Concerned about microplastics? Research shows one of the biggest sources is car tyres
A lot of the emphasis on reducing microplastics has focussed on things like plastic bags, clothing, and food packaging.
But there's a growing body of research that shows one of the biggest culprits by far is car tyres.
It's increasingly clear that we simply cannot solve the issue of microplastics in the environment while still using tyres — even with electric-powered cars.
"Tyre wear stands out as a major source of microplastic pollution. Globally, each person is responsible for around 1kg of microplastic pollution from tyre wear released into the environment on average each year – with even higher rates observed in developed nations.
"It is estimated that between 8% and 40% of these particles find their way into surface waters such as the sea, rivers and lakes through runoff from road surfaces, wastewater discharge or even through airborne transport.
"However, tyre wear microplastics have been largely overlooked as a microplastic pollutant. Their dark colour makes them difficult to detect, so these particles can’t be identified using the traditional spectroscopy methods used to identify other more colourful plastic polymers."
"Microplastic pollution has polluted the entire planet, from Arctic snow and Alpine soils to the deepest oceans. The particles can harbour toxic chemicals and harmful microbes and are known to harm some marine creatures. People are also known to consume them via food and water, and to breathe them, But the impact on human health is not yet known.
"“Roads are a very significant source of microplastics to remote areas, including the oceans,” said Andreas Stohl, from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, who led the research. He said an average tyre loses 4kg during its lifetime. “It’s such a huge amount of plastic compared to, say, clothes,” whose fibres are commonly found in rivers, Stohl said. “You will not lose kilograms of plastic from your clothing.”"
"Microplastics are of increasing concern in the environment [1, 2]. Tire wear is estimated to be one of the largest sources of microplastics entering the aquatic environment [3,4,5,6,7]. The mechanical abrasion of car tires by the road surface forms tire wear particles (TWP) [8] and/or tire and road wear particles (TRWP), consisting of a complex mixture of rubber, with both embedded asphalt and minerals from the pavement [9]."
Pica thinks that having tweed makes her “academic” please be on guard today for her typical online “university” scams. Remember that there is no such thing as a “BA in sleeping and relaxing” #catsofmastodon#pica#car#tweed#scams#caturday
Tesla's self-driving capability is something like 10 times more deadly than a regular car piloted by a human, per an analysis of a new government report. #ryanlcooper
has it:
I'm going to try a thing. There are two related phenomena regarding #cars and #PublicTransport that I basically never see discussed. I wrote an article about these two things which includes two very clear definitions. I want to see if I can get some reach to disseminate these two things like a mind virus.
Boost if you like. Or don't. I'm not your boss.
The premise: when you own a #car, it is cheaper to drive the car. But: we want to get people out of their cars, even while they still own cars.
The definitions:
Sunk cost discount: for as long as you own a car, it is cheaper relative to public transport to use that car for individual journeys, even though you would save money if you got rid of the car and exclusively used public transport.
Trip cost scaling problem: for each additional passenger taking a journey together, the cost per passenger becomes lower when travelling by car, but higher when travelling by public transport.
"[Products] are enshittified. The dozens of chips that auto makers have shoveled into their [product] are only incidentally related to delivering a better product. The primary use for those chips is autoenshittification – access to legal strictures ("IP") that allows them to block modifications and repairs that would interfere with the unfettered abuse of their own customers..."
Are microplastics from car tyres contributing to heart disease?
"Add one more likely culprit to the long list of known cardiovascular risk factors including red meat, butter, smoking and stress: microplastics.
"In a study released Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, an international team of physicians and researchers showed that surgical patients who had a build-up of micro and nanoplastics in their arterial plaque had a 2.1 times greater risk of nonfatal heart attack, nonfatal stroke or death from any cause in the three years post surgery than those who did not."
So it's not just the sedentary lifestyles that car-dependent planning encourages that's causing health issues.
And it's not just exhaust fumes either.
There's also the health impacts of microplastics, including from car tyres.
Worth noting as well that internal documents from the big oil companies show that they knew since the 1970s that recycling wasn't going to solve the problem of plastic pollution. They promoted it anyway: https://aus.social/@ajsadauskas/112064312364853769
Looks like the Boring Company's Las Vegas tunnels are going about as well as you'd expect from an Elon project...
"The muck pooling in the tunnel at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip had the consistency of a milkshake and, in some places, sat at least two feet deep. ... At first, it merely felt damp. But in addition to the water, sand and silt—the natural byproducts of any dig—the workers understood that it was full of chemicals known as accelerants.
"The accelerants cure the grout that seals the tunnel’s concrete supports, helping the grout set properly and protecting the work against cracks and other deterioration. They also seriously burn exposed human skin. At the Encore dig site, such burns became almost routine, workers there told Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An investigation by the state OSHA, which Bloomberg Businessweek has obtained via a freedom of information request, describes workers being scarred permanently on their arms and legs. According to the investigation, at least one employee took a direct hit to the face. In an interview with Businessweek, one of the tunnel workers recalls the feeling of exposure to the chemicals: “You’d be like, ‘Why am I on fire?’”"
Very well written long article about how the US establishment is moving towards seeing serious injuries and deaths as a public health crisis -- and why people who are distracted and distressed are not people who should be driving cars.
A rising road toll in the US. A rising road toll in Australia. Journalists give 1000 reasons why it could be happening.
And they studiously avoid mentioning the growing proportion of massive SUVs and pickup trucks on the roads. If they mention it at all, it's only in passing: https://youtu.be/Hb5_RUNeC0g?si=uuns6D1I6fGINdpU
But.
If you have larger and heavier cars, with larger blind spots, of course you're going to have more fatalities!
I hope this is the final nail in the coffin of the idea that self-driving cars will make any meaningful difference in transportation. It was never true, but distracted so many people from real solutions for over a decade.
Having more money than sense, Apple threw billions at a bad idea they should’ve pulled the plug on years ago.
A car belonging to Vladimir Epifanov, the Russian-appointed ?deputy prime minister? of the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, has exploded in the occupied city of Simferopol [Crimea].
Tear-resistant rubbery materials could pave the way for tougher tires (www.sciencenews.org)
Adding easy-to-break molecular connectors surprisingly makes materials harder to tear and could one day reduce microplastic pollution from car tires.
Car carrying Russia proxy head of seized Zaporizhzhia Oblast explodes in occupied Simferopol (www.pravda.com.ua)
A car belonging to Vladimir Epifanov, the Russian-appointed ?deputy prime minister? of the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, has exploded in the occupied city of Simferopol [Crimea].