Three of us were savoring Suntory Hibiki 17. The Japanese are slowly but surely teaching the Scots a thing or two about scotch. The nose is quite full. There are notes of honey and wax, resin and oak. There are notes of gentle smoke and cacao, hints of cooked fruit and a nutty note. The palate is sweet and rich. There are crisp notes of mixed peels, raisin and custard with a little zest and plenty of oak. The finish is long with notes of oak and cocoa and sherried peels. All these after three discerning sips. It was then that Boom dropped this bomb!
He declared that air pollution causes 24,000 premature deaths every year and that the British Government will be facing legal action. We allowed him to carry on because Mary our ecowarrior was vacationing in London and thus unable to defuse this bomb. Mary, do give us the dope on this if you happen to visit Sampah.
Boom continued that the UK government is failing to tackle air pollution despite the UK being one of the worst polluters in Europe. Confronted, he said his source was a published report by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King’s College, London. Aware of our sneering cynicism He pulled out this report from that nondescript “green” bag of his. I produce the brief revelation verbatim:
This report is part of the ‘What is crime?’ project, funded by the Wates Foundation, which highlights hidden harms and challenges popular ideas about what crime is.
Crime is in the air highlights the following:
· It is estimated that 24,000 British residents die prematurely every year and thousands more are hospitalized, because of air pollution.
· Levels of air pollution across London require urgent attention as the 2012 games approaches.
· The EU is currently preparing a legal case against the British Government for repeatedly breaching pollution levels. More than 20 towns and cities have been found to be emitting pollution at twice the level specified in WHO standards.
Author of the report Professor Reece Walters said: Existing government regulations to tackle air pollution are based on a biased and erroneous partnership model that takes a soft approach with commercial polluters. The annual prosecutions for offences are appallingly disproportionate to the harm caused by air pollution. The existing regulatory system prioritises trade and economic prosperity over public safety, and this is totally unacceptable.
Richard Garside, director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies said:
The serious consequences of air pollution are frequently neglected. Crime is in the air indicates that current approaches to regulation and pollution control are biased in favor of economic imperative and are failing to tackle the health problems caused by air pollution. Probably this is because the majority of people affected live in low income areas.
All three of us agreed that we cap the Hibiki 17 until this sad revelation takes a turn for the better.
Not too surprised to hear this ghastly Boomshell and will definitely check this out . I've actually been rummaging through the garbage here in the UK - in between snow storms - and have info on waste management in Lincolnshire, a London borough and Manchester and can tell you that these Brits have got a thing or two to teach our lame politicians about waste management. And, it would seem, we have a few things to teach them about turning waste to energy. Was intending to write a blog about what I've found out this weekend, after a bit of last minute Xmas shopping and of course savouring the single malts on offer - so stay tuned.
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