This is one reason why I don't like living near freeways, especially near on-ramps, off-ramps, and interchanges. Car pollution isn't just tailpipe emissions - I believe a lot of airborne particulates come from tires and brakes (especially during acceleration, deceleration, and turning).<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/air/particulate_matter.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.cdc.gov/air/particulate_matter.html</a>
Tangentially related; I can't fathom why the US insists on stop signs and traffic lights everywhere. A neighborhood I used to drive through on my way to work had 4 way stops sprouting up constantly.<p>The massive waste of resources involved in hauling 2 tons of steel and glass down from speed to 0, for _absolutely no reason 99% of the time_, accelerating it back up to speed again, just to do the same, over and over, boggles the mind. The noise pollution, the air pollution, the "trash" byproducts in the form of brake dust and tire dust. Why on earth would you voluntarily do this to your neighborhood? It doesn't stop speeding; it's a crappy form of traffic control, and it makes every traffic-related measure of living near it worse. Add to all that the time wasted. I feel the same way about traffic lights, particularly the over-proliferation of red arrows everywhere, telling us that we can't judge for ourselves when it's safe to go, and instead, we have to create gridlock and extensive waits for minimal gain.<p>Most of these problems could be solved by keeping traffic at a moderate, consistent level through the use of roundabouts, rather than the waste of constant stop-and-go.<p>When I rule the world, there will be a ban on 4-way stops, red arrows, and parking lots without walkways. I don't even have kids, and I find it infuriating that parking lots force us to walk behind rows and rows of parked cars, hoping that we don't get run over by someone backing out of a space in one of the ever-increasingly-difficult-to-see-out-of cars we're bringing to market in the name of 'safety'.
Interesting, considering just a few decades ago bundling old tires and sinking them into the ocean was considered an environmentally-friendly disposal method.<p>It was believed that the tires would create reefs, encouraging sea life, and at the same time take care of on ongoing tire disposal problem that occasionally led to catastrophic fires.<p>I wonder what other modern "environmentally friendly" things we're doing now that will turn out to be bas ackward 30 years from now.
I appreciate this new concern for microplastics. Since I can remember I've always had a vague fears about using plastic Tupperware and plastic bottle but wasn't sure if it was unfounded. Turns out my (and many others) intuitions were correct.
in atlanta soil near roads tends to have a lot of lead. A daycare near me had to shutdown their playground/garden because it was testing really high in lead.
Imagine all the problems that would be solved if someone invented a car with metal wheels, maybe one that can hold hundreds of people, goes really fast, is quiet and efficient....
On the front page of HN at the exact same time, we have two different articles on this topic. One says that most ocean plastic comes from ships, the other says car tires. Clearly they're both accurate.