Posted on 11/28/2002 12:08:56 PM PST by blam
Raw rubber is sap from the rubber tree. It is white.
I thought it went somewhere else. I've always said that if it wasn't for Diet Coke, this country wouldn't know where to put all its toxic waste.
99.999% of today's tires are black. The current "Michelin Man" is an inaccurate representation of the racial makeup of tires everywhere, and therefore, is offensive.
We demand that Michelin change its "Michelin Man" to accurately reflect the racial make up of the vast majority of tires on and off the road...for tires that were, tires that are, and tires that will be in the future...for tires that are bald, and new tires that have those "extra, long thingies" on the tread...for racing tires, tractor tires, and even bicycle tires... we want recognition, representation, and most of all, reparations!!!
And, johnnie, or jackie... I want a cut of the "profits", since it was my idea!!!
Okay, next problem!
I was in the environmental business for 15 years (glad I'm out) and your last sentence sums things up quite nicely. One of my longest running projects was proving to the state that asphalt from Dallas city roads that were used as fill on private property did not adversely affect the environment. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
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"And by that time, I'll make a fortune on the lecture circuit, deposit a huge book advance in my bank account, make numerous appearances on the 'Today' show, all without having ever worked a day in my life or done anything remotely beneficial for manking or society-at-large". |
It's a ZEN thing.
A Linsly junior recently won first place in the Regional Junior Sciences and Humanities Symposium held February 15 and 16 at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, West Virginia for his project, "The Hidden Consequences of Tire Wear." ....
The project, entitled "The Hidden Consequences of Tire Wear," examined where the rubber goes when tires wear out. Research for the project began in the fall of 2000. The idea for the project came to the student approximately two years ago when he was reading a question and answer column in a newspaper and he saw a question asking where the rubber goes after a tire wears out. As a result, the student decided to study the question himself. Joseph actually designed and built his own testing device for this project using a belt sander and a mounted tire.
The project indicated that rubber particles from tires can in fact be found in soil adjacent to highways and can become airborne. He has linked his findings to current research that has documented an increase in latex allergies and asthma over the past thirty years.
Recently, the research has led him to consider different methods of reducing the amount of tire dust which is thrown off vehicles. He has investigated whether the coarseness of the road surface affects the size of the rubber particles by using the tire wear tester he constructed with belts of differing grits. However, no measurable difference was found in the sizes of the rubber particles collected in this test, indicating that the condition of our highways has little relevance with the size of the particles coming off the tires. His next area of study involved designing and constructing several different devices that would collect the rubber particles as they are thrown off the tire. These have been tested in actual use conditions as well as with the tire wear tester.
The project on the topic of tire wear was the grand prize winner at last years West Liberty State College Regional Science and Engineering Fair and took 1st place in the Environmental Division at the West Virginia State Science Fair at Marshall University. Last may, the student presented his project at the International Science and Engineering Fair, held in San Jose, California, winning 3rd place in the Environmental Science division. The second year of this research will be presented March 22 and 23 at the West Liberty Science and Engineering Fair as well as the West Virginia State Science Fair at Marshall University on April 6, 2002. source; see also this
Or, this one from 11/2000:
I am planning on doing a tire bioremediation science fair experiment this year. I am 16 years old and am currently a junior. This will be my second year study; I completed a science fair experiment last year. The following is my abstract: Where did the Tires Go? A short-term study of bioremediation of vulcanized rubber by the bacteria Sulfolobus acidocaladarius ...
Did nobody realize that, had they been able to prove the pavement hazardous, the city and county could both have been tasked with cleaning up the enormous "hazardous substance" deposits lining the surface of every municipal right-of-way?
Not to mention resurfacing all the roads with concrete?
True. But consider that one of the consequences of switching to an alternative fuel system, like hydrogen fuel cells using hydrogen produced from water by fusion nuclear plants, will be that there will be no more asphalt for paving. So using fuels made by other than refining crude oil implies using another paving system, be it concrete or something else.
Can you imagine the hassle they would get for having the Michelin man in blackface?
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