Guest essay by Eric Worrall
According to Oxford academics, embracing electric cars won’t be sufficient. an Oxford University study focussed on Scotland suggests radical lifestyle changes, more walking and cycling journeys, are required to prevent dangerous global warming.
Kicking the car(bon) habit better for air pollution than technology revolution
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
PUBLIC RELEASE: 30-MAY-2018
…
Led by Dr Christian Brand, Senior Research Fellow and Associate Professor at the Environmental Change Institute and Transport Studies Unit, in collaboration with colleagues Jillian Anable from the University of Leeds and Craig Morton at the University of Loughborough, the paper explores how plausible changes in the way we travel might reduce energy use and emissions in Scotland over the next three decades, in light of the 5-year carbon budgets up to 2050 and beyond.
“Our study explores how Scotland might achieve these targets in the transport sector. We find that both lifestyle change – such as making fewer and shorter journeys, sharing existing journeys, or shifting to walking, cycling and clean public transport – and a comprehensive strategy around zero emission technologies are needed, but that they have limits to meeting our CO2 targets, in particular beyond 2030″ explains lead author, Oxford Scientist Dr Christian Brand.
The findings suggest that, only through prioritisation of both demand- (lifestyle, social and cultural change) and supply-side (new technology) transport solutions, might we have a chance of curbing carbon emissions in line with the United Nation’s 1.5C Climate Change Agreement. The co-benefits of such change to human health and the NHS are enormous.
“The newfound urgency of ‘cleaning up our act’ since the Paris Climate Change Agreement in 2016 and Dieselgate scandal suggests that we cannot just wait for the technology fix,” says Dr Christian Brand.
…
Read more: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/uoo-ktc053018.php
The abstract of the study;
Lifestyle, efficiency and limits: modelling transport energy and emissions using a socio-technical approach
Authors and affiliations
Christian Brand, Jillian Anable, Craig Morton
It is well-known that societal energy consumption and pollutant emissions from transport are influenced not only by technical efficiency, mode choice and the carbon/pollutant content of energy but also by lifestyle choices and socio-cultural factors. However, only a few attempts have been made to integrate all of these insights into systems models of future transport energy demand or even scenario analysis. This paper addresses this gap in research and practice by presenting the development and use of quantitative scenarios using an integrated transport-energy-environment systems model to explore four contrasting futures for Scotland that compare transport-related ‘lifestyle’ changes and socio-cultural factors against a transition pathway focussing on transport electrification and the phasing out of conventionally fuelled vehicles using a socio-technical approach. We found that radical demand and supply strategies can have important synergies and trade-offs between reducing life cycle greenhouse gas and air quality emissions. Lifestyle change alone can have a comparable and earlier effect on transport carbon and air quality emissions than a transition to EVs with no lifestyle change. Yet, the detailed modelling of four contrasting futures suggests that both strategies have limits to meeting legislated carbon budgets, which may only be achieved with a combined strategy of radical change in travel patterns, mode and vehicle choice, vehicle occupancy and on-road driving behaviour with high electrification and phasing out of conventional petrol and diesel road vehicles. The newfound urgency of ‘cleaning up our act’ since the Paris Agreement and Dieselgate scandal suggests that we cannot just wait for the ‘technology fix’.
Read more: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12053-018-9678-9
Frankly I’m appalled that academics would recommend more cycling and walking journeys in a place like Scotland, without considering the likely consequences to human health. Summers in Scotland can be pleasant, but winters are frequently severe. Last March a security guard on a Scottish Windfarm tragically froze to death. Even people who think they are prepared are sometimes caught out by the Scottish weather. A car, even if you get stuck in the snow, can keep you alive in weather which would kill you if you were caught outside.
The study references climate unfriendly practices such as “binge flying” which would have to be curbed, and concepts such as “mobility injustice”, which presumably could be used to make car owners feel guilty about using their cars, and recommends the promotion of low carbon alternatives such as “cycling networks”.
I somehow doubt academics intend for the journey restrictions they recommend to be imposed on themselves. In 2014 University of Washington academics claimed enough air miles for a return journey to Mars. I haven’t got comparable figures for Oxford University, but I suspect Oxford University academic air miles would be just as spectacular as the University of Washington.
If they want to cycle me around town, I’m willing to give it a try.
OK Oxford Academics…
Lead the way by example and the next time I find myself in Oxford I’ll follow suit.
So much for the genius “academics'” analysis. Electricity is NOT a source of energy , it is a means of storage and transportation of energy. Electrifying anything will have zero impact on CO2 until you discuss how you are generating that EXTRA electricity.
If it means cutting down even more native US oak , drying it by burning gas and shipping to the UK to be burnt, using oil , I don’t see this reducing atmospheric CO2.
Well a professor living in mild Oxfordshire and walking across campus to get to work may find this desirable. Anyone used to the climate is Scotland will find it decidedly less attractive.
Typically academic total disconnection from reality.
Christian Brand is a Geographer, so what would you expect!!
When I was at Cambridge University in the 1960s we cycled or walked everywhere. Mostly flat land and short distances, and the only hill was on the way to the University farm. However when we went on other farm visits we could be travelling 40 miles or more, then what hope for bicycles? We used cars. Otherwise most of the afternoons would have been taken up cycling.
