"Dash for Diesel"

[1959_60]

Sorry Sinkov, the whole point is that the Government KNEW at the time that diesels were harmful. For purely political reasons they chose to promote diesels anyway.

As a result we are all breathing in more sh1te than we would have been if they had not taken this action.

If they were ignorant of the problem then fair enough. But they weren't..

[Altobelli]

Sorry Sinkov, the whole point is that the Government KNEW at the time that diesels were harmful. For purely political reasons they chose to promote diesels anyway.

As a result we are all breathing in more sh1te than we would have been if they had not taken this action.

If they were ignorant of the problem then fair enough. But they weren't..

As my post # 10 states

[sinkov]

Sorry Sinkov, the whole point is that the Government KNEW at the time that diesels were harmful. For purely political reasons they chose to promote diesels anyway.

As a result we are all breathing in more sh1te than we would have been if they had not taken this action.

If they were ignorant of the problem then fair enough. But they weren't..

With respect 59/60 but that is utter drivel. Of course they knew that diesel engines caused air pollution, but petrol engines emitted far more CO2 and it was accepted universally, not just by our government, that the overwhelming priority was CO2 reduction and the pollutants from diesel were not a major health risk.

If this is not the case then perhaps you can point out the objections the Lib Dems made to this dash for diesel at the time ? Or what they proposed to do about the harmful effects of diesel when they had the chance in government from 2010 ? In fact I can save you the time, if you check the 2010 LibDem manifesto you'll find all the environmental proposals highlighted in green, there are about 80 of them. To improve air quality there are proposals for a bus scrappage scheme to replace old polluting buses, to scrap plans for a 3rd runway at Heathrow, to work with the EU to ensure zero emissions from new cars by 2040. Under a 'Fair deal for motorists' they propose to expand public transport to reduce private car use and cut carbon emissions. Just that, to reduce CO2 emissions, no mention of polltuants from diesel engines.

From 80 highlighted proposals on the environment the diesel engine is never mentioned, not even once, and this is 2010, the LibDems, very hot on the environment, were clearly unaware of their lethal emissions just seven years ago, yet you claim the full extent of this problem was known to Gordon Brown 10 years earlier. Stop trying to re-write history.