Air Quality News Magazine: new issue out now!

To coincide with the National Air Quality Conference in London, the 23rd issue of Air Quality News magazine was launched last week and is now available to read online.

Our Special Report in this issue looks at the current state of play with electric vehicles. Rezina Chowdhury, Deputy Leader of Lambeth Council talks about their newly published EV strategy, in which the council have looked at the bigger picture, recognising the issues of transport poverty and that fewer cars is the ultimate goal: ‘We do not want streets clogged with vehicles – whether electric or fossil fuelled’

Also in the Special report, InfoTec’s Simon Guerrier looks at innovative uses for the millions of working lithium batteries that can no longer power EVs, while I look at the charging options available to EV owners without off-road parking.

A focus on health runs throughout this issue and particularly noteworthy is the Schools’ Air quality Monitoring for Health and Education (SAMHE) citizen science project which Professor Sarah West explains for us here. It’s important that such projects, which engage children in studying the quality of air around them, exist, and the fact that nearly 1,000 schools have signed up is extremely positive.

Carly Hicks explains what Opportunity Green are doing to combat greenwashing in the cruise ship business. Many operators are proudly declaring that their use of Liquified Natural Gas reduces gas emissions and ‘helps protect the planet’, while staying quiet about the very serious implications of the methane which leaks into the atmosphere from that very same LNG

David Smith does not like Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and in this issue he explains why. He’s not alone in this view, Rosamund Kissi-Debrah is probably the most high profile critic of the concept.  It’s a controversial take because we know air quality is improved within these areas, but until everyone can live in a low traffic environment, people will perceive an element of injustice in the concept.

Georgie Hughes left Air Quality News to spend some time in New Zealand and was shocked by the extent to which  wood burning is an air quality problem over there. In this issue’s International feature she examines why it’s as bad as it is and what’s being done about it.

Martin Guttridge-Hewitt tries to unravel a confusing situation in London, where residents are claiming a new low emission logistics hub will increase air pollution. And Emily Whitehouse also discusses logistic hubs in her article exploring the variety of last mile delivery schemes that have been launched by councils recently.

Finally, Emily Whitehouse looks at some different ways in which council’s are trying to take fossil fuel out of last mile  deliveries: from cargo bikes in London to robots in Leeds!