Tom Grey

Driver compliance with the 2022 UK highway code rule on giving way to pedestrians at side roads: A naturalistic observation study The 2022 update to the UK Highway Code introduced a new H2 rule granting pedestrians right of way at side road junctions. However, the communication c…

New case study on compliance with the 2022 update to the Highway Code granting pedestrians right of way at side road junctions.

“… only 31 % of drivers complied with the rule when turning from a main road into a side road where pedestrians were approaching or waiting at a junction to cross”

World in $1.5tn ‘plastics crisis’ hitting health from infancy to old age, report warns Plastic production has increased more than 200 times since 1950 and hits health at every stage from extraction to disposal, says review in the Lancet

The path from #BigOil, the world's most insidious super villain, leads inextricably to #BigPlastics.
The #PlasticPollution crisis is unimaginably vast. There's no avoiding exposure altogether, so is it time to start teaching children how to minimise the risks?
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Journey times up, deaths down: Welsh 20mph speed limit still divisive two years on Protests continue against default lower limit in urban areas that supporters say is working ‘exactly as intended’

On the one hand, far fewer people are being killed. On the other, some people get to work two minutes later. So it's impossible to say whether it's good or not.

Opinion: As AI improves, the temptation to use it grows, and our ability to think shrinks With more people using AI - even those with university degrees - the pattern suggests, will become more likely to vote for Trump and his ilk

Opinion: As AI improves, the temptation to use it grows, and our ability to think shrinks

The main source of noise in cities is… cars. Dense walkable and bikeable neighbourhoods allow people to reduce their vehicle use and thus the noise level of their environment.

Right to buy in England ‘fuelled housing crisis and cost taxpayers £200bn’ Common Wealth report calls discounted sales of council homes one of the ‘largest giveaways in UK history’

“The severe financial straits facing councils should be seen in the context of a decades-long assault on local government, in which right to buy was a central pillar, denying councils discretion over how best to use assets that they had built"
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Right to buy in England ‘fuelled housing crisis and cost taxpayers £200bn’ Common Wealth report calls discounted sales of council homes one of the ‘largest giveaways in UK history’

Right to Buy was a grand heist of state-owned housing which made the rentier class very rich, while pauperising local authorities & contributing to the housing affordability crisis. Everybody knew what was going on. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Turns out the 20mph limit was great idea! Two years on from the controversial policy, it's becoming increasingly clear that the doubters were wrong

Lowering speed limits saves lives.

It's time for the Irish government to follow the Welsh and introduce a national default 30km/h speed limits in all urban areas (with a few exceptions).

Bill McKibben on Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” Her reporting was quickly attacked by the industry she called into question, setting the playbook for companies that profited from tobacco, opioids, and fossil fuels.

"In reporting on the emerging science of pesticides, “Silent Spring” knocked some of the shine off modernity, nailing difficult questions to the door of the Church of Progress. Carson thought that man had grown overlarge and was upsetting a necessary balance."
www.newyorker.com/magazine/tak...

He is a snarling, vicious, grotesque avatar who says the things you believe and hurts the people you want to hurt.

johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/no-good-pe...

www.independent.ie/irish-news/c...

Nordic countries hit by ‘truly unprecedented’ heatwave Scientists record longest streak of temperatures higher than 30C in region in records going back to 1961

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Healthy cities make everyday wants and needs possible close to home, removing the barrier of car dependency for every little thing.

"Design and architecture needs a new vocabulary" Changing some common terminology in architecture and design could be an important first step towards solving systemic issues, writes Katie Treggiden.

www.dezeen.com/2025/07/31/v...

Greening cities for better health: new UBDPolicy brief | Health and Environment Alliance A new briefing, published by the EU funded research project The Urban Burden of Disease Estimation for Policy Making (UBDPolicy), summarises the key health benefits of green spaces in cities and highl...

