Synthetic rubber tires pollute microplastics which harm aquatic life including salmon.
So, we need to make tires out of different materials in order to spare the environment, society and public health, and economy.
What are some potential solutions for sustainable tire products and production?
"Michelin Sustainable Tires Use a Rice Byproduct" https://www.motortrend.com/features/michelin-sustainable-ric...
OTOH, Dandelion rubber (Taraxagum), Hemp
- "Tire dust makes up the majority of ocean microplastics" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37728005
- Taraxagum is extractable with just water FWIU
- Would GMO dandelions be easier to scale up with traditional and vertical gardening? How could dandelions be genetically-engineered for use in sustainable tires? Larger stems, less or no seeds to avoid clogging up vertical gardening,
- What are some uses for the non-stem waste part of dandelion flowers?
Hemp "rubber"
/? hemp rubber https://www.google.com/search?q=hemp+rubber
"New Green Polymeric Composites Based on Hemp and Natural Rubber Processed by Electron Beam Irradiation" (2014) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2014/684047 51 citations : https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=1043509048813828783... :
> Abstract: A new polymeric composite based on natural rubber reinforced with hemp has been processed by electron beam irradiation and characterized by several methods. The mechanical characteristics: gel fraction, crosslink density, water uptake, swelling parameters, and FTIR of natural rubber/hemp fiber composites have been investigated as a function of the hemp content and absorbed dose. Physical and mechanical properties present a significant improvement as a result of adding hemp fibres in blends. Our experiments showed that the hemp fibers have a reinforcing effect on natural rubber similar to mineral fillers (chalk, carbon black, silica). The crosslinking rates of samples, measured using the Flory-Rehner equation, increase as a result of the amount of hemp in blends and the electron beam irradiation dose increasing. The swelling parameters of samples significantly depend on the amount of hemp in blends, because the latter have hydrophilic characteristics.
Is there a dandelion hemp blend that's good for tires?
Michelin has rice byproduct in their current Most Sustainable Tire.
Maybe dandelion stems, some part of the industrial hemp plant, and rice byproduct?
With processing by IDK cheaper Electron Beam Irradiation too?
https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/24/24183327/ev-tire-pollutio...
My advice? Give up on the environment. You're on Hacker News, the majority of this website would happily destroy the earth for decades to come if it meant they could be king for a year. Even outside HN, who consciously considers the environment when making purchasing decisions anymore? Who stands up to the lobbyists that stop pro-environmental change from happening? Nobody. We suffer because people with money insist it's the only way we can live, and biodegradable tires aren't going to change that political status-quo.
B: Don't even try, it's hopeless, just do hedonism without consideration like everyone else
A: Use market incentives to change production and consumption behavior to head off costs and loss.
So we should fight with poverty.
The only way to "fix" it in America is to legislate the tire manufacturers into compliance. And when you do that people will kick and scream and say you've ruined their free market, so you've got to pick your poison and stand by it.
- An N $ rebate for sustainable tires
- Capital investment into R&D and scaling production of sustainable tires
- Grants for open access research into cost-viable sustainable tires