Tire dust makes up the majority of ocean microplastics
It’s great to bring this problem up. But the focus on EVs is a distraction.<p>&gt; EVs tend to shed around 20 percent more from their tires due to their higher weight and high torque compared to traditional internal combustion engine-powered vehicles.<p>It’s covered in this panel discussion on Fully Charged: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;LeHakmL6eEc?si=ebBAn8RSDhmmLfHI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;LeHakmL6eEc?si=ebBAn8RSDhmmLfHI</a><p>Fleet operators don’t see any significant difference in tire wear. EVs have higher torque but that doesn’t matter unless to drive like a mad-man. EVs also allow you to drive very smoothly with no sudden jerk in torque.<p>Cars have been getting heavier long before EVs came around. One of the problems is that EVs are all new. Too many of them are bigger than they need to be. But that also goes for new ICE vehicle models.<p>I’m not too worried about the weight of EVs long term. Batteries are expensive. Increases in energy density, increase in vehicle efficiency and decrease in weight tends to have very significant effect on the amount of batteries you need to cover a certain range, which has huge impact on the price.<p>What we need to focus on is infrastructure for walking, biking and public transportation. An E-bike has made it just possible for me to bike to work in a reasonable time. So I drive our EV less and less to work.