If I replace my old diesel car with a less polluting new petrol one, how long will it take for the reduced pollution of the new car to outweigh the increased pollution caused by the manufacture of the new car and the disposal of the old, assuming average usage?
• This assumes that the new petrol car will be “less polluting” than the older diesel. However, by several measures, it will be the other way around.
The major pollutants created during manufacture are the carbon emissions associated with smelting the steel and aluminium, and generating electricity. Virtually all the old polluting…
