Car tires shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment. Urgent action is needed
phys.org
Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tons of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by the wear and tear of normal driving, eventually accumulate in the soil, in rivers and lakes, and even in our food. Researchers in South China recently found tire-derived chemicals in most human urine samples.

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/20009882

Car tires shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment. Urgent action is needed

Electric cars are not THE solution.

  • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
    1·
    2 days ago

    honestly even that is significantly too high anywhere near where people live, what i’d go with is a default limit of 30km/h and a 60km/h limit on motorways, which should be constructed more like railways are: sparingly and with safe crossings (ideally grade-separated).

    30km/h is enough to go a pretty generous distance in an acceptable amount of time, certainly enough for even the sprawliest urban areas, and the motorways extend how far you can go in an acceptable amount of time without significant downsides.

    This is largely what the netherlands does and it works well.

    • LovesTha🥧@floss.social
      0·
      2 days ago

      @Swedneck @luckystarr The Netherlands doesn’t have the sprawliest of urban areas, but that is because those just don’t work, so don’t have them ;)

      Yes, 30/60 is pretty reasonable once driving isn’t the only way for people to get around.

      • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
        1·
        18 hours ago

        the netherlands has extreme urban sprawl as most of the country is one urban area :3

        but yeah sure in the US you can add another tier of motorsuperhighways (that idiotic name is mandatory so drivers know how it feels to bike in london) with a 100km/h speed limit, to be built even more sparingly.