from Hacker News

Almost everyone in Europe is breathing toxic air

by neverminder on 9/20/23, 11:04 AM with 6 comments

• by xctr94 on 9/20/23, 5:35 PM

  As a resident of Belgium, bad air quality isn’t anything new. Government subsidies for company cars, pass-through highways, unreliable train system, etc.; these things add up.

  We knew the situation was bad, but supposedly getting better [1]. The ‘official’ numbers are quite far from the ones The Guardian is publishing. The situation is getting better… wow.

  Paraphrasing a song, yeah, it’s better, compared to bullshit.

  [1]: https://www.healthybelgium.be/en/health-status/determinants-...

• by amadeuspagel on 9/20/23, 11:31 AM

  Two recent policy choices we made in germany to keep things this way:

  1. Preventing the EU ban on combustion engines. Britain now wants to delay this ban from 2030 to 2035, US manufacturers protest against the delay. Germany prevented an EU level ban in 2035.

  2. Quitting nuclear and firing up coal plants again. Note how good France looks compared to Germany.