75% of the EU population live in cities, yet most cities were built as areas with a high population density and few green spaces. With climate change increasingly impacting urban residents, green areas are a key solution for climate mitigation and adaptation
www.env-health.org/greening-cit...

Israel increasingly isolated as more countries sign up to recognise Palestine Even allies such as Germany are moving towards recognition in light of worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Israel increasingly isolated as more countries sign up to recognise Palestine

New study finds that Norway's lavish EV subsidies increased car trips by 10-20% with "sizable shifts away from public transport use, cycling and walking."

doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

ECB to introduce 'climate factor' into lending operations The European Central Bank will add climate change considerations to its lending operations from late 2026, it said today, raising pressure on banks to channel financing towards greener sectors as the ...

An important development as the European Central Bank announces it is introducing a ‘climate factor’ to its collateral policy to address climate risks. Making access to finance increasingly dependent on climate disclosures and transition plans and making it harder to fund high-carbon assets.

We Should All Be Biking Along the Beach Oceanfront bicycle paths aren’t just a joy to ride on. They can help relieve beach traffic and mitigate the ill effects of overtourism. Why are they so rare in the US?

I recently biked along the Baltic Sea, from Gdansk to Sopot in Poland. It was one of the most sublime rides of my life.

I wondered: Why are there so few places in North America where people can experience seaside cycling, separated from cars?

My exploration, in Bloomberg

From their report here: cityclerk.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2...

“I cannot abide by any worldview that prioritises profit over human rights, religious and political agendas over facts and respect for international law.” #bsd

In first, two major Israeli human rights groups accuse Israel of ‘genocide’ in Gaza Report marks first time that leading Israeli human rights watchdogs have made the accusation, which Israel vehemently denies

Two leading Israeli human rights watchdogs:
Our examination leads to the unequivocal conclusion: "Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-two...

How do we lead moral lives in an age of bullies? | Robert Reich In my lifetime, I have witnessed a shift from support of decency to tolerance of cruelty. Where do we go from here?

We are living in an age of bullies. Those with power are less constrained today than they have ever been in my lifetime.

The question is: how do we lead moral lives in this era? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/28/bullies-moral-lives-robert-reich

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This Check out One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This - <b><i>NEW YORK TIMES </i>BESTSELLER&nbsp;&bull; SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 PALESTINE BOOK AWARDS&nbsp;&bull;&nbsp;From award-winning nove...

More and more this seems like the book of the year both because it's wonderful and because its message is so crystal clear. bookshop.org/p/books/one-...

Big Tech has no interest in the welfare of people, but only in its bottom line. It has never made sense to me that these companies would or should be used for these kind of critical functions. When they mess up, they just issue a statement or apology, there is no accountability.

Food scarcity as a result of climate change is something we're not speaking about enough, and while the worst effects will be felt in the Global south, the north will feel it too. Already our weather and growing patterns are altered, and it will be difficult to adapt to such unpredictability.

Closing classroom windows does not cut air pollution, study finds Tests conducted at 500 UK sites show particle pollution exceeded health guidelines on 6% of school days

Handy said: “Our results show how important it is to continue with initiatives such as no-idling zones, school streets, and efforts to burn fewer fossil fuels, to clean up the air both inside and outside schools.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

You obviously need to build in allowances for electric and hybrid vehicles, for vehicles modified for people with disabilities, and perhaps do as they do in France: a "family allowance" for larger families.

You can read the full tax strategy doc (p40): assets.gov.ie/static/docum...

As the West turns itself inside out in pretending not to fully grasp the extermination campaign being waged against an entire population, this from the Guardian about sums it up.

What If They Fixed It? A hypothetical, but not impossible story by Orlagh Gaynor, physiotherapist with Irish Doctors for the Environment, inspired by ideas from…

A beautiful story by our very own Orlagh Gaynor.

Climate action is about so much more than cutting emissions. A greener, more sustainable, and healthier future for all is possible 🌱

Please give it a read and share it with your friends and family 🌍