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Car tires biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters

latimes.com

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Re: Car tires biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters

#181

Post by bradlys »

pembrook wrote: post #141
gwbas1c wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As shocking as that is, I'd like to see some confirmation of that number.

I don't doubt the analogy, but I think we need to study if this is actually harmful. Does the body expel it entirely as waste, or is some left behind, etc.

It must expel it to a high degree. I can't imagine any significant amount of 52 credit cards worth of plastic a year being retained by the body. That would mean that I have approximately 1500 credit cards worth of plastic in my body just layin' around after my 29 years of livin'.

I can tell ya - I'd notice 1500 credit cards worth of plastic hanging out in my body. That's 5g * 1500 = 7.5kg (16.5lbs) of plastic.

Re: Car tires biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters

#182

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

reaperducer wrote: post #64

Interesting, considering just a few decades ago bundling old tires and sinking them into the ocean was considered an environmentally-friendly disposal method. 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. I wonder what other modern "environmentally friendly" things we're doing now…

Using old railroad ties for landscaping, building things in gardens, parks and playgrounds. They are impregnated with some nasty stuff which outgases when lit by the sun. Which happens to be the time people are mostly around them.

Re: Car tires biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters

#183

Post by takk309 »

bonestamp2 wrote: post #173
rconti wrote: post #163

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. 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, bo…

> 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. I don't mean to sound snarky or judgemental, so please understand that is not my intention... Sometimes they do this to dissuade people from commuting to work through neighborhoods. Again, I don't mean to judge, that might be the best/safest…

I may be being a bit of a pedant but do you mean roundabout? Traffic circles and roundabouts are different. A traffic circle, in the modern sense, does not have much horizontal deflection on the entering legs. The diameter is also smaller and there is not a truck apron. A roundabout on the other hand has some form of horizontal deflection and a truck apron. Often times a traffic circle can be installed by placing a round bit of curbing in the center of an existing intersection. These are great in low volume low speed applications such as neighborhoods. Traffic circles have a much lower capacity than a roundabout due to the low travel speeds.

Again, sorry for being a pedant but I am a traffic engineer and the distinction between these two traffic control devices matters. Here is a link to roundabout specific information from the Federal Highways Administration https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/innovative/roundabo...

Re: Car tires biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters

#184

Post by bluntfang »

takk309 wrote: post #183
bonestamp2 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. I don't mean to sound snarky or judgemental, so please understand that is not my intention... Sometimes they do this to dissuade people from commuting to work through neighborhoods. Again, I don't mean to judge, that might be the best/safest…

I may be being a bit of a pedant but do you mean roundabout? Traffic circles and roundabouts are different. A traffic circle, in the modern sense, does not have much horizontal deflection on the entering legs. The diameter is also smaller and there is not a truck apron. A roundabout on the other hand has some form of horizontal deflection and a truck apron. Often times a traffic circle can be installed by placing a r…

>the distinction between these two traffic control devices matters

To reflect your pedantic efforts: does it matter in _this_ discussion? Colloquially they are the same thing when not having a technical discussion.

Re: Car tires biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters

#185

Post by logn »

hinkley wrote: post #112
simias wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plastics are just pretty damn convenient materials. They're solid, cheap, can be made flexible or hard, don't rust, are easy to clean etc... Glass is heavy and breaks when dropped, metal is less heavy and only dents but it's more expensive than plastic. A lot of metal containers have an internal plastic lining simply so that food (and especially acidic food) doesn't react with the metal through direct contact.

Yep. Once in a while I'll see something about the history of food preservation and it's always funny because the more optimistic folks will point to a particular date and inventor as the birth of pasteurized canning. And then a more curmudgeonly person will sometimes point out that the tin from those cans would leach in and turn the food black. Not quite the victory people make it out to be. It was a bit later before…

This is a tangent but I liked this video on beverage cans, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUhisi2FBuw

Re: Car tires biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters

#187

Post by megaremote »

rconti wrote: post #163

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. 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, bo…

> The massive waste of resources involved in hauling 2 tons of steel and glass down from speed to 0

Even without slowing down this is huge waste of resources. The fact we allow people to do this is insane.

> When I rule the world, there will be a ban on 4-way stops, red arrows, and parking lots without walkways.

You are insane if you think you can make cars safe. They should just not be around people at all.

Re: Car tires biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters

#188

Post by megaremote »

Steltek wrote: post #104
zaroth wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not why trains are not viable in America. Trains are far more heavily subsidized than autos, for example, on a per-passenger mile basis. Studies that account for the full bore of taxes which apply to personal vehicles (sales tax, excise tax, gas tax, registration fees) show that cars provide significant net income to government far exceeding infrastructure outlays. I think that trains being less fuel efficien…

TIL gas taxes paid for Boston's Big Dig. What states actually reap a surplus from personal auto fees? Meanwhile, are you including in your thought process any of the following? - Public land permanently dedicated to roads, highways, parking lots, etc - Parking minimums in zoning codes - Police resources dedicated to traffic enforcement - Wars of aggression fought to preserve oil prices - Oil industry subsidies - Inno…

Don't forget about the huge amount of spending on hospitals and morgues required for the 40,000 dead every single year (more than guns shots), and 2.35 million that are injured or disabled.

Re: Car tires biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters

#189

Post by megaremote »

zaroth wrote: post #119
Steltek wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TIL gas taxes paid for Boston's Big Dig. What states actually reap a surplus from personal auto fees? Meanwhile, are you including in your thought process any of the following? - Public land permanently dedicated to roads, highways, parking lots, etc - Parking minimums in zoning codes - Police resources dedicated to traffic enforcement - Wars of aggression fought to preserve oil prices - Oil industry subsidies - Inno…

$38 billion a year in sales taxes from new and used automobiles and services. $66 billion a year in use taxes including fuel, excise, and registration. That’s just the direct revenue. If you want to include externalities, you also have to include economic activity enabled by these investments, and the taxes on those activities. Just the auto sector alone produces $60 billion of income tax revenue for state and Federa…

Road crashes cost the U.S. $230.6 billion per year, or an average of $820 per person.

https://www.asirt.org/safe-travel/road-safety-facts/

Re: Car tires biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters

#190

Post by cwkoss »

newnewpdro wrote: post #152
cwkoss wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cody's Lab did an episode where he collected and refined freeway dust: it's actually decent grade platinum 'ore' from catalytic converter deposition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5GPWJPLcHg

Sure, in small quantities, it's not the majority of the volume they collected though.

Mining operations rarely find pure metals in the ground. Ore is a dilute mixture of rock with trace metals which must be extracted through processing.
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