Vehicles pollute High Alps

Pollution over (or up) there caused by our activity over here - story 9

It is difficult to comprehend the scale of pollution created by our daily lifestyle.

We need some vehicles. There will always be some pollution.

But some vehicles are not necessary.

The number of private car miles in London. Not necessary given the quality and quantity of public transport.

Of those private cars, private SUVs are not necessary. SUVs produce even more pollution than a normal car.

Now there’s more evidence about the scale of this pollution from our cars.

Millions of tonnes of plastic waste are dumped in the environment and much is broken down into small fragments. Microplastics were already known to have polluted the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans.

However, nanoplastics are even tinier and have been difficult to collect and analyse. Researchers are concerned about the health impact of ubiquitous plastic pollution, and nanoplastics may be even more dangerous than microplastics as they are small enough to penetrate cell membranes and remain lodged in the body.

Not good. We did that. The drivers. That leads me to the final point.

EVs won’t solve this.

They still generate the microplastics and nanoplastics. Swapping engine types has not impact on the rubber/road relationship. We need fewer vehicles on our roads.