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CLEAN, GREEN AND DEAD
Page 18
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Our industry is crying out for an effective advocate, a commonsense approach, an unflinching and effective public campaign. We give you the voice of reason
The EU loves you all. No, really it does. You may think the raft of Euro-legislation currently threatening to reduce the UK's transport industry to a distant outpost of Wilt Betz and Norbert Dentressangle's twin empires is not the clearest sign of affection in the world but trust me, it really does care. Europe. Loves. You. I can't make it clearer than that. It loves you like a mother loves her children. It wants to wrap you up warm and make sure you sleep safe at night. In fact it loves you so much that it wants to make you eat bacterialaden food or possibly kill you with toxic chemicals.
OK, so that's not its actual intention what it really wants to do is ban the gas the haulage industry uses in the insulation in its reefer trailers, which might be a teensy bit bad for the environment. However, at present the options are a little bit, well, either toxic or flammable; take your choice. Oh, and they aren't such good insulators as before either, so we're going to have to use more foam in the walls of the trailers, which means we'll only get the same size load in if we really squeeze the pallets in there. Which also means that the air won't circulate as well as it used to, causing hot-spots in the load where bacteria will be able to breed, and it doesn't take much for all those funky listeria, campylobacter and salmonella bugs to go supernova. Then, before you know it, you've got a full blown public health crisis on your hands with grandmothers and young children dropping down dead.
The industry has been bending the EU's ear about needing wider or longer trucks for as long as I care to mention. Just an extra 200mm down the trailer might help save a life here and there. But no. Mention 'bigger trucks' to some of the tree-hugging liberals who are elected in Germany and France and watch their faces turn ash-white quicker than you can say "unelectable policy decision". No matter that the truck isn't carrying any more or any heavier, "bigger = bad" for Europe's Greens. Yes, the EU loves you, but it seems to love trees, flowers and butterflies a whole lot more.
It doesn't take much for all those funky listeria and salmonella bugs to go supernova... with ndmothers dropping down dead