The dons often had college rooms, so walking across the quads was quite feasible.
That given, I must say that the traffic in Cambridge on a recent visit was horrific.
Stephen P – so was I. Yes indeed the morning dash along Trumpington Street on a racing bike was a refreshing way to start the day.
As you suggest, horses for courses. I wouldn’t want to do Perth to Aberdeen by bike on a wet January night
I’d just tell them “You first or shut your mouths”. Lack of patience on my part. I know.
They can just buy a jeepney from some shop in the Philippines and cart me around at my whim, in all weather on my demand. I deserve it more than they do.
They really do need to get over themselves. They are the biggest part of the problem.
There is a very old saying “By example shall you lead”
Oxford is pretty flat, Lots of places aren’t.
Most certainly much of Oxford is flat but try to pedal up Headington Hill ! Even Lance Armstrong at his ‘pharma-enhanced’ best might be out of the saddle.
Bring back the Litter and the Sedan chair, they’ll solve all of our problems.
Yeah, Ball.
We could try samlars like we used in Thailand, or maybe rickshaws.
Yeah, that’s it, uh huh!
Gums sends,,,,
“recommend more cycling and walking journeys in a place like Scotland, without considering the likely consequences to human health. Summers in Scotland can be pleasant, but winters are frequently severe”
Average lows in Glasgow are 2C. Most people in Scotland live in the Glasgow – Edbourgh corridor. You could bike year round. I was there (Glasgow) in 1962, and it was the first winter since WWII they got snow, or so they said.
I lived in the South of England for a while, way warmer than Scotland. Plenty of nasty weather days in winter, poor visibility, driving rain or sleet, freezing cold, lunatic drivers rushing home before the weather got worse. You can keep the bike.
No, the professor may keep the bike, and show us, without flying, petroleum, coal, or other fossil fuels, nor causing indirect carbon emissions, the way.
I’ll watch. I’ll keep curbing down my emissions by keeping away from cold Scotland.
Eric
I have a bike, both normal and an electric one. The latter is great fun and costs nothing to recharge once you buy a small solar panel.
I also do a lot of walking. Walking you can do no matter how bad the weather is. Cycling? Yes, there are many days or parts of days when a journey would be unpleasant or unproductive if you need to buy or transport something heavy or haven’t much time.
However, as well as potential bad weather let us add in HILLS! Most people of average fitness would find many of our Devon hills beyond their abilities to scale on a bike. So add in weather, time, traffic, load etc and the number of times a bike can be usefully used (other than for recreation) is relatively small
PS As far as Scotland goes, in the countryside you need to factor in midges in the summer. That alone may force you into a vehicle=preferably armoured
tonyb
When The They start practicing what they preach, I may sort of pay attention.
I’m in the ‘you first’ category – they set the example and stick with it. That means they walk everywhere, including to all those climate conferences they like to attend, and stop burning fuels and using stuff based on carbon, including consumption of alcoholic beverages, clothing made of synthetic and/or plant fibers, driving vehicles of any kind, and (finally) lighting and heating their homes with any kind of carbon-related substance at all, including kerosene and liquid propane and plastic solar cells and carbon resin wind turbines..
Then I will acknowledge their dedication and throw them a much-used and gnawed bone to chew on .
Thank you, Sara.
My thots exactly, and more.
I am like the guy in Independence Day, and place all my cans, cardboard, paper, empty tuna cans and such into the recycle comtainer on the curb that is emptied once a week, you know, “save the planet”
Until health problems, I grew a lotta our veggies.
When the Gores and others bycycle to a conference and use hand drawn charts on a pedastal, I might listen. Otherwise….
Gums sends…
Gums, I view “recycling” as an individual choice that means less landfill.
There is also the cash benefit of recycling. Aluminum cans such as soda cans or cat food cans bring $1.00/pound at the recycling center, so throwing them away is throwing away money. I asked at a recycling center about paper like newspapers, but they said they only accept loads of 5,000 to 10,000 pounds at the lowest level, so I just bag the newspapers separately and put them into the trash can, labeled “newspapers”.
There are times when it makes sense, and other times when rolling up a newspaper to use as a firestarter log makes more sense.
The problem with recycling is scaling and allocating resources within the system. Currently, the global recycling system is broken, mainly because China has refused to accept foreign waste. Single point of failure. Will take a while to fix…
See https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/recycling/blogs/soon-cant-ship-recycling-china-thats-problem
They don’t need to be as extreme as that. For example, the most common form of motorised transport is a 125 cc motorcycle.
Not only do they emit a fraction of the emissions of a big SUV, but also they require only very small areas for parking, and they take up very small parts of the road network.
I can’t see that encouraging people to walk or cycle when sensible, is such a bad thing in itself.
(leaving aside the CO2 crap).
Surely Scots know when it is safe to be outside for a while.
Maybe the improvement in health from exercise would far outweigh those that might succumb to hypothermia.
