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jess m. ☁️@jam-etc.bsky.social |
TIL learned a fun fact the vast, vast majority of microplastics aren't actually from breaking down single-use plastics like I thought, but from car tires. Car tires, simply by being worn down while driving, emit more microplastics than anything by far
81 replies 980 reposts 2063 likes
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erin🐈
@3r1n.com
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Today I learned learned
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Odie
@theodeity.bsky.social
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adding to my "why I'm never learning to drive" list
0 replies 0 reposts 45 likes
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Problematic Otter
@problematicotter.bsky.social
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This seems like a good time to point out that EVs being heavier due to their batteries means they run through tires faster. I'm a fan of EVs, would like to own one eventually, but it's fair to acknowledge this cost.
10 replies 3 reposts 95 likes
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Julia Chase
@juliachase.bsky.social
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The majority of environmental microplastics are from synthetic textiles. Car tires are the second highest source.
1 replies 1 reposts 2 likes
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crAsh
@crashbanzai.bsky.social
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Had not thought about this but yeah makes total sense
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Samus Crankpork
@crankpork.bsky.social
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Cars. The gift that keeps on giving.
1 replies 0 reposts 88 likes
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Joule
@joulekzelm.bsky.social
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Yep, and chemicals in car tires (and other tires) are one big factor in why salmon are dying off in huge numbers.
1 replies 1 reposts 3 likes
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🐄📏👖🩳
@clflngthjnshrts.bsky.social
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Isn't this article studying road runoff specifically?
1 replies 1 reposts 3 likes
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Michael R Lambert
@mrl53.bsky.social
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Walk along a highway you see the grit.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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fluffy plague doctor
@dryeen.bsky.social
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This surprised me but probably shouldn't have
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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ImagineBGP
@bearku.bsky.social
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Jesus, we really *are* doomed.
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Max Tide
@maxtide.bsky.social
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Anyone have any deets on the relationship between speed and Tire-wear? I bet if you drove an Ev 25% slower, you'd break even on tire wear. Wear is probably not linear with speed...
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Margaret Kearton
@margaretkearton.bsky.social
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And all these new SUVs have such huge tyres - bring back the Fiat 127 is what I say.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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@retiredrph.bsky.social
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So much of the world’s problems come from Americans constantly driving, flying, buying (things that have to be driven or flown). Buying less, driving less, using things til they’re completely worn out, composting, and entertaining ourselves really does help.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Erica Henderson
@ericafails.bsky.social
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How do we keep finding more reasons for me to fucking hate cars
0 replies 0 reposts 30 likes
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Peter
@peterlie.bsky.social
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related: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Danni Jo 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
@arcaneartisan.bsky.social
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Seems like every environmental problem we have comes back to cars eventually.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Yote goes boing
@yotemcyoteface.bsky.social
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The automobile industry is once again the figurative Kevin Bacon of every single facet of late stage capitalisms hellscape.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Folarx
@felixorx.bsky.social
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Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Cyn ✨
@obicynkenobi.bsky.social
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Oh my god
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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EnberLight - Comms Open!
@enberlight.bsky.social
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Soooooo Does this mean we've been taking microplastics into our bodies for quite a bit longer than we assumed? We just. Weren't looking at them til recently?
0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Duckshow
@duckshow.bsky.social
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Yeah, I started studying for a driver's license yesterday and they talked about tire degradation - and... I knew it was bad, but doing a rough calculation... It sounds like we're basically putting a tower of rubber 2m long, 1.2m wide, and 1500km (!!!) tall into the atmosphere every six years or so 🫠
1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Charlee
@ch4rlee.bsky.social
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GOD DAMN YOU FORD MOTORS!
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Reverend H. Entity
@reverendentity.bsky.social
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Try not to think about all the edgy kids doing burnouts and peelouts to impress their half-interested friends.
1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Preciositiness
@preciositiness.bsky.social
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Is it weird this makes me more optimistic, not less? Car tires seem like an imminently more fixable problem than all collective consumer plastic.
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Nanjala
@nanjala.bsky.social
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The abstract says that this is a study of road run off, so it makes sense that the largest part of it would be from tyres? Other studies of ocean water have confirmed that the largest sources of microplastics in water is clothing - ie artificial fibres like polyester.
