Car dust pollution threat

Dust produced by four-wheel drive vehicles in the past 50 years is threatening to choke the globe, according to new research.

The process of what experts have dubbed "Toyotarisation" - the growing number of off-road vehicles disturbing the earth's surface - could have severe consequences for human health, coral reefs and climate change, according to a leading desert expert.

Professor Andrew Goudie, who presented his findings at the International Geographical Congress 2004 in Glasgow, said: "The number of four-wheel-drives now in South West USA and the Middle East is staggering."