Monday 19th June 2017. Today I received the latest air-quality bulletin from the Belgian Interregional Environment Agency, which supplies air-quality warnings that focus particularly on nitrogen dioxide, particulates and ozone. The warnings for the coming days go from poor, to very poor, to just plain ‘bad’. What is […]

Air pollution levels around the world have already disrupted much of nature – now they threaten life itself. And diesel cars are the culprit. My opinion …

Update 08/12/2016. Recent research under the EU’s Graphene Flagship programme (http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=170781&CultureCode=en) has shown how graphene’s electrical properties can underpin much more powerful sensors. The benefits of such sensors can be double-edged. Graphene’s ability to sense impact could be used in a very positive way – for example enabling an in-helmet […]

Brussels, 02/03/2016. The European Parliament’s car-pollution inquiry committee (better known as Dieselgate), set up to investigate last year’s scandal on particulate pollution from cars, has just met for the first time. The committee is set to deliberate for 12 months. Its brief is to investigate the regulatory breakdown in the […]

“You know Le Touquet, don’t you,” I said to my father yesterday. “Yes. We’ve been there,” he replied. “A rather nice, traditional French seaside resort just down the coast from Calais. It’s popular with wealthier Parisians, who like to keep a holiday home there.” “Well,” I said, “Imagine it invaded […]

Brussels, 26/9/2015. Updates: 23/02/2016  C4 Dispatches: Dirty Secrets: What’s Really in Our Air? 23/02/2016  New Scientist: Carbon emission cuts could save 300,000 US lives by 2030. I do so loathe diesel cars. As a motorcycle rider, I have wondered for years why certain cars were unpleasant to follow in traffic. […]

Odimegwu Onwumere writes from Rivers State, Nigeria. As the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway gets messier in traffic gridlock due to the dilapidated nature of the road between Oyigbo in Rivers State and Asa, in Abia State, where I shuttle most time, I resorted to riding my own ‘Okada’ to work. Any […]

Autonomous braking or autonomous emergency braking – vehicle safety technology that underpins the future driverless car.

MotoRetroWieze, one of Belgium’s leading classic and custom bike shows, takes place over two days at the small town of Wieze, just north of Brussels. And if you live this side of the Channel and are trying to keep a vintage or veteran bike running, then attending this bi-annual event […]

New EU regulations are coming into force on 29th September 2014 to boost the viability of alternative fuels for vehicles across Europe. EU member states will require national action plans to show how they are building refuelling and recharging points (electricity, natural gas and hydrogen).