private cars.
Since 2017, TfL has worked to phase out polluting diesel buses and to retrofit older buses with cleaner engines. Now ...[text shortened]... des/driving/congestion-charge

Edit: It could have been buses. I forgot it was 2013 that she died.

some european cities have started banning diesel and establishing car free areas.
I would be fine with that. You need a car to get to work because you live 20km away from a city. You get to the edge of the city, leave your car in a parking lot and take a bike/bus the rest of the way.

@vivify said
we should fry the bigger fish first.

I guess, but what can you or I do about the bigger fish?
Maybe there are things everyone can do themselves and should look at that.

@yo-its-me said
I guess, but what can you or I do about the bigger fish?
Maybe there are things everyone can do themselves and should look at that.

individual mandate is insignificant

there are people who don't change their 20 year old cars because they have no money. Saving up a minor sum and getting it patched up is the best they could do, no matter how environmentally conscious they are because they would never have the thousands of euros required for a newer model or even more for a new one.

In order to have a clean environment you need broad government measures and all countries must work together. The individual can't do much that actually matters.

@yo-its-me said
[i]"Ella died at the age of 9. She had severe, hypersecretory asthma causing episodes of respiratory and cardiac arrest and requiring frequent emergency hospital admissions. On 15 February 2013 she had a further asthmatic episode at home and was taken to hospital where she suffered a cardiac arrest from which she could not be resuscitated.
Air pollution was a significant c ...[text shortened]... nalised and supported in the UK, London particularly.

So we're going to sell one of our two cars.

You're reminding me of a great Onion Headline.

https://www.theonion.com/report-98-percent-of-u-s-commuters-favor-public-trans-1819565837

Report: 98 Percent Of U.S. Commuters Favor Public Transportation For Others

It's really easy to restrict other people's freedoms when you can do without them.

@zahlanzi said
individual mandate is insignificant

there are people who don't change their 20 year old cars because they have no money. Saving up a minor sum and getting it patched up is the best they could do, no matter how environmentally conscious they are because they would never have the thousands of euros required for a newer model or even more for a new one.

In order to have a ...[text shortened]... t measures and all countries must work together. The individual can't do much that actually matters.

I'm sorry you feel that way. I don't know how true it is, but it doesn't feel true.

The example you give- they could walk for short journeys and in the UK use the scrappage scheme. For small businesses, charities and Londoners who are disabled or on low incomes- https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/scrappage-schemes
or https://motorway.co.uk/guides/car-scrappage-schemes

Maybe it takes a different mindset to get progress ignited. Or are you swaying towards a world government that rules with the whole planet in mind? China in your corner 😉

@yo-its-me said
[i]"Ella died at the age of 9. She had severe, hypersecretory asthma causing episodes of respiratory and cardiac arrest and requiring frequent emergency hospital admissions. On 15 February 2013 she had a further asthmatic episode at home and was taken to hospital where she suffered a cardiac arrest from which she could not be resuscitated.
Air pollution was a significant c ...[text shortened]... nalised and supported in the UK, London particularly.

So we're going to sell one of our two cars.

Of course you go ahead sell one of yours. Thats your choice. But to say that everyone needs to follow you is ridiculous. The are a multitude of reasons why people have several vehicles and its not all about getting to work.