Wednesday 4 November 2009

Just for show?

In the photo is a vehicle with a sign showing commitment to stop idling, the practice of parking a car and continuing to run the engine, which is common in Japan.

It is clearly better for a car not to idle than to do so. However, are such campaigns of much value when the companies that operate the vehicles, and the cities and countries of which they are citizens in, face no limits on CO2 or any other pollutants? If one cannot idle a vehicle, but can drive as far as one can, emitting as much CO2 as possible while conducting business, what has one achieved? There has indeed so far been little incentive to reduce the CO2 emissions from vehicles.

Such is the international situation currently when it comes to CO2 and other pollutants. What good is a little here and a little there when we set no overall limits?