London Environment Strategy consultation

While I commend the efforts to reduce air pollution by addressing the cars on the road and by wearing monitors etc, what is the purpose of al those things when the MOST polluting thing - building a cruise terminal at Enderby Wharf is being allowed? http://www.wharf.co.uk/news/local-news/enderby-wharf-campaigners-fail-l…

Did no one see the program on Channel 4 about cruise ship emissions?

One cruise ships emits as much particulates as a million cars, so 30 ships pollute as much as all the cars in the UK'
Daniel Rieger, environmentalist

Why are we only attacking car emissions and suggesting that people no longer get packages delivered at home or offices in central London? All these efforts to reduce air pollution seem like a half assed attempt at addressing the issue

My comment is on the use of wood burning stoves and their impact on air quality. Although the use of wood burners and their impact on air quality has been in the news recently, I believe another issue is that many people still use open fires to burn wood which is illegal. Modern wood burning stoves should minimize the level of emissions but only if the stove is used properly. A modern stove has two air supplies, primary air below the fire and secondary air above the fire. To minimize emissions only the secondary air supply should be used after the fire is established. Reliance on the secondary air supply, maximizes combustion of the exhaust gasses which otherwise would go up the chimney (in a open fire there is no secondary combustion of exhaust gasses). The difference in the level of emissions from 'correct' and 'incorrect' use of a stove can be as much as 20 times. Obviously the user also needs to burn dry wood only (not the stuff you see outside garages).

So recommendations: 1) Enforce the current ban on open fires; 2) Ban the sale of unseasoned wood; 3) Implement voluntary training of stove users - they would benefit as well by being to burn their wood more efficiently (more heat for less volume of wood).

I have concerns about the lack of information on the dangers of the more domestic side of air pollution, namely wood burning stoves, bonfires etc. Whilst some light has been shed on the serious detrimental effects on both health and the environment, it seems the majority of people do not pay anywhere as close attention to these dangers compared to broader air pollution factors such as those focused on in your questionnaire. It should be treated in the same way as recycling, i.e. awareness should be increased to the extent that a conscientious approach should be paid to it in day to day life.

Probably the biggest air polluter within London is buses and taxis that use the streets all day long with frequent stops where emissions continue.
I would like to see a programme started to gradually replace diesel/petrol buses with either trolley buses or trams. These would only consume propulsion energy while actually moving and would eliminate their emissions within London's streets.
Taxis, hire cars and the like (including UBAR cars) should be required to be either all electric or petrol/electric hybrid with a cut off and out of service date for them to be replaced.
I often see buses at stops and standing in traffic hold ups with engines running and visiuble emissions from their exhausts. Taxis are regularly seen in ranks with engines running.
These two measures would considerably reduce a constant and considerable source of emissions.

We keep blaming car, buses and other means of transport for polluting the air and heating the atmosphere with green house effect. What about air conditioners? I work in a shop where we must keep the doors open all year long for the "customers to feel welcome" as my boss says. We had to turn the thermostat to 30 degrees all winter to only get 12 degrees in the shop. It's insane ! It is completely inefficient, we waste too much electricity and the staff get ill. Totally counter-productive! What can we do? Closing the doors and running the risk of being fired?
According to the New York Times, shops will have to keep their doors shut if the air conditioner is on from next summer.
When will Sadiq Khan impose the same rules in London?

i was thinking the other day - surely if we said that NO polluting cars could enter the within the M25 except delivery vehicles between 9pm and 4am. This would mean any resident within this space would be entitled to the government - assistance to buy electric vehicles scheme.

This would mean the car manufacturers who would be willing to assist - would swap out ALL the vehicles with 35% contribution from the government - funded by the road tax!

35% would be from the owners of the new cars - funded with 0% interest free loan

30% subsidised by the car manufacturers who would get into the market of millions of cars - I am sure this large bulk order would be measurable by the amount of cars required for this which would reach the millions!

