By John Csiszar
Although you may need to finance both a vehicle and a home, these two basic needs can sometimes be at odds when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage. Leasing a car, albeit for a short period of time, affects your ability to afford a mortgage. Leasing a car takes a chunk out of your monthly income, lowering the amount you can put toward a home mortgage each month. A car lease, along with a new mortgage and other recurring debt cannot exceed mortgage lenders’ maximum limits.

Hackney Council 25 February 2022
“I went down to Hackney Downs LTN earlier this week, and it was a joy to see so many people – including school children – walking and cycling in the area.
It’s fantastic that there have been overall reductions in traffic and improvements in air quality in the area, but we know there are a few more things to get right – including on Northwold Road – which is why we’ll be continuing to engage with residents and developing further proposals.
As with all parts of our plans to rebuild a greener Hackney, we’ll be continuing to monitor schemes and listen to feedback.
Cllr Mete Coban MBE, Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm”

Sustrans wants to link most towns with safe routes accessible for walking as well as bikes and wheelchairs

:excerptstart Reports from Colas and CoMoUK reflect positive trends in attitudes to, and uptake of, cycling Infrastructure provider Colas has conducted a survey with 2,000 people to assess the mood relating to cycling across the country.Says Colas: We wanted to find out how often UK adults cycle, as well as how they view cycling infrastructure in the UK, so we

Febriana Firdaus
A Guardian investigation into nickel mining and the electric vehicle industry has found evidence that a source of drinking water close to one of Indonesia’s largest nickel mines is contaminated with unsafe levels of hexavalent chromium (Cr6), the cancer-causing chemical more widely known for its role in the Erin Brockovich story and film.
The investigation also found evidence suggesting elevated levels of lung infections among people living close to the mine.
Recent years have seen a race between mining companies to gain control of the world’s largest nickel reserves in Indonesia.
Nickel, an essential component in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, could bring transformational wealth to a country where Covid has pushed the number of people in poverty up to 10.19%.

Josh Toussaint-Strauss  Thu 24 Feb 2022
There’s no denying that electric vehicles are what most of us will be driving in the near-future. Countries around the world have pledged to phase out the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles over the next few decades, in an effort to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. But with lingering questions over the mining of rare metals, battery manufacturing and electricity consumption, Josh Toussaint-Strauss investigates whether electric vehicles are as green as we’ve been led to believe