Jeff, I believe their pronouncement is based on a rather iconoclastic setting in which they exist. They assume that it is physically safe for everyone else to walk or take a bicycle. They don’t deal with the hazards of roads, traffic, weather or night & day periods of light and darkness. They are not affected by criminals in the shadows. They lead unimpacted lives.
Their pronouncement – good for thee, but I don’t have to – is a false narrative from occupants of an idyllic setting in which nothing ever goes wrong, everyone is nice to everyone else and everything is just fine.
I doubt that they even do their own laundry or clean their own homes.
“Average lows in Glasgow are 2C.” “Average”? So only go out on “average” days? And BTW, 2C is cold to many people. And you were there one winter 56 years ago and it was pleasant so that confirms your belief?
When I lived in Edinburgh, I recall visiting Glasgow a lot, and yes, it was pretty mild in winter, being on the west coast and benefiting from some of the warmth piped in from the Gulf of Mexico by the gulf stream. Edinburgh, on the other hand was quite chilly, and Aberdeen, you really don’t want to know how cold it gets in Aberdeen.
Coming from the flatlands of East Anglia, I was ready to cycle, but I almost never cycled in Edinburgh, it was way too hilly. Plus, at 56° north, there’s not a whole lot of daylight in winter and sharing badly lit, narrow streets with vehicular traffic in the dark was not my idea of fun (no LEDs in them days, just dim battery operated lamps). I just took the extra time and walked. Or drove, if it was raining (which, in my mutable recollection, was about 95 percent of the time). Buses were OK too.
But the question I need to answer, is why are these Oxford twits in their ivory tower preaching to Scotland? There are 10 times as many people in England. Are they all so green that they can tell us how to behave? Didn’t look that way last time I was there.
Not very skeptical demonstrates how to lie using statistics.
The original quote talks about extreme conditions, and NVS comes back with average lows.
Apples and oranges, as it is well aware.
One constant with trolls, they know the truth won’t support their position, which is why the never rely on it.
Just hope Algore never visits Glasgow. You know what happens then…..
He looks like a man who appreciates nutritious food. Surely he would enjoy a few fish suppers, mealy puddings and deep-fried Mars bars. He might keel over with a heart attack after a week or two of such high living though.
First winter since WWII?
It is astonishing the tripe you swallow, based on your beliefs.
Just this past winter; December 29th, 2017, “GLASGOW AIRPORT SUSPENDS ALL FLIGHTS DUE TO HEAVY SNOW”.
February 28th, 2018, “Glasgow in the snow – pictures as Beast of the East sweeps the city”.
These are just two recent winter storms.
Scotland, including Glasgow is known for wet windy cold weather. Conditions that easily freeze people through wind chill; especially if they’re at all wet.
&exph=2550&expw=3300&q=%2b%22wind+chill%22+%2bchart&simid=608036538185682932&selectedIndex=7
Green beans, watermelons and chock full of nuts. Next up- change human behavior to cook on an electric stove connected to solar panels – dinner daily, but only between 4-6pm and when there’s no clouds. Watermelons and canned nuts when there’s no “Ra generous sun watts”. “ Fasting for health on rainy days”,… cuddling for warmth since burning wood caveman style is so “un-green” and dispicablr Orwell’s,… where are you??
That stuff is funny Sparky!
Personally, the can contribute the most by kicking the bucket.
Sounds like mass dementia.
We know a professor of ‘environmental science’ in Australia.
He’s the most hypocritical human I’ve every met.
He knows he’s a hypocrite.
It doesn’t phase him.
His favourite is “the great unwashed are paying my bills”.
I concluded that ‘climate science’ is a belief system. Does this person wear a cassock?
In the church of orthodox science the cassock is the PhD.
The photo of Donald Trump shows him indicating the scale and total magnitude of whole IQ scored by all the entire team of Privileged Oxford Climate Change Professors. As out teenage son used to say “Wat a bunch of Losers”.
These folks spend way too much time in their ivory towers and on their summer vacations. Of course they don’t plan to abide by their own advice. Instead they expect someone in government to require everyone else to toe the line.
I spent most of my career in the field. Once at a federal regulatory public hearing the regulated community just wasn’t buying what the technocrats at the front table were selling. I was sitting in the audience but knew both the folks at the table and most of those in the audience. One federal bureaucrat finally asked why the audience was obvious not listen to what they were saying after all it was everyone’s own good. Half the audience raised up. One of the leaders told them what everyone was thinking. “None of you at the table have a clue. None of you have been out their with us.” He then turned, pointed at me and said, “some of us don’t like him but he has been out there with us; he has a good idea of what is going on. We will listen to him. Why don’t you people get out from behind your desk and get into the real world.”
Good!
REALLY!!
So how do they propose that I, a builder, make these alterations to my current transport use?
How do they propose that I, a coach at a sporting facility, travel from one side of town to the other (at my own cost of course) to give away my time (free of course) to those wanting to learn from me?
How do they propose that I cater to my cousin, who has dementia and in need of timely assistance, by me walking or cycling to his distant care facility?
How do they propose that in an emergency, the car that I would need to meet that emergency, and being looked upon by those watching me drive by (to the hospital) as though I should be reported for driving such a CO2 producing machine?