I think this is brilliant! would also create many jobs - even a scheme to convert to LPG

common Mayor of London - crank this up!
Happy to chair the scheme for you ;)

The Strategy is weak on two issues: pollution from wood burning stoves and garden bonfires.
Wood burning is promoted by Government as green option, which it isn’t. Wood burning chokes up London air and adds very alarmingly to high toxicity levels. Plus wood pellets are shipped over to UK from all over the world. Wood burning stoves are the next diesel scandal, also promoted by the Government. The ‘ready to burn’ labelling scheme Defra now set up to encourage consumers to burn only dry wood is going to do little to lower particulate emissions. GLA should take this opportunity and call for immediate moratorium on sale of wood burners, for the revision of what we actually burn and where we source it from, and call for limitations on use of word burners often used as fashion accessory rather than necessity.
Garden bonfires are left out of scope of the Strategy. Section 4.2.3e tackles commercial bonfires only. Garden bonfires release toxic particulate matter which spreads over wide geographical areas and lingers for long periods. They are a completely avoidable additional source of pollution. Garden waste would never qualify under ‘ready to burn’ scheme. We take action to limit harm to our health from wood burning in stoves but continue to allow green waste, including freshly cut wood, burning in open spaces without ANY measures to protect our health and limit resultant pollution. This surely does not make sense. Garden bonfires are not just a nuisance and the argument about them being carbon neutral is dangerously flippant. They are seriously toxic, yet we can light them anywhere anytime. GLA needs to ban garden bonfires outright and call for a review of outdated legislation on controlling garden bonfires.

If the people with the authority to decline permission to build waste incinerators, which pump pollution into the air we have to breathe, do not stop these projects in their tracks, how are we supposed to believe that they are actually serious about reducing air pollution? Local residents fought for years to prevent just such an incinerator being built on Metropolitan Open Land in Beddington, right in the middle of a highly populated area. It even went as far as judicial review, but the then Mayor of London took the side of the company building the already out-dated facility.

Please would the questionnaires for expressions of Londoners' opinions and proposed remedies be expanded to include - for example -
1. The areas outside the central area/congestion charging area and in particular to include ALL areas with demonstrated high pollution levels. Even the 2020 proposals to expand the controls to the N/S circulars are not radical enough. In particular , I wonder if ,for example , people living and working around the major roads such as the M4/A4 - should be consulted about their concerns . In my area, the A4/M4 in West London is constantly bottle necked by stationary traffic belching out fumes. This seems worse since more traffic is piling in after the recent creation of additional lanes by eliminating the hard shoulders to the west. The situation is likely to be made impossible if and when Heathrow is expanded

2.Consideration of the reduction of traffic noise levels. Air pollution is not the only problem . Is there no way of reducing the constant noise of the A4 and other arteries though London. On newer motorways - there are noise barriers to make nearby residents' lives more bearable.outside the London areas.

Really interesting reading comments. Our Council Harrow wants to install speed cushions and a 20mph limit in two roads, both of which are cul-de-sacs leading to a school. Their statistics show that the average speed in both roads is about 24 mph with a 30mph limit. Parked cars from commuters ensure slow speeds for giving way to cars in opposite direction. They have a grant from tfl and intend to use even though all evidence points to increased air pollution for both the elderly residents and children. We are fighting them but....... time will tell.

Whilst I understand the need to monitor air of the quality I would prefer there to be concrete action to stop or significantly reduce the causes of air pollution.

Unsurprisingly there is only one Forum subject on Air Quality - its measurement. I would like to see other subject areas.

One area that I am particulaly passionate about is the increasing installation and use of Wood Burners.

We have one neighbour who has installed one of these 'fashion accessories' to their ground floor kitchen extension.

I only discovered this about 4 weeks ago when every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening we were / are subjected at bedtime to what can be best described as 'acrid smoke'. Whilst my wife and I can just about bear it, it has caused huge problems with our Daughter Kate's asthma.

Our neighbour said it was installed professionally and tested and will not stop using it, they like the Scandi Hygge!!!

The problem with a lot of these Wood Burners is that they the flues are at quite a low level - and living like we do surrounded by Terraced Housing, we in effect have an inversion which traps the smoke. Heaven knows what if it will be like if more are installed.

I know that no action will taken regarding this problem - just more Weasel words by the politicians who want to measure rather than take action.

At least I have said my piece!!