[dd74]

...what's with all the two stroke engines many of the commuters use? I'm talking about scooters and motorcycles. They're everywhere in the big cities, at least that I recently visited. But man, are they, in mass, the nastiest polluters I've experienced. I saw a Yamaha YZ spew out more smoke than I've seen coming from the stacks of a diesel semi. Almost as bad is the wreak off these bikes. Sure, I like engine smells, but in a hoard of twenty or so scooters/motorcycles, that same oil/gas scent is so overwhelming, it's almost nauseating .

So now I wonder: if certain European countries with large cities are so environmentally conscious, why haven't these countries dealt with the scooters and two-stroke bikes? I have to say, the immediate on-street air in downtown L.A. is a lot better than La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain.