InstructionsIn this test, you have 15 minutes to answer 5 qu…
InstructionsIn this test, you have 15 minutes to answer 5 questions, all of which relate to the following letter written by David Walker and published in the Guardian on the 14th of November 2019.”In December 1973, when the OPEC countries cut back supplies of oil to the west, the US and the UK introduced a maximum national speed limit of 50mph on all roads in order to reduce gas consumption […]. This remained in force until March to May 1974. Maximum speed restrictions, aimed at reducing energy consumption, were again introduced from December 1974 through to May 1977.When the speed of a gas-engined car is reduced from 70mph to its optimal speed of 55mph to 60mph, its gas consumption falls by some 17%. Given that demand for road transport fuels is around 12 million gallons of gasoline and a little over 21 million gallons of diesel per day, that brings gas consumption down by 2 million gallons and diesel by 3.7 million gallons per day. The 1970s restrictions were introduced to save energy. But they also brought down pollution and carbon emissions: every gallon of gas consumed produces 3.75 lbs of carbon dioxide (diesel produces 4.7 lbs).In 2016, road transport contributed nearly 21% of the EU’s total emissions of carbon dioxide. There is an urgent need to cut greenhouse gases. The government could bring down emissions rapidly by reintroducing maximum speed restrictions – while we wait for gas and diesel-engined vehicles to be phased out altogether. The adoption of electric cars could be incentivized, perhaps by exempting them from such speed restrictions.”
Read Details