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Dave Greenwich
"It seems Boris hasn't removed all of the lefty hippies from City Hall yet. London's air is fine. The EU just want more money for their coffers."

Don't know which part of Greenwich you live in Dave, but I can taste the air where I live in Greenwich it's so bad. I'd get a check up if I were you, maybe the pollution has taken away your sense of smell and taste? Or maybe it's even affected your brain with such a strange comment?

- Bg, Greenwich

We live in a valley with prevailing weather from the west.
We have most of the Heathrow flight paths flying at low altitude the length of the Thames valley depositing millions of gallons of used aviation gas, which central government are talking about increasing by a third. We have major coal fired power stations in Oxfordshire (that need cleaning up/modernising,by UK standards they are good but compared to the best in the world not so good) doing similar damage and we have large swathes of the surrounding countryside growing GM modified rape seed (It all flowers at the same times)and gas fired central heating systems in most homes putting out huge quantities of pollutants. A bicycle/car/bus/train system works well for this city/country and i wish the green party would get over its persistent discrimination against car drivers.
My understanding is that the trial of hydrogen powered buses went well and they only put out water and road dust.
It would be nice if London undergrounds tunnels and track were upgraded to at least the jubilee extension standards even if it was in sections over 40-50 years. financed maybe through ten or fifteen year bonds.
It would also be nice if the overground started to put in place disabled access. they have not done very much (nothing?) regarding this for over 20 years. In some franchise areas if they had done one a year it would have accounted for more than ten percent increase in disabled access (a couple of long ramps are not so expensive)

- Michael, London UK

A summary in the report is: "Government estimates suggest that air pollution contributes to around 1,000 premature deaths in London each year, but recent data from the European Environment Agency suggests that this could be closer to 3,000. However, both of these figures are estimations for London, based on calculations from UK figures."

In my part of London, Transport for London wants to build a new bus station right next to the ten-lane section of the North Circular Road, at Brent Cross.

It should actually be possible to quantify the number of premature deaths caused, given the PM10 Diesel Particulates and the Nitrogen Dioxide figures for the North Circular Road, and the number of waiting passengers and bus drivers.

- Jay, London

I too suffer from Asthma.. and it is getting worse as the years go by not better. I can feel my life being shortened and what little is left will be spent hunched over a ventilator. I say let the EU rules be enforced, if that means two car free days a week then so be it. Why should I pay for someone else's convenience with three years off my span?. I suppose its three years less pension so could be a money saving device *cough, rasp, wheeze*
Action, legal or otherwise, must be taken, to stop this death parade on our overcrowded streets

- Ron, London

Lots of comments say "why not use less polluting gas buses" - well there is a very simple reason why London can't use gas buses, if you actually stop to THINK. London uses a LOT of double deck buses, and is almost unique in large cities (apart from Hong Kong) in this respect. Gas powered buses need a very large gas tank. London is an old city with lots of low bridges, overhanging buildings and signs etc.
Now, a little bit of logic ... double deck buses, with big gas tanks wouldn't fit the majority of London streets! Now, to use a gas bus, and carry the same number of people, you'd need a gas bendy-bus - problem solved! Oh, but no, another of Boris' pet plans scuppers that one ...
Hong Kong can get away with gas double deckers because it is a modern city with few low bridges etc, and if you actually look at most places that people throw around as using gas powered public transport, you will usually find that they have a policy of trying to use it where they can, buying gas buses in future etc. - they don't use 100% gas buses already.
This is not considering the fact that gas is only "cleaner" than diesel, not "clean" ...

- Justin, Wandsworth

Peter Thurgood, your own particular figures of cutting buses by 50% sound like utter rubbish to me. Clearly you dont commute to work by bus everyday, if you did you'd see how busy it is. I say hit the car brigade harder and put more money into public transport. Keep the Western extension lets not go backwards to pander to the chelsea tractor brigade.

- Dave, Madrid

After 15 years in London and never smoking, I have developed asthma.
It is extraordinary to discover that no one seems to know that Paris' 'diesel' buses are now run on Aquazol - which I believe are 60% less polluting and there's no need to modify the engines.. So why hasn't TfL done likewise? Also, the three major cities in India (Mombai, Calcutta and Dheli) have all their buses including the millions of tiny bike taxis there, running on gas - why oh why not in London? Ken was around long enough to have made these changes.

- Pithy Writer, London

Although he a keen cyclist deep down he has a soft spot for the lazy Chelsea tractor brigade who drive 100 metres to a restaurant rather than walk.

- Mark, Venice, Italy

All it takes is more taxpayer money.

Life causes death. How are you going to 'fix' that?

- Trunk, US

There is no doubt that the fumes from vehicles do pollute our air, but instead of the usual "bash the car brigade", which in real terms equates to "bash anyone rich enough to drive one", why not take a proper look at the real culprits of the pollution, i.e. the buses in London.

We have far too many, where I live, near Lewisham, you cannot cross the street on some days when buses are crammed nose to tail, sometimes as many as 20 to 30 in a row, and all nearly empty. We need far less buses, a cutback of 50% would speed up the traffic immensely in London.

Lastly, I would like to know where these figures of 3000 deaths a year in London, all caused through air pollution, actually originate from? Can the cause of deaths in these cases be found on these poor unfortunates death certificates, i.e. "cause of death: walking in London streets"? I doubt it very much. They are like most of the figures we have thrust down our throats by people who get paid simply by producing figures, utter rubbish!

- Peter Thurgood, London

I'd give Boris 10 minutes in Oxford Street, or the City before he felt uncomfortable with the filthy air spewed out by London's ubiquitous black cabs and buses. A hybird version for public transport vehicles is long overdue.

- Jayne, London, UK

"Scotty - it's quite simple, really (a bit like you) - Austen, London"

As soon as I hear anyone belittling someone I know they don't have an argument worth listening to.

All the Greens/Climate Change supporters I know, and many times read, use superiority and condescension rather than hard evidence. It makes me for one think that it's more about their insecurity and egos than anything else.

Official figures show that almost 37,000 NHS patients have died after catching hospital superbugs during Labour's time in office. So per year more than are being claimed in this report for air pollution. But let's not worry about those real people and their families, let's just jump on some estimates to bash 'car-loving' Tory Boris.

WMD anyone?

- Baz, London, UK

Speed up the roads and pollution will be reduced.
You dont need to have a degree in phsycobabble to work out that a journey from A to B that takes 30 minutes instead of the normal 5 will produce more emissions.
Clean up the roads Boris and you clean up our air.
Stop closing roads, get rid of the roadworks and get London moving. You know it makes sense.

- Mr S.Port, London

Surely breathing clean air is as much a right as drinking clean water, As some-one with a chronic lung disease(Pulmonary Fibrosis),and no I don't smoke,I despair that there is so litttle respose to this horrific statistic,3.000 deaths in London attributed to air pollution This is the same number of deaths annually on the roads in the UK.

- Mary Milne, West London,U.K.

Why do people think that 'congestion' means green? The WCZ was for traffic numbers and was shown to increase inner zone congestion (all those Chelsea Tractors etc coming in for the reduced rate). The LEZ was for clean air and I don't believe that its 'one size fits all' approach was valid as air pollution varies depending on the weather - hot still weather means localised zone of heavy pollution - hot windy weather means general low/medium pollution depending on you location.
A better idea would be that there was some form of variable LEZ, but how this would work is a subject for consultation.

- Jim, London

Read the actual report - London does meet some EU targets, and there is little scope for Mayoral action on others. For instance PM10 particulates are difficult to control as most blow in from outside London.

Other problems are also linked with 'waste management sites' and incinerators, rather than vehicles, although the report regrets the widespread use of diesel in PSVs.

The report sounds like a bit of hype to bash Boris as he doesn't have a 'clobber the driver' agenda. The '3,000 deaths' figure should be regarded as "up to" - it's an estimate as are many other figures used in GLA / TFL documents.

- Brian, London

Well getting rid of the western congestion charge zone is going to do nothing to help is it? Less cars driving around in very accessible West London would help, but hey Boris you were elected on the motorist ticket!

- Daisy Chain, London

has he given up smoking then?

- M.O'Brien, london.uk

I agree that the air should be cleaner (I worked in central London for 14 years) but when I lived there in the 50s the smog was so bad a man with a torch walked in front of the bus in which I went to school and blowing your nose produced a black stain on the hanky. So, much has improved.

- John, Buckley Wales

Personally I can't understand why the gullible group-think hippies and their sheep decided on 3,000 lives - if they are going to spread such nonsense maybe they should have said 4,000 or 5,000 or 10,000

if you make something up, why should you limit yourself to such low numbers?

