Homes pollute more than cars

It's official! People produce less pollution while using their car than they do by watching TV, washing the dishes and keeping warm.

That's according to a new Government website, which allows users to work out their annual carbon footprint.

The Internet-based calculator takes into account the property you live in, the appliances you have and transport you use.

But car magazine Auto Express wanted to see exactly how much a car contributes to someone's total carbon output, so entered figures for one of their team who lives on his own in a two-bedroom flat in London.

The website found he created 4.06 tonnes of carbon a year heating and lighting his home and powering appliances such as TVs, a fridge and a dishwasher.

The transport section of the calculator works out the combined total for public transport use, flights and cars. Doing 10,000 miles a year in a 42mpg Ford Focus 1.6, the Auto Express writer's transport carbon footprint came out at 2.89 tonnes - 42% of the total.

Another clear illustration of how the relentless pursuit of car users to shoulder the burden of so-called 'green taxes' is so wilfully misdirected that it must be far more about raising extra cash from an easy target than helping the environment.