A backbench MP has launched a drive to kickstart a bid to clean up pollution from cars.

Now Trevor Moniz has asked Ministers to accelerate a report by green consultants back into the fast lane.

But Mr. Moniz said his motion was unlikely to be discussed at today's session of the House of Assembly.

He explained: "The reason is I'm still waiting for some information -- while I could take it up, I don't think I will.'' Mr. Moniz said the final report on cutting pollution was tabled last year -- but that the brakes appeared to have been slapped on.

He added: "Nothing has really happened since then -- I spoke to the new Minister of Transport and he said it was on his list, but not a high priority at the present time.

"I want to see it higher on the list and to get some forward motion on this.'' Mr. Moniz said Bermuda already lagged far behind European Union countries like Britain, as well as the US and Japan, in cutting down harmful fumes from motor vehicles and other sources.

And he insisted: "We have got to do something about this -- in the US, they don't even allow two-stroke engines because of the smoke which comes out of them.'' Mr. Moniz added increasing use of diesel engines had contributed to the Island's pollution problem.

He said: "Diesel fumes are very dangerous -- there are very small particles which get trapped in the lungs.'' Increased use of fuel-efficient diesel engines in the UK has been blamed by some experts for a major increase in asthma and other breathing problems in children.

Mr. Moniz said: "As I understand it, the bronchial tubes in children are so small, they get choked up more.'' His motion to the House of Assembly calls for the recommendations of the final draft of the report -- prepared for the Ministries of Transport and the Environment -- to be approved.

He admitted the scale of the pollution problem was smaller in Bermuda than in other parts of the world.

But he added: "We are not as clean as we used to be -- there are smokestacks at Belco, the King Edward and the incinerator.

"There is a lot more activity in these areas than there used to be, quite apart from the increased number of vehicles on the roads.'' Mr. Moniz said he was surprised there were no air pollution monitors within the City of Hamilton. The closest is on Crow Lane.

He added: "I leave my helmet on my bike in the city -- often when I come back at night, there are oily black deposits on the rim. I'd like to see some sort of measuring device inside the city boundary.'' Mr. Moniz added many suggestions to cut vehicle pollution did not involve spending huge sums of money.

And he said one example was a new synthetic oil for two-stroke engines which cut down dramatically on thick exhaust fumes.

Mr. Moniz added: "There are a lot of things we could do which are not expensive -- we should stop dragging our feet and get on with them.'' ENVIRONMENT ENV