- Scotty, london

Austen,

once you learn the difference between a study's findings and the underlying evidence, maybe you can quote what the evidence here is?

- Scotty, london

What's not been mentioned is that 'pollution' being discussed - particulates and nitrogen oxides - come overwhelmingly from diesel engines. London's ageing taxi fleet is the most polluting in Europe - most EU and world cities have switched to gas power for their public transport.

These 3000 deaths were also in 2005 - five years into Livingstone's tenure as mayor.
The question we need to ask Ken is why he didn't follow the example of NY, Hong Kong, most of Australia and most of the US and change public transport over to gas power?

After all, the EU pollution laws were set years ago and Ken did nothing to meet them and his LEZ was hopeless as it based on a vehicle's theoretic emissions and not what is actually coming out of the exhaust.

Let's set up roadside emissions checks and drive the real polluters off the roads. And if it's most of the 21,000 black cabs, so be it.

Incidentally, the state of California banned the sale of diesel cars in 1990....

- J H Holloway, Battersea

Scotty - it's quite simple, really (a bit like you) - the evidence is mentioned in the article. It was commissioned by The London Assembly and is called "Every Breath You Take". Look it up and read it.

Dave - it's got nothing to do with hippies and the EU, it is about poor air quality causing some people to die sooner than they otherwise would and putting all of us at risk of developing cancer.

Boris's inaction turns us all into passive smokers, breathing in other people's exhaust fumes. London's air is not "fine" - it is a health hazard and getting worse.

- Austen, London

Pollution is likely to get worse under Boris the car driver's Mayor. He has reversed several of Ken's serious policies to reduce pollution in the capital and steadily made it easier to driver around London.

- Mcw, London

Why oh Why is Boris supporting the expansion of London City Airport when the air quality around the airport breaks EU Regulation? Does he even understand air quality?

- Darren, Newham

Boris could start by really reforming TFL. Around here evreything they do seems to cause more congestion and talibacks,hence more pollution. TFL exists only to serve TFL, not the transport needs on Londoners.

- Terry Barr, Ilford

This is an international shame - come 2012 our air will look as bad as Beijing if Boris doesn't act now and London will be a laughing stock.

Perhaps he could start with re-instating the extended congestion zone - that ought to make a big difference... How about a 'green quota' for all new buildings showing that they are emmissions-neutral - 'cos I am sure air conditioning and building heating have a big effect here.

And how about REALLY encouraging cycling by improving the network and making it safer? There is room for everyone on our roads, the money just needs to be spent... If only one could find somewhere suitable to lock one's bike up...

In all seriousness, why isn't this a major issue a the top of the mayor's list of priorities? If so many are dieing surely something must be done, and soon.

- Mary, Bethnal Green, London, England

It seems Boris hasn't removed all of the lefty hippies from City Hall yet. London's air is fine. The EU just want more money for their coffers.

- Dave, Greenwich

What is a low emission zone? Do drivers know or care about low emission zones? Who polices them? Are they some kind of joke? Also, isn't time some traffic lights were dismantled, there are far too many of them - most of them simply stop cars for no reason causing even more pollution.

- Mc, London

why do I get the impression that I could more sense out of asking questions of the 'Magic 8 Ball' than some of these environmental studies/groups.

save 3000 lives, based on what evidence or attribution?

- Scotty, london

*Black cabs/private hire & chauffeur driven cars*
For every car in central London there appears to be 4 black cabs/private taxis and especially during the 'crunch', many run around without any passengers.

1) Most importantly, do we need so many cabs? How many cabs park up idly around say Paddington, London hotels etc station during the day?
2) Could a system be employed in the congestion zone, only allowing a certain amount of cabs in town at a particular time, effectively a shift system, i.e. morning/day/evening?
3) Couldn't the cabs be converted over to an alternative to diesel? What about bio-fuel? A diesel conversion was shown to work on BBC’s 'Top Gear', and the car appeared to be unaffected, apart from smelling like portable fish & chip shop!
4) When cabs are parked up, could they not switch off their engines? This applies more to private hire cabs & chauffeur cars. They leave their engines running while parked up so the driver can watch his in-car DVD player.

Just a few thoughts to throw into the mix!

- Carl, London

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