The word(s) I would like to use – to them – I am trying to give up, but they make it hard to keep from using them!
Plonkers!!!
I was working in Maputo, Moçambique at a construction site. A guy fell a couple of stories off the scaffolding onto his head with a loud crack – splitting his skull badly. We thought he was dead for sure. I was the only one present without a bicycle: fortunately it was a turbo-diesel pickup truck. In a few hectic and very stressful minutes emitting illegal quantities of NOx we managed to get him to the main hospital where we were met at the emerg by very competent staff who whisked him away and politely thanked me for helping.
He fully recovered. By bicycle, even by some possibly-existing ambulance, that outcome would have been unlikely. Life’s a bitch, but sometimes, thanks to private transport, you don’t die.
Yes but this isn’t about reality.
It’s signalling to others in academia in pursuit of recognition and status.
Most ‘environmental’ academics don’t mind and you don’t matter.
Until tax season rolls around, then you very much matter. Or rather, your money matters.
Just when you start wondering how out of touch and isolated these academics are…
….they come up with something to let you know
Scotland is sitting on a old age bomb….over 25% of their population is predicted to be old age very soon
…and who in their right mind would want to make Scotland colder?
I am still wondering why we wouldn’t want it a little warmer in most of the world. In my part of the world, even 5 degrees would be welcome on all but a very few days of the year.
Throw in a little extra moisture for good measure.
The folks at the University of Michigan have shown that sanctimonious true believes like these Oxford academics actually do LESS to save the planet that climate skeptics.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494418301488
These hypocrites are just virtue signalling to their friends.
Lead by example, Oxford Dons.
If they wont, then they should be made to.
But it wont happen, because Britannia is lost.
Actually Oxford and Cambridge are relative havens for cyclists (the main hazard being other cyclists), and this may have led the academics there astray. Are they aware of the ring road around Oxford that carries most of the traffic?
Probably many of them drive it all the time in their fossil fueled cars. My answer to them is YOU FIRST!
In other words they embrace the socialist model.
The average person should not own a car or property. The average person will be told what to eat and when they will die…
The individual is worthless and only the hive mind is allowed…
Can anyone say UN Agenda 21?
And they are not even worried about their obvious socialist rant to be seen…
Catering companies will surely jump on board with this cycling idea. In fact, this concept works great for any person wishing to transport various objects in large quantities. Think of the weight loss and physical fitness possibilities, especially after you use your muscles to pull all your supplies, and THEN have to do the work of setting everything up and running an event.
Great idea. Just great idea. Bravo !
Oh, I forgot, … Oxford, … Crockford.
Molecules or clumps of cells?
Who even bothers to listen to these clowns anyway because every time there’s one asinine proposal or another, there’s a good chance it originated in a university. How does the line go: “It’s an idea that’s so stupid it’s certain to be embraced by some branch of academia.”
What about the increase in methane emission caused by cyclist flatulence?
Rickshaws!
(pedicabs)…
My wife and I took a pedicab in downtown Toronto in mid-winter when it was really cold. He gave us a warm blanket. It was really fun. But I don’t think it would be a substitute for much because of the rarity of fit, young, motivated and available youth to ped the pedals.
In Yogyakarta there are fabulous pedicabs with persistent old men pushing the cranks, but they couldn’t cope with sub-zero conditions.
Crispin,
Yes, my late wife and I caught a rickshaw back from a theatre to Charing Cross Station one December a few years ago.
The driver/engine was English, young and enthusiastic.
But I suspect that London rickshaws are fairly unusual – even today.
Auto
In Croydon.
Yeah I’m sure its bicycles and walking everywhere that AlGore, Tom Steyer, and all the other climate-woke elites imagine for themselves in a carbon restricted world.
Socialist thinkers never include themselves in the vast majority of those who will pay the price. They are special people, in their own minds at least and they therefore see themselves as deserving of being treated special. The USSR communist party bosses did not stand in the bread lines caused by their poorly performing government operated farms. Algore did not downsize his 25, 000 sq ft personal dwelling, he came up with “carbon credits” to screw even more common folks out of more money. Once you understand these people they are very predictable.
A question relevant to Al Gore. Who were the original shareholders of the CCX in Chicago? The Chicago Carbon Exchange, and when did he start it?
Is it true Suzuki was one of the original shareholders? Who else?
Next, Al said in 1992 that the debate was over, the science is in. Was there some coincidence in these two matters? I’d like to know the facts so I don’t mis-report. The testimony from independents and vested interests should be treated differently.
So Crispin Are you saying that we had only those 4 years between 1988 and 1992 to debate these guys. ? If true I will venture a guess that most of them refused to debate even in those 4 years before “the science was settled”.
Crispin,
From your comment I deduce that you know more about the origination of carbon credits than I. Sorry, I don’t know the answers to your questions. So far, though, my oil stocks have done better than carbon credits have from what I can determine. Plus they’ve also been more beneficial to the environment by assisting in greening the planet, providing jobs and inexpensive energy to all.
So the eggheads in there ivory tower look down to the gathered citizenry below and said in a united but unsteady voice —
“You’ve all been very wicked and will have to pay. No More vehicles!”
