The serious impact of noise on health outcomes is an emerging issue. I blogged last year about a World Health Organisation study on noise impact in Europe which suggested - among other things - that as many people died in the UK because of the effects of persistent traffic noise as in collisions. Now a [...]
Two manufacturers have caught the eye at the current round of car shows - and they’re not from Europe or the United States. At the Delhi Auto Expo, Tata has been been breaking visitor records with its Nano car - at 100,000 rupees (less than £1,500) a time. In Detroit, meanwhile, Toyota is talking the [...]
If you’re interested in how the future is portrayed in the past - or in transport - this is certainly worth nine minutes of your time. From 1958, a section of a Disney show on the future of transportati0n. Or, as it turns out, the future of highways and cars.
The recent DARPA ‘urban challenge’ car competition has directed attention towards the futures of the the car - especially the urban vehcile - as a transport mode. It’s a reminder of how much our social assumptions about technology shape the way we imagine their futures.
I blogged a while ago about how the shape of container ship had influenced the shape of the modern cruise ship. There’s some striking data on the long-term growth in global shipping traffic.
Despite some regulation, noise has been something of a Cinderella of environmental pollution, perhaps because it is often regarded as annoying rather than life threatening. A new (if preliminary) study from the World Health Organisation has quantified the health costs of noise in Europe. They are strikingly high.
Obviously, I’m as opposed to companies colluding so as to gouge the customers at least as much as the next person. Equally obviously, it’s a bad thing if airlines gang up to pretend they’re competing when they’re not, really. And, therefore, it’s A Good Thing when British Airways is fined £270m for running a cosy [...]
You don’t read the Worldwatch Institute site for good news on global warming, of course. But it’s worth noting their report that world car production was up 4% last year - reaching a new record output of 67 million vehicles. The most dramatic change in the global industry was a 30% increase in the number [...]
Something is going on when, as happened last on my work last week, I was given leaflets in separate places by people promoting the new “pay as you go” car services, Streetcar and Zipcar.
Some interesting observations on the ocean liner and its changing shape and purpose embedded in a fine article by Ian Jack in the Guardian on Saturday. The article was prompted by the news that the QE2 is to be retired next year to become a shopping centre in Dubai. The liners built since it was [...]
