CLIMATE change is a hot topic, both abroad – where there is much apprehension among environmentalists over the approach the upcoming Trump administration will adopt – and at home, where the Scottish Government’s target of a zero-carbon economy has long been the subject of political skirmishing. Through the fog of this war, however, we should not forget there is an immediate, pressing concern which needs to be addressed. It concerns the very air that we breathe, which for many of us is increasingly polluted. There is a case to be argued that Public Enemy Number One should now be the traffic that chokes both our streets and our lungs.
A recent survey carried out by Friends of the Earth (FoE) Scotland found that there are now 38 zones where safety standards for air quality are regularly broken – so-called pollution zones– an increase of five on last year. Scotland’s most polluted street was Hope Street in Glasgow, with Edinburgh’s St John’s Road second. But it is not just the huge conurbations that are the serial offenders – even Crieff High Street showed levels of particulate matter above the Scottish target.
FoE Scotland claims that air pollution causes more than 2,200 early deaths north of the Border each year, while a study in medical journal The Lancet found that people living near a busy road have an increased risk of suffering dementia, with one in 10 Alzheimer’s cases associated with heavy traffic. Clearly – if that is the word – something must be done. The Scottish Government is keen to introduce a low emission zone, where heavily polluting vehicles are subject to a levy. Cameras read number plates and check it against a database of registered vehicles. An addendum to the congestion charge, it works well in London.
In these austere times, no-one welcomes extra expense. But this is one area where we may be well advised to cough up.
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