The alarmed crowd was dispersed by the finely dressed Master of Security and his equally richly attired Sergeant Master.
Fellow and Associate Professors turned away from the window pulling the heavy gold embroidered drapes closed. Shuffling unsteadily across the handmade carpet Dr Pagan Ass-Brand stumbled slightly, and upon regaining his composure retorted almost loudly, “Ungrateful bloody lot, let them eat croissant au beurre, that will teach them!”
Then turning to the steward beside him, his watery eye gleamed, as he asked,
“Any more of that 1962 Bual Madeira left?”
The irony is that as long as the earth has a fever industry promoters push their overblown con-game
the more fossil fuel use will increase . The scary climate chicken little has consumed it’s credibility ( if it ever had any ) and now it is tuned out .
Cambridge … what ever . Fossil fuel use can and will decrease just like all the other fuels which have come and gone but it isn’t going to be climate charlatans who are going to turn the tide .
If we knew fossil fuels were running out in 50 years or less is there any doubt nuclear plants would be
sprouting up as fast as they could be built .
Solar and Hydro would sprout, FTF!
The thing that we must repeat and stress on every occasion: Energy poverty is poverty. Everything depends on energy, somehow or other. If you don’t have it, you are poor. Everything else you have will sooner or later be reduced to nothing or worthlessness.
For those interested, energy poverty is not a reference to ‘not enough energy’ which could be termed an ‘energy deficit’. Energy poverty as defined by ESMAP at the World Bank means that 10% of net income is spent on energy in all forms. According to GIZ it means (or used to mean) 20% or more.
I have seen places where the expense reaches 30%. Typically when it reaches 25% the people change fuels, no matter what their circumstances. That may include burning plastic, garbage, tires and dry animal carcasses in an attempt to keep warm.
The single mother of 4 or 5 kids who confronted Trudeau in Peterborough at the town hall meeting is spending 15% of her take home pay on electricity alone, not all her energy. She makes CDN$55,000 per year and she is well into energy poverty as defined by the WB. Her cost is projected to double in the coming years, according to the government. She will be burning tires by then to keep the pipes from freezing.
I was bored and made an exception to examine (not bored enough to completely read, but I did see this [eco-driving]) a paper in a journal I never heard of (Energy Efficiency) on a subject out of my realm.
“However, there are some notable limitations of this study. The scenario modelling approach used here is suited to long-term studies of more radical socio-technical developments. As such, it is simulating the future rather than predicting it. However, the forecasting and prediction of the medium to long-term future beyond, say, 2025 based on historic values, habits and norms may be inappropriate and misleading if taken as ‘truth’ (for instance by policy makers). We believe that the more flexible scenario approach adopted here of developing structured and plausible ‘storylines’”……….
AND THEN THE LAST LINE OF THE PAPER—–“The newfound urgency of ‘cleaning up our act’ since the Paris Agreement and Dieselgate scandal suggests that we cannot just wait for the ‘technology fix’.”
They always give it away! We don’t know enough about what we studied, but we have to radically do it even if it might be historically wrong and we have to use propaganda, reasonably, of course. Kind of historically scary. As Edwin just gave an example they are in their cocoon, no offense to necessary uses in metamorphosis. Is there a depository for these contradictions somewhere?
So we’re not even TRYING to clean up the exhaust emissions any more?
Mazda, GM, and Bosch will be out in a year with radically cleaner internal combustion engines, including very clean diesels.
There is no thing as a clean diesel. You cant measure soot particles less than 5 nanometers. Soot particles at that size do more damage to your lungs than bigger particles do. Diesels are evil because of the soot.
Have you a reference for soot particles that size?
https://people.eng.unimelb.edu.au/imarusic/proceedings/19/59.pdf
seems to say no.
Agreed, lee, JunkScience website deals with this very thoroughly. Completely bogus scare. Smoke from indoor cooking fires however is another matter.
Thanks for that study I didnt realize the chemistry of soot formation. However until the soot of diesels equals the soot from gasoline engines, diesels will always be more dangerous. Another point is that if the study wasnt conducted on the acceleration points from standing start then it isn’t completely valid. Diesels give off much more soot during the 1st part of accelerations.
AT: “Another point is that if the study wasnt conducted on the acceleration points from standing start then it isn’t completely valid. Diesels give off much more soot during the 1st part of accelerations.”
Here’s a passage from the Bosch statement that I linked to; it deals with that problem:
What about CO2? I thought the goal was to reduce CO2. (Not just soot particles)
Hmmm. From the link I provided, there is this quote: “[Bosch bigshot] Denner’s target for Bosch engineers is the development of a new generation of diesel and gasoline engines that produce no significant particulate or NOx emissions.
Alan Tomalty
The exhaust of the 2015 Cascadia Freight Liner with a Detroit diesel that I drive puts out less emissions than the ambient air quality found in most major metropolitan areas. IOW the truck I drive is actually cleaning the air in areas where air quality is poorer.
So many changes have come so quickly since 2004 in the pollution control systems on big truck diesels that any publication or study that is more than 2 years old on the subject is likely to be out of date.
