MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • March 3, 2024
Recently at a meeting when two people spoke against the adoption of the Climate Action Team’s proposed greenhouse gas reduction goals because of tire dust from electric vehicles. The weight of EV batteries and EVs’ ability to briskly accelerate means that tiny particulates shed from these vehicles’ tires are greater than those shed from lighter vehicles. But it’s the weight of vehicles and the aggressiveness with which they are driven that cause greater tire dust pollution. Nine out of the 10 best selling cars in the U.S. last year were trucks or SUVs. The solution to tire dust pollution lies in promoting more reasonably sized vehicles, calming traffic with safer road design, enforcing speed limits more consistently and developing tires made from fewer dangerous materials. ~ Sam Saltonstall, Brunswick