I think cars should come with health warnings like cigarettes.
Why?
Consider this…
What cigarette do you smoke doctor?
It might sound incredible now,
but there was a time when doctors appeared in adverts
encouraging us to smoke.
You could smoke in restaurants and pubs, buses and planes.
Now, cigarette packets come with stark and graphic warnings
about the impact of smoking on your health - and on those around you.
In the future, will we look back on this era - the rise of the car -
with similar incredulity?
I think so.
During the height of the coronavirus lockdown,
daily emissions of carbon dioxide fell by 17% around the world.
Seventeen million tonnes less carbon dioxide was emitted every day,
with almost half of that drop because of fewer car journeys.
Air pollution in some UK cities dropped by as much as 60%.
There are more than a billion cars around the world.
And as we reassess and restructure our world,
I think we need to reassess our relationship -
you could call it a love affair - with the car.
What’s interesting about our response
to the threats from both smoking and the pandemic,
is how we acted and changed our behaviour
to help protect each other’s health.
We don’t blow cigarette smoke in each other’s faces anymore.
Or light up inside.
With the coronavirus, we quickly learned to give each other space,
wear masks, wash our hands -
and we got used to all the signs reminding us to do so.
It’s normal when there’s a threat to life
for us to change our behaviour and to do whatever it takes
to protect friends, family and other people.
So why do we put up with the air pollution pandemic,
when there’s something that we can do about it?
Why don’t we have reminders on cars
about the consequences of street level pollution,
and encourage us to walk or cycle more?
Still not convinced?
Here are a few things you need to be aware of when it comes to cars.
Studies have shown air pollution - much of which comes from cars -
contributes to the premature deaths
of almost half a million people in Europe every year.
The impact on our bodies is truly frightening.
Air pollution can trigger heart attacks, strokes, and asthma,
and contribute to stunted growth, low birth weight, and lung cancer.
Car tyre wear also contributes hugely to air pollution,
but it’s a largely unregulated area.
As you drive on the road,
your car tyres shed tiny bits of tyre material - microplastics -
which get washed into our drains,
and ultimately our rivers and oceans.
This happens regardless of whether your car is diesel, petrol,
hybrid, or electric.
And there’s another big problem with cars -
and that’s their impact on climate change.
You only have to drive 500 metres in an average modern car
to melt at least 1 kilo of glacier ice.
Since 2010, SUVs have been the second biggest source
of rising carbon emissions.
If SUV drivers were a nation,
they’d be the world’s 7th biggest carbon polluter.
Every time you use your car,
you’re contributing to the degradation of the planet.
A lot of this is just unnecessary.
Here in the UK,
even when trips are only between one and two miles long - 3km -
six out of 10 people still drive.
In circumstances no-one would ever have wished for,
the coronavirus pandemic gave us a small glimpse
of what a different - cleaner, greener, less polluted, world -
could be like.
Putting health warnings on cars
could be a stark and clear visual reminder to all of us
about the devastating impact they have on both people and the planet.
And help shift our attitude to cars once and for all.