And it’s not just the pollution control systems. Idle time is way down compared to just a few years ago. The truck I drive has a thing called “Idle management”. It works in conjunction with the battery powered environmental control system for the interior of the tractor. When I park I set it into the idle management mode. The environmental control battery bank located between the frame rails under the utility deck provides to power to run the Webasto type heater or the independent AC unit. The Webasto type heater is like a miniature fuel oil furnace burning only about 1 gallon per 10 hours of operation compared to the 1 gallon an hour one would burn to idle. When the environmental battery pack runs down, or on cold nights when the engine oil temperature drops below a certain level, the engine automatically starts and idles to recharge the batteries or warm up the engine and then shuts down.
I bet few here have noticed that the exhaust stacks on big trucks have been disappearing over the last few years. My 2015 has no stacks. That is because the exhaust is emitted from underneath like smaller vehicles. Now why do you think they can get away with that?
Thanks, Roger. I will look into setting aside some funds to invest in these Companies. 🙂
Mazda’s stock symbol is MZDAF; Bosch’s is BSWQY. GM’s is GM (I think). All for American markets.
PS: here’s a link to my WUWT comment providing links describing Mazda’s forthcoming SkyActiv-X gasoline engine with 30% more efficiency.
Oops–I forgot to include the link. Here:
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4160855-tesla-q1-2018-deliveries-narrative-tells-tesla-trouble#comment-78166815
Let’s let the liberal professors lead the way by example. We’ll see how far that goes.
A Doctor of Philosophy no less. Why would he not be philosophically opposed.
Who said academics were totally impractical people? Oh I think that was me. Give ‘em a grant and they’ll spend it for you. When I was being educated I had respect for them. Now I struggle with that.
“Climate Science” is giving academia a bad name. Stop this nonsense!
So are Christian, Jillian and Craig walking the walk, or just talking the talk?
Put your money down….. as usual on anyone from Oxford. I want to see their last physical data!
C’mon, give it up!
The ‘Oxford Professors’ can spout off their carbon crap enviro-hippocracy (double entendre intended) to anyone who cares to listen.
Just stay the hell out of the way of the rest of us. We have real jobs and real concerns we must deal with everyday that just are not gonna get done twaddling along on foot or bicycle, like the impoverished residents of some 3rd world country.
This guy’s showing those Oxford sissies how it’s done.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1zEHGUgBw4A/VCfWRRbNhVI/AAAAAAAAH4k/y9SDl1ypUgg/s1600/wheelie%2Bwithout%2Bwheel.jpg
“Kick the Carbon Hobbit”…
They might as well be saying “Kick the Carbon Human”.
If these “Oxford Professors” are this stupid, they do a disservice to the institution they work for.
Yeah, Carbon is a habit or a just a hobby.
We use carbon fossil fuels because there is just so much energy stored in it. A liter of gas and a cubic metre of natural gas just produces a very efficient huge amount of energy. We don’t think about that enough but there is just massive amounts of energy in fossil fuels that can be liberated rather easily.
It is not a habit, it is a fact of chemistry and physics and our entire civilization is really built around that. Is a farm going to work with Solar powered combines?
Tonkien is Hobbit formin’.
The loud sound you can hear in America is probably that of Scots laughing at Sassenachs from Oxford telling them to walk a bit harder.
Why didn’t these profs suggest using electrified bikes, scooters, and Segways? (I don’t know if they would be more energy-efficient, but they might be. They’d surely cost less to buy than a car. They might substitute for a second car.)
You got this all wrong. The learned professors just want us to go back to traveling on horseback. The privileged few, that is. The rest can just walk, obviously. After all, this is Oxford.
…making fewer and shorter journeys, sharing existing journeys, or shifting to walking, cycling and clean public transport…
I recall a similar argument being used in a British comedy sketch:
…making fewer and shorter journeys, sharing existing journeys, or shifting to walking, cycling and clean public transport…
I’ve seen this argument used in a British comedy sketch:
Who, exactly, voted for “5-year carbon budgets?”
“Why didn’t these profs suggest using electrified bikes, scooters, and Segways? ”
Contrary to popular belief Scotland doesn’t get all that much snow, but icy roads on winter mornings are a regular issue. A four-wheel vehicle copes with this much better than does a two-wheel one.
Reading that bilge from the mad professors has made me go for a drive in my 56 year-old, 3.4L Jaguar.
It emits some 5% carbon monoxide, so it probably counts as “ low emissions” as far as CO2 is concerned.
Sounds and looks good too!
I know several people who more or less follow this advice. All are single males who are fine with cycling. They only need to carry one bag of groceries in their back pack and they are fine with taking 1.5 hours to get to work on their bike. Add a kid to that mix and suddeningly a car gets added to the household. Even they will say that in minus 35 temps in mid Jan in Saskatchewan they have second thought about getting on their bike to go to work.
The other aspect of this is that I suspect that there is a high correlation between these sort of academic hypocrites and the holidays and holiday homes they enjoy pontificating to the locals whose countries they visit on their richly unearned vacations. With this romantic and witless picture in their mind they instruct their lesser citizens in how they should accept self-harm and imprisonment to save the planet but have no intention of living that way themselves. Pretty much the rest of the climate alarmist community suffers from this same cant and deceitful thinking.
