‘Mouthpiece’
February 28th, 2010 | Published in Automotive
Please have your staff ventilate Csaba’s office. The diesel fumes seem to be building up. Although diesel engines do have the superior thermodynamic cycle, they are presently not a reasonable alternative power source for urban fleets of cars, due to their poor emissions. The soot emissions even from the most modern diesels, is, in sufficient quantity, thought to be carcinogenic.
Csere should realize the popularity of diesels in Europe is due to the irresponsible fuel taxes on gasoline. Governments there have sought to soak those taxpayers who are rich enough to afford a car, without stifling commercial trucking traffic. All this has done is to further damage the environment by encouraging mass diesel use. As proof, try visiting a major European city, such as London, Paris, or Athens. The stench of diesel exhaust in the air is far worse than in any North American city. Other countries can choke on diesel exhaust if they choose. We are much better off continuing on our current gasoline-fueled course. Guy Rideout, Toronto, Ontario.
Patrick Bedard’s column “The persistent smell in the air turns out to be bullshit,” January 2003, did a great job of exposing how the EPA and its mouthpiece, the American Lung Association, make sure the country never attains ever-tightening air-quality standards. The EPA is just obeying Frobom’s Law of Asymptotic Attention: The closer a problem is to solution, the more government attention is devoted to it.