1 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Josh Dobbin
@joshdobbin.bsky.social
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I became aware of this by @xkcd.com
1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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The Siobhan
@thesiobhan.bsky.social
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I'm guessing car tires aren't made out of rubber any more. Not that this information is a surprise to me, it's just one of those things I never thought about.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Coolbone Minoxidil
@dingokayfabe.bsky.social
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Those steel train wheels looking pretty good right now
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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ItsEasyBeingGreen
@itseasybeinggreen.bsky.social
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Majority of microplastics in runoff != majority of microplastics
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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CedarBough T. Saeji
@thekpopprof.bsky.social
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Torch the autos! End to tires!
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Arash Mohebbi
@thatoldbear.bsky.social
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well shit that's not horrifying at all :/
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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wi(l)d-screen franken
@drunkcrunkfranken.bsky.social
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It's one of those things I think about whenever I get my tires changed like "damn there's a bunch of these tiny imperceptible particles spread all over the place from the tires" but I didn't realize it was THIS bad
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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David Weiskopf
@weiskopf.bsky.social
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Hi Jess and apologies in advance if others have already said this (i scrolled replies and didn't see it). This study has gone around a few times and its phrasing leads to a lot of confusion. Tires/cars are big problems, but your first understanding was correct: single-use plastics are much worse.
1 replies 1 reposts 14 likes
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AdreanaLangston
@adreanalangston.bsky.social
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Well you learn something new every day. I seriously thought the main ingredient in tires was rubber from rubber trees.
1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Pemberley Intern
@hallie.bsky.social
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Progress: finding ways to screw up the planet for every living thing on it
0 replies 0 reposts 6 likes
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Mónica
@monicaha.bsky.social
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And, probably Mr. Clean Magic Erasers
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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🍄 shroomdrawsandwrites
@shroomdraws.bsky.social
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I use this as an argument for rail as a long-term transport solution, but stretching the definition of 'fun' a little haha
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Bender Rodríguez
@plungerman.bsky.social
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goddammit.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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ambrosia
@dead.rs
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Clearly we need to be taking more flights instead of driving long distances
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N Inconnue
@ninconnue17.bsky.social
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Interesting. Also had never made that connection but it makes sense.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Wolfreak76🇨🇦∆ø
@wolfreak76.bsky.social
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That's why I only buy tires made out of authentic Saskatchewan seal skin.
0 replies 0 reposts 4 likes
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Josh "Go Drink The Sea" Brown
@theotherspeakman.bsky.social
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*Long sigh* Why are there microplastics in the tires?
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Matthew Broberg-Moffitt (he/she/they)
@mbrobergmoffitt.bsky.social
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We should make wheels out of wood! Boom, problem solved!
1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Another Friggin Dave
@anotherfriggindave.bsky.social
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Ah, but, if we all just drive electric, oh
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Tom
@tomguff.bsky.social
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i thought tires were rubber?! learning all kinds of stuff today
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Toddd Nugent
@tnwharmony86.bsky.social
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Powder from brake pads is almost equally bad.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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molly 🍄🌿 looking for work!!🌻
@lilachysteria.bsky.social
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is there anything cars WON’T fuck up is the question really
2 replies 0 reposts 21 likes
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😈Kat😈
@katastrophicimp.bsky.social
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People seem to be taking away from this "let's ban cars!" But like. Yes we should 100% make more trains, but the problem isn't cars, it's TIRES, and a good portion of the issue probably various commerical/public vehicles too. Tbh like with fuel use, i feel like WFH would do better than "car bans"
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Mr. Bad 🍍🆖
@mrbad.bsky.social
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It's almost like we should be making them out of natural materials instead of petroleum products
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Aaron Bourque
@afbourque.bsky.social
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Your definition of "fun" differs greatly from mine...
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Roslyn Reid
@the-moonshadow.bsky.social
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Yes. I learned this by living on a busy road & having to clean the house a lot!
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Julie - TrexPushups
@trexpushups.bsky.social
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That sounds bad. Like we will never solve the micro plastics problem bad.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Matt
@mtblah.bsky.social
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And EV are far worse than other cars. Proving once and for all that there is no morally. Superior car to use…
1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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LeftBower
@leftbower.bsky.social
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Trains good, cars bad.