The term ‘academics’ used to imply some degree of intelligence.
It’s like some kind of integer overflow. At some point you get to be such a genius that you begin outsmarting yourself, and swing around the scale all the way back to Complete Idiot.
Have these people heard of a place called China? Maybe their globe is torn off in 2 because they are flat earthers anyway because of their stupid CO2 calculations that treat the earth as flat when they talk about sea ice minimum and maximum. These min and max occur near the equinox when almost no sunlight is reaching the pole. As Tony Heller says the whole concept of Arctic albedo is based on JUNK SCIENCE. The only time the pole can melt is June , July, and August. It will take 1 hell of a temperature rise to melt all that ice in 3 months. And even if it melts the sea level will not rise because the Arctic ice is already floating. Arctic ice has melted completely before and was as low in the 1930’s as today.
China puts 31% of the total mankind CO2 into the atmosphere, and as of the 1st quarter 2018 was increasing at the rate of 4% from last year which was a further 4% from the previous year and shows no sign of stopping even by 2030. India with almost as many people wont stop building coal plants. How does any reduction matter from the rest of the word combined? These professors at Oxford are like someone trying to plug a tiny hole in a dam when they are so busy on their tiny hole that they dont look up and see the whole dam coming apart at the seams. But what the professors really dont know is that there isnt any water in the dam anyway. The whole dam is a fairy tale to keep the climate funding and unfortunately a trillion $ carbon Ponzi scheme alive.
“How does any reduction matter from the rest of the word combined?” should read
How does any reduction matter from the rest of the world combined?
I sometimes drive to a breakfast place only 2.5 blocks from my house. And I don’t feel guilty at all. I might stop for gas or do other errands on the way back, but not usually. (at least I have that option).
Hell I used to run 70 miles per week until I burned myself out. I ran many marathons in the 1970s, including Boston and NYC. I thought I would be running for the rest of my life, but it didn’t work out that way.
– JPP
I pledge to give up hydrocarbons after these “brilliant” academics give up O2 for a month! Hydrocarbons are the worlds primary energy source and our civilization will crumble and vanish without them.
The main features of the weather putting off cyclists in Scotland are rain and wind, rather than extreme cold and ice. In the Winter, short days do not help either.
Of course, given that Scotland has less than 0.1% of the global population, and this paper deals with a part of one type of carbon emissions (i.e. transport) it has essentially nothing to do with reducing global emissions. It is instead about cultural change. Particularly changing Scottish cultural norms to the desired lifesyles of the authors.
Given the diversity of cultures across the planet, the findings from the study are likely not applicable to most of the rest of the world. Gives the authors and Scottish politicians a sense that they are doing something to combat climate change though.
They want the Scottish society to return to the late 18th- early 19th century when bicycles and horses were the prime mode of transportation. Give these guys shovels to clean up all their horse shit!
Correct. Rain plus wind is the deterrent. I’m nearly 60, and have always cycled to work, where possible. Current commute is 3.5 miles across Edinburgh, a doddle, and always quicker than the bus. Previous commute was 6 miles each way, and my old bike was scrapped at the 25,000 mile mark. This was never ‘too far’ even in bad weather, and I only had to resort to public transport when there was lots of snow/ice. Before that my work was 12 miles away, and at that distance I was definitely much more weather sensitive. Two long hauls per day in filthy weather was just too much, so I’d often take the train one way. Wind-driven sleet is really quite unpleasant, even worse in the dark. You get chilled by the melting and the evaporation at the same time.
Why do I cycle to work? Because I’m motivated to. I’ve done it since I was about 11 years old. I enjoy the exercise (keeps me fit for hillwalking), beating the traffic, and fact that it grants me beer credits. I would however deeply resent being told that I must cycle, or that I shouldn’t use my car when I choose to.
WOW….just wow….really?
“and on-road driving behaviour with high electrification ”
So cattle prods for road rage now? OR are the roads going to be electrified and run by an AI who will determine if your on road driving behaviour isn’t within the normal parameters?
See how if you take something out of context it seems ridiculous? Take note Oxford Academics….because the same can be done to your study.
Wooly headed idiocy. Reminds of an old adage: Those that can, do; those that cannot, teach.
I believe that Anthony did an expose several years ago on the houses that several man made climate activists lived in. They were definitely of the do as I say and not as I do. Those houses were huge and mostly in the suburbia where you almost had to drive to work.
I DEMAND that the professors try it out first , then after 2 years, tell us how they like it.
Having failed, disgracefully – and discourteously – to offer Margaret Thatcher an honourary degree, I bet Oxford Dons would fall over themselves to offer one to Christiana Figueres – but I doubt they could manage a high table with the advent of her socialist ambitions.
I agree, we use way too many cartons, and there must be many ways we can all kick the carton habit if we would all just pull together. Everything you order comes in some sort of a carton, which you then have to get rid of somehow. Even if you have recycling, those cartons need to be broken down first, which is a laborious task, especially if you have 50 or more of all shapes and sizes. And don’t get me started on all the stuff you have to pull out of them first, like styrofoam. We need a carton revolution!
