Slashdot Mirror
Where Has All The Rubber Gone?
Makarand writes "We all recognize vehicle tailpipe emissions to be a source of pollution.
But what happens to the castoff rubber from your tires that have lost tread?
No one knew where this rubbber was going
until recently. Allison Draper, a professor of environmental chemistry
at Bucknell University, is conducting research to end all guess work on
this topic and with the hope of finding ways to make tires less polluting.
She found for every kilometer a car travels, about 90 milligrams of tread wears off in particles ranging in size 10-75 microns.Toxins in the larger suspended particles leach out when exposed to water and the run off harms plant and animal life.
These toxins are still being identified."
It (polution) starts to become really scarry when you start adding up all of the little things (like this) that you never think about. Especially when you add it's effect to the larger more commonley talked about polution problems.
... happen to come with your Ford Explorer ?
On a normal car *I* have to drive in, I would not trust tires that last 70.000 miles, because under adverse conditions (cold, wet) the rubber would be too hard to get good grip on the road.
If you want to reduce the cost of driving, buy a smaller car or drive more carefully to save on gas and tire wear, but do not risk your and your families health by compromising the single most important active safety component of your car.
... the influence of synthetic hormones on wildlife is threatening aquatic species by feminizing males. (No, those hormones are not rendered inactive either by the body or by sewage-treatment plants.) Latex, so long as you aren't allergic to it, at least has the benefit that it's biodegradable.
Scientists restrict study to entire physical universe; creationist
For as long as money is king nothing but nothing is going to change corp. and government from finding more than "Another suspected culprit" un quote suspected I am 40 years old and really this has been all they ever find but let one fn eagle die and then you have polution DDT but let millions of kids not be able to breath and it will only be a suspected.
/.er's opinion and not the responsiblity of the web site or any readers
i say if it is suspected then outlaw it untill it can be proven that its not a problem.
not left in the system untill it is peoven that it is.
Why not error on the side of health and environment.
instead of profit and greed.
Just this
or any other person animal place or thing.
that can be sued or not sued or any other
type of finacial terrorism.