Sunday Drivers
The Grim Reaper
No. 4 in a never-ending series. Winter 1993
John Major, the man who is giving us pit closures, cuts in social security, local services, hospitals and public transport, is not cutting one area. Quite the opposite. This kind and generous cricketer is giving us more and more pollution, especially on Sundays.
Why Sundays? Well, Sunday is the Lord's day when half of Bristol is out celebrating at Tescos, B&Q or Great Mills. One year ago hardly anyone drove in Bristol on a Sunday and Bristol's air had a chance to recover from the accumulation of pollution it had suffered during the week. It was almost pleasant to cycle around town.
Now, thanks to the legalisation of Sunday trading, Sunday is becoming more like Saturday, (which is already like permanent rush hour). In a year's time when Sunday opening becomes more established it will be just like Saturday as hordes of greedy and bored Bristolians take to the roads in search of consumer bliss.
Bristol Environmental Health Deptartment have been continuously monitoring carbon monoxide (CO) in Old Market since April 1990 and have recorded a noticeable increase in CO since December 1991 when widespread Sunday trading began. Similar increases have been noted of nitrogen dioxide. They say this increase in pollution is not enough to give rise for concern. They would say that, wouldn't they.
All pollution should give us cause for concern, especially background CO. A recent test on a cyclist who had pedaled around central Bristol for twenty minutes on a day when pollution levels were within so called "acceptable" limits found that he had a CO level in his blood equivalent to having smoked five cigarettes. Now, I ask you, is or isn't that a cause for concern?
If we can't even have one day a week when asthmatics and cyclists can breathe, god help us. Can you hear me god???
The Grim Reaper
