Cleaning up London’s toxic air

Hi. I've installed solar panels, switched to renewable electricity and carbon offset gas and bought an electric car. But I'm not a saint, I fly overseas once a year but do offset my CO2. By the way anyone not on renewable anergy should look to switch, a couple of years ago there was a premium for going green but now it's cheaper than 'normal' tariffs, I'd recommend the smaller utilty companies.

I started cycling (more than once in a blue moon) about 3 years ago and I now do it more and more. Despite being very overweight and 67 years old I find now I can cycle happily more or less anywhere within London. I use cycle lanes where available (looking forward to CW9 which will make my life a great deal safer and more pleasant) and wear ordinary clothes. I sometimes have to allow a few minutes to cool down at the end of a journey but it's generally quicker and more pleasant than public transport. My place of employment just moved from an office with ample parking to one with none. I drove there only once and don't intend to do so again - I have a large pannier which will take a business suit rolled up in a suit bag, plus business shoes etc. On the odd occasions I drive I find it most irritating.

Let's extend the congestion charge zone; increase CPZ charges; discourage the blight of front gardens turned into ugly car parks (which also create trip hazards from broken paving stones and cost the taxpayer a fortune); change the law to the Dutch one which assumes the larger vehicle is to blame in any accident unless proven otherwise; introduce a workplace parking tax; make streets near schools residents only at school times; invest in segregated cycle lanes; regulate taxis (I'm thinking Uber and other minicabs) to discourage them from becoming the transport of choice; regulate or tax delivery vans to avoid the streets being clogged with large transits delivering iPhones! 

Local authorities – eg Lambeth, could provide better – or even, some – food waste bins in the many parts of the borough that don't get them. 

Solar panels should be subsidised again. All new roofing must include solar panelling. All new buildings must be built to be A-rated energy efficient if they aren't already.

All government offices should be run on renewable electricity.

Keep building the cycle lanes – they are working. 

Black cabs must be electirc or hydrogen and we should subsidise the drivers for the hire/purchase of upgrades/ new vehicles.

All deisel cars must be banned from 2021.

I could go on?

I live near the A4 so am very aware of air pollution.

Got a smart meter about a year ago which made me more conscious of what some of the big energy consumers are in our household. Our main change has been turning lights out when we're not in the room, and gradually replacing bulbs with LED equivalents as they wear out.

I swapped my diesel car for a plug in hybrid through the company car scheme. I love it and our next car will be full electric. I'm worried about the city keeping up with car charging requirements. The Hounslow pilot with ubitricity to add charging points to lamp-posts has been great for me as I park on the street, but will it be able to keep up with growing demand? I hope so.

I checked my yearly CO2 emissions recently and I was shocked I emit around 9 tons by heating my house plus 7 tons by driving. I would like in future to replace my gas boiler with air source heat pump. These pumps got very efficient over the last decades and in mild climate like ours they perform excellent. I already buy green energy so my house would be then carbon neutral. 

As for the car I would like to switch to electric car. The problem issue is that I don't have a driveway and use on street parking. It would be great if city came up with some solution that would allow running EV charging cable from the front of the house, through the pavement to the car. It could be an openable hard plastic tunnel into which you put the cable in and close the lid so the cable is safe and hidden, the tunnel lid would be flush with the pavement. The only thing dangerous here would be any vandals who could cut the cable for fun etc, so not sure about it but worth thinking, the EV charging cables are armoured anyway.

A few years ago I lived closer to central London and managed without a car of my own. I belonged to Zipcar and used them a few times if there was a need to go somewhere outside the capital where public transport was inadequate, infrequent, impracticle, too costly or just not available. 

Public transport still needs to be radically improved in zones 5 - 6 and beyond where there is still heavy traffic use as a result.

Moving to an outer borough and away from bus routes a car was necessary but I chose a used hybrid at considerable more cost than a petrol driven model. I like the way the car switches to electric when braking, stationary or slow moving so I'm getting better mpg and putting a bit less pollutants into the atmosphere. If I ever change this vehicle the next is likely to be fully electric or a plug in hybrid. I keep car journeys to the minimum and consider taking public transport more often anyway.

Energy efficiency through a new boiler, thicker loft insulation, carpets, curtains, LED lights etc are also helping the environment (and my energy bills) in their own little way and the garden is used to grow some veg, fruit and flowers.