But a large part of microplastics found in aquatic environments is abraison from car tires. So we need more and different fungi ...
[sciencenews](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/car-tires-and-brake-pads...)
[theconversation](https://theconversation.com/how-your-car-sheds-microplastics...)
[springeropen](https://microplastics.springeropen.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s43...)
> In Switzerland, tire wear accounts for an estimated 90 percent of the microplastics released into the environment.
https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releas...
90% (!) of microplastics in Switzerland’s environment are from tire abrasion.
If we hypothetically radically banned cars, we would not only reduce landscape fragmentation, space requirements in public spaces, accidents and risks, damages to humans and animals, costs that are borne by the public, noise pollution and particulate matter air pollution, but also we would cut down microplastic emissions by 10:1!
Anyway, the napkin math is 20 million tons of tires manufactured per year. If 1% of that is lost as worn down tread (or sidewalls depending on the driver), then that is 200,000 tons of tire compound particles dispersed into the environment per year.
I always assumed it was orders of magnitude more than that. But that seems like an amount that, if it were to exist, some sort of bacteria/fungus/algae could actually probably handle.
I don’t know what the fuck Patagonia thinks they’re doing switching to recycled polyester to make their clothing more environmental.
Or it can be recycled, in which case most of the plastic in the net is fixed into a new physical object.
The second one seems better to me than the first one. Do you disagree? Or is your objection to the continued use of plastics in clothing at all?
Using recycled materials of any sort reduces the consumption of new materials. This is a net positive for the environment, absent any extremes in the use of recycled materials. (i.e. extreme energy consumption or harmful chemicals used in the recycling process)
Cotton is what most people think of as a natural fiber, and even its use can entail a high environmental cost.
We need a few more decades of inflation before anyone can rightly claim to become a billionaire without fucking people over.
> Virtue: Positive trait or quality deemed to be morally good
Saints were certainly concerned with virtues.
I stated at the outset that this is not a popular opinion.
If every mile human beings moved in cars was replaced with two miles taken by train, the world would be a less polluted place.