1 replies 0 reposts 17 likes
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jack the nonabrasive
@karabaic.bsky.social
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Hmmm...other research suggests that 60% of microplastics in the oceans come from washing synthetic fabrics. (Harry Shearer has a regular feature on Le Show about this, which is how I got this reference.) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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@lacergunn.bsky.social
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Okay, that's fixable in a few ways. What's the main kinds of plastic? I'm sure there's probably some fungus that grows in it that I can steal genes from.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Kristi Wallace Knight
@kwknight.bsky.social
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I used to live 150 feet from a major intersection in Los Angeles. I cleaned greasy black "dust" off my windowsills twice a week. It was more tires than exhaust.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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crucialwax
@crucialwax.com
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Ok. Steel wheels from now on.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Derek, Darren, Daryl, Jarred, Garret, Eric, Derek,
@brooooit.bsky.social
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You know folks, microplastics are really TIRING haha but in all seriousness society is in trouble (portmanteau of tire rubble)
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Mela Storm
@melastorm.bsky.social
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Wow, that’s really interesting! Makes a pretty good case for trains, doesn’t it?
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Blackhearth🏴
@blackhearth.bsky.social
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All Cars Are Bastards
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Allikuja⁷ 💜 (he/they)
@allikuja.bsky.social
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Yet another reason to push for other-than-cars transit options
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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@vonhonkington.bsky.social
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And astroturf is made with shredded tires 👍
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Dave
@davemck.bsky.social
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By worse, you mean 2-3 orders of magnitude worse. That's a lot of worse. No idea it was that bad.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Iizard
@iizard.bsky.social
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Allegedly glitter is primarily used in the boating industry. For paint.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Iizard
@iizard.bsky.social
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But without car how travel 20+ miles everyday for office job??? !
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Bee Geesmith
@beegeesmith.bsky.social
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Wow. Wow.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Titania
@kittenbitten.bsky.social
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I thought it was moreso from the fact that everything carpeted is plastic, clothes are plastic, blankets are plastic. When they age the little plastic filaments break off and float around, we probably breathe them in all the time even. But this makes sense.
1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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MonHunterORB
@monhunterorb.bsky.social
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Reason #5746729193838293 why cars are awful for society. Walkable cities and public transit are one of the best ways to fight pollution and climate change.
0 replies 0 reposts 6 likes
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Jackie
@sketchpad.bsky.social
[ View ] |
📌
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Donatello @ HÖR BERLIN
@firebel.ly
[ View ] |
it's one of those really obvious things you never think about but it makes sense
1 replies 0 reposts 54 likes
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Elfpiss
@elfpiss.bsky.social
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wow ain't no fucking way the murder machines are murdering us in more ways than just the current way they murder
0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Daniel Sereduick
@danielsereduick.bsky.social
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And you breathe them
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Not Yet Post Democracy Joshua Vaughan
@outerleftfield.bsky.social
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Guess what has steel wheels and can be orders of magnitude more efficient at moving humans around?
1 replies 0 reposts 12 likes
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Clare Heimer
@clareheimer.bsky.social
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This may be a stupid question but are microplastics not definitionally required to be plastics? Is rubber a kind of plastic?
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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SkyFuneral
@aaronmk.bsky.social
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Here I had been assuming commercial fishing owned the largest share of micro plastics and now I'm adding another reason to hate having to drive a car to my list. I am still assuming that commercial fishing still has a lot of blame
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Puma Kowanbet
@pantheropologist.bsky.social
[ View ] |
Microplastics are definitely a big problem, but car tires are also a huge source of airborne particulate and heavy metal pollution. As others have pointed out, heavier cars - both the obvious oversized SUVs and trucks that are so popular in the US, and EVs make all of this worse.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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@elbinho.bsky.social
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Like most fun facts, this is also more fun than a fact. This study only dealt with runoff water from roads and a surface water body in direct vicinity to a highway. Cars are terrible for many reasons, but this study does not show that a vast majority of mp (in the world) is from tires
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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jay pico
@jpco.io
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and (this is mentioned in your linked study) are uniquely toxic to coho salmon! ecology.wa.gov/blog/january...
0 replies 7 reposts 28 likes