The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => Topic started by: rangerrebew on July 21, 2023, 09:46:43 am
-
EVs Are Sending Toxic Tire Particles Into the Water, Soil, and Air
Story by David Zipper • Wednesday
Electric vehicles, you might have heard, are miraculous. Just a sliver of new cars sold in the United States are EVs, but these machines have united a mishmash of people eager to move America away from gasoline. Environmental groups are all-in, and the federal government is offering hefty incentives to spur sales. Automakers now offer twice as many EV models as before the pandemic, and are pumping out endless commercials to promote them. “We believe in an all-electric future,” General Motors CEO Mary Barra said in an interview a few weeks ago. Even car enthusiasts are getting on board: YouTube offers endless videos of people racing their EVs.
Such enthusiasm is warranted. The urgency of climate change requires electrifying the 278 million personal vehicles plying American roadways as quickly as we can. After all, EVs are far more climate-friendly than equivalent gas-powered models because they eliminate the tailpipe emissions that warm the planet and pollute the air. Better yet, EVs are simply fun to drive: Most models are quicker and quieter than your average gas car.
But that is not the full story. EVs also produce emissions beyond what spews from their tailpipe. Like all cars, their tires are constantly rubbing against pavement, releasing particulates that float through the air and leach into waterways, damaging human health and wildlife. New EV models tend to be heavier and quicker—generating more particulates and deepening the danger. In other words, EVs have a tire-pollution problem, and one that is poised to get worse as America begins to adopt electric cars en masse. None of this is inevitable. EVs don’t need to be so massive and lightning-fast—these are choices that the auto industry has made. All of us will pay the price.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/evs-are-sending-toxic-tire-particles-into-the-water-soil-and-air/ar-AA1e4KqI?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=01f025b858364e1bbc8addc6c72adf51&ei=51
-
I've seen several stories about this over the last few months.
But it suggests something else as well.
Since ev's are heavier, and the tires thus seem to wear more heavily, does that mean ev owners must buy new tires that much more often, as well? And probably new brakes?
Another previously-undocumented expense of owning an electric car...
-
I've seen several stories about this over the last few months.
But it suggests something else as well.
Since ev's are heavier, and the tires thus seem to wear more heavily, does that mean ev owners must buy new tires that much more often, as well? And probably new brakes?
Another previously-undocumented expense of owning an electric car...
I would think they'd have to buy tires with a higher load rating.
-
I've seen several stories about this over the last few months.
But it suggests something else as well.
Since ev's are heavier, and the tires thus seem to wear more heavily, does that mean ev owners must buy new tires that much more often, as well? And probably new brakes?
Another previously-undocumented expense of owning an electric car...
Depending on whether the EV has regenerative braking, the brakes may not wear out as fast.
-
So EV's are heavy and put more wear on their tires and roads and infrastructure but all of us driving ICE vehicles effectively pay for all the road and infrastructure maintenance. Personally I can't get all concerned about this toxic particles being more from EV's there are still a ton of trucks, full size SUV's and Semi trucks doing the same damn thing because of comparable of higher weight.