I caught a Channel 4 Dispatches programme a couple of weeks back called The Great Car Con, and three times during the half hour my wife asked if I should be watching because it was just making me angry.
The premise behind it was that everyone was pushed towards diesel technology a decade or so back, and now it turns out diesel is bad for local air pollution.
It was one of those programmes where there were some very valid points, hidden behind cheap shots, unbalanced arguments and missing details, such as any mention of forthcoming Euro6 legislation that will address much of the air quality issues with diesels.
There is a reasoned debate to be had about the merits and perils of diesel, but it was annoying to see a TV programme go about it without mentioning the impact buses and taxis have on local air pollution, especially in London, without mentioning that diesel emits less CO2 than petrol and therefore lowers the impact on global warming, and without mentioning the positive progress the industry has been making in lowering CO2 and NOx and introducing Euro6 and alternative fuels, such as electric and ultimately hydrogen.