Cardboard cartons can be cut up and used by kids. See two books and 1 knife on Amazon:
“Box!: Castles, Kitchens, And Other Cardboard Creations For Kids” is $13.34 at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762787775/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
“The Cardboard Box Book: Make Robots, Princess Castles, Cities, and More!” is $8.64 at https://www.amazon.com/Cardboard-Box-Book-Princess-Castles/dp/0312517386/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0312517386&pd_rd_r=MVSJM261HQ1WCMDVDKGK&pd_rd_w=VZCFR&pd_rd_wg=9ik9N&psc=1&refRID=MVSJM261HQ1WCMDVDKGK
The “CANARY Corrugated Cardboard Cutter” (safe for kids) is $720 at https://www.amazon.com/Corrugated-Cardboard-Fluorine-Coating-DC-190F/dp/B008RIS0UY/ref=pd_bxgy_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B008RIS0UY&pd_rd_r=J6EZHRWDFMPD6NCKA9W1&pd_rd_w=aVuas&pd_rd_wg=PNpo6&psc=1&refRID=J6EZHRWDFMPD6NCKA9W1
There are true believers of the AGW dogma, and they will perform at extreme efforts to carry out their beliefs. Until this belief system fades in 50 or 75 years, these types will continue to push their dogma. I can almost respect those who do make the sacrifices, and not only “talk the talk,” but “walk the walk” too. As an example, I worked with a meteorologist who biked to work each way about 12 miles or so, even on midnight shifts and in poor weather. Not heavy snow, though. He bought a new Honda hybrid after his Saturn gave up the ghost, signalling his virtue every step of the way. He even told others who drove in a company vehicle that the air conditioning should not be used, regardless of the temperature, as it increased fuel consumption. Fortunately, I never travelled with him, because if I had, I would have read him the riot act, whether he was technically in charge or not.
However, I believe it will be very difficult to convince the masses in Western society that these extreme efforts are necessary. It will only be through legislation, forced measures, and onerous taxes that people will be moved to extreme measures that AGW dogmatists believe are needed. Then, perhaps there will be the countering pushback that is needed to oust these socialist overlords (either through voting them out or through other means), pushback which doesn’t seem very evident globally now.
When I see the Queen on the underground or riding the bus I’ll think about cycling more. Until then I’ll take my car.
I don’t think that the biggest killers of the poor in the World are related to climate change or even cold I think it is related to debt and credit .Those who sell essential things like home furnishing and electric goods Know that they can push up the price if they offer credit it is just that the wealthier are more likely to get better interest rates than the poor who are either forced into debt at high interest rates or have to shop in charity shops to buy the things they need ,inflation of the price of goods should not be allowed if there is not equal access to credit. Deflation might not be such a bad thing if it stops people falling into debt. Why is inflation of prices seen as such a good thing?
Lots of people die in the UK from hypothermia. Its not as uncommon as you may think
I’ll believe their CAGW meme the day the Gummint announces no publicly paid official will remain airconditioned on their watch to the universal cheers of those affected. Back to the future like the grandparents’ days and no sacrifice is too great for the grandkiddies. That’ll be the day eh perfessors?
I think we have way too many academics studying way too many useless topics. Set them the challenge of earning an income in a productive industry.
But these are “academics” who have done a “study” and made these “findings.”
There is a general per capita measure of carbon usage/carbon dioxide production for each country.
It is called the carbon footprint.
If I recall correctly, the carbon footprint for Australia is about 23 tonnes per person per year.
In the Philippines, where I am living, it is about 1.5 tonnes per capita per year.
Come and pay a visit and see how the people live, such that they have such a small carbon footprint.
If every country adopted the same generic lifestyle, then the world would be immediately saved. And the climate alarmists would no longer have anything to activate about.
The heading of this article, “Privileged Oxford Climate Change Professors Demand We ‘Kick the Carbon Habit'” is misleading.
Of the three authors, only one the German Christian Brand is at Oxford. He occupies a position which would in most other top UK universities be called “Senior Lecturer” but which Oxford University decided, a few years ago, to rename “Associate Professor”, in order to bolster its ability to recruit internationally.
Neither of the other two authors are “Oxford Academics”. One of them is a lecturer at a university best known for its contribution to sports education although it also has one of the better practical engineering schools.
While I have no love for the dark blues I feel that it is slightly unfair to accept that such drivel really represents the opinions of Oxford academics.
What strikes me in all photos of the consensurians is their color! D’versity indeed!
I work in the Trauma Unit at Oxford’s main hospital. The number of broken-boned cyclists who come through on a daily basis is quite alarming. Some knocked off their bikes by encounters with wicked motorists but most, it seems, just succumbing to gravity +/- potholes. So the Law of Unintended Consequences suggests that lots more people on bicycles will mean lots more very expensively trained trauma & orthopaedic staff to patch them up again.
My suggestion to these esteemed professors is that they get a job that will give them callouses on their hands before they start demanding lifestyle changes from the rest of us.