News Archives - Environment

Greater danger from SUVs and vans

In news that will surprise nobody who ever walks or cycles, research from America has found that SUVs and vans are substantially more likely than cars to hit pedestrians when making turns. “We already know that larger vehicles cause more severe injuries when they strike pedestrians,” said Jessica Cicchino, one of the authors of the research by the Insurance Institute…

Can you run your car on vegetable oil?

As the price of a litre of diesel this week topped £1.75, video surfaced of a driver in a supermarket car park filling his car’s fuel tank with bottle after bottle of vegetable oil – footage which quickly went viral on social media. Vegetable oil from the supermarket costs as little as £1.15 per litre, and you can use up…

Can we finally get an electric bicycle subsidy?

Mass use of electric bicycles could create more than £2bn in health benefits and cut one million tonnes of emissions annually according to an evidence review by academics at Westminster University, commissioned by the campaign group Bike is Best. Grants of £1,500 are available for low-emission cars but there is no such ‘plug-in’ grant for electric-assist bikes despite the fact…

The solar-powered electric car that never needs charging

A new design of solar powered electric car claims to have longest range of any production EV; 1,000 miles per charge and the capability of travelling up to 40 miles a day on free power from its integrated solar panels. If the launch of the radical teardrop Aptera goes ahead as planned , it will mark a reversal of fortunes…

Chris Boardman will call out councils dragging their feet on walking and cycling

Chris Boardman is to head up Active Travel England (ATE) – a new Ofsted-style organisation that will rate councils on how well they make provision for walking and cycling. ATE will be consulted as part of major planning applications to advise on provision for walking and cycling and inspect infrastructure built by local councils. Local authorities could lose funding if…