It is estimated that 23,000 people died in the UK due to air pollution
from PM10s and other combustion engine pollutants in the last year.
Many UK cities have become so concerned about this atmospheric pollution
that they are introducing speed limits on motorways to cut it back,
which can be of great inconvenience for ordinary people going about
their daily business, and add to the expense of getting goods and
services to the market place. There are many ways to reduce air
pollution of course, one could return to the use of horse power for
instance... :-). However, one of the leading world car making
companies decided that using animals was not as efficient for hauling
cars along the motorways and byeways of the world; as designing a little
piece of software which detected when the car was being tested for
noxious gases and adjusted the engine inputs and outputs accordingly.
The company concerned has made its name on producing very good quality
and highly sophisticated motor cars for the use of Joe Public and which
used technology which made them more ecologically sound with higher
energy efficiences than the competition. In fact it was so proud of
its technical skills that it advertised and marketed its cars on that
basis, so that Joe Public could make his/her contribution to cutting
back on damaging the environment and human life by removing PM10's from
exhaust fumes.
Now, of course the purpose of conducting tests and examinations, or
inquiries and scientific investigations,is to find out if apiece of
equipment is doing the very thing of limiting that damage to living
things or the environment, even the village idiot can comprehend that.
Allowing producers of goods, things and services, to conduct their own
"independent" evaluations, whilst being a very cheap way of finding out
about the existence of problems, and the philosophy of leaving such
examinations and conduct of business to market forces and the freedom of
the market, Adam Smith style, is all very well. However, we have all
seen what happened when the major economic states of the world
deregulated the financial markets, and allowed banks and investment
companies to set up Ponzie schemes using peoples wages and everyday
accounts to speculate, perfectly legally, in the risk investment market,
particularly credit/debit default swaps and such like.
Do we not teach our children to seek the truth, to tell the truth and
not adopt practices which would not only protect ourselves,but others?
Do we not punish and condemn our young for telling lies, or deceiving
others? Is the law and human justice and equal human rights of no
practical importance in our society. Should only certain sections of
the community be exempt from the laws of humanity? Of course they
should, however would we survive without them... :-).
But...man's ingenuity knows no bounds and the great faith and
enthusiasms which most of our politicians, civil servants and C.E.O.s
have that they won't get found out knows no bounds. Even though, like
Bitcoin anonimity gets proved to be a myth every day, they carry on
regardless. 11 million secrets, as even the C.I.A. and N.S.A. and
G.C.H.Q. have found out, are very difficult secrets to keep, and the
truth will out at some stage. Of course,Volkswagen are not the only car
manufacturers in the world, and they all spy in one another, an
different states use different forms of regulation, so I daresay that
Volkswagen will not be the only car producerto be found out. What I
also find interesting is they way that the various Societies of Motor
Manufacturers are pleading ignorance of the game and even denying the
consequences and already trying to get Joe Public to move on and forget
all about it as the regulations are soon to be changed. They are also
welcoming change to the legislation, completely denying all those
procedures, procrastinations and prevarications in which they have
indulged so vociferously about in the past.
Last of all, are the C.E.O.s the boards of directors and the polticians
and civil servants so stupid, or so ego-sodden that they think that
somehow, they and/or their families are somehow impervious to such
noxious gases and pollution,and that their great wealth and ingenuity in
producing vehicles which are not fit for their purpose will somehow not
affect them and their health? Do they believe that they have super
genes, impervious DNA as well as the greatest intelligence on the
planet? We human beings are a very strange lot indeed...and some people
think that we, as a species will exist for ever and are the ultimate in
the product of evolution. It is intereresting to note that we are not
only the oldest species in terms of evolution, but also we are the
product of mistakes of evolution, and that we are also the youngest
species of evolution...and surviving is about being flexible in our
thinking and having the ability to adapt to new circumstances, rather
than holding back on scientifice evolution by using deceptive software.
Aren't we lucky that we won't live for ever... :-).
ATB
Dougie.
