this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2026
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[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 points 11 hours ago (6 children)

so, what alternative do we have to plastic tires? do we just go back to using extract from the rubber tree?

[–] who@feddit.org 28 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Reducing the use of cars would help.

[–] Siegfried@lemmy.world 4 points 6 hours ago

If only there was a way

[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 0 points 4 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Killer57@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I don't trust normal drivers, you really trust people to fly their cars safely?

[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

I'm not talking about full blown flying. Just hover above the road a few feet.

[–] TotallynotJessica@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 11 hours ago (1 children)
[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world -1 points 11 hours ago (6 children)

that's not going to happen. if we're going to think up solutions, let's think up ones that are likely or reasonable.

[–] Qwel@sopuli.xyz 7 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

*in cities

less car usage in cities can definitely happen

[–] innermachine@lemmy.world 3 points 6 hours ago

A societal change against commuting for work would help too. I have a half hour commute now which is kind of as good as it gets around here unless u work on the same town but I used to drive. A hour one way for work every day. I know people that drove more than that on a daily basis!

[–] Hiro8811@lemmy.world 0 points 6 hours ago

It's already happening, at least in Europe, cities have special limited traffic zone where only residents can enter and some cities are starting to gradually ban EURO 3, 4, 5, and even 6.

[–] who@feddit.org 3 points 7 hours ago

Our current car use per capita is unsustainable.

Either we reduce it, or we reduce human reproduction and survival rates.

[–] AlexLost@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Mass transit is a likely and reasonable solution, but they want you in cars, slaves to the oil magnates. We used to have e fully electric transit grids before the 50's until cars began to be widely adopted. Car companies killed them off.

[–] nickiwest@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

We also had more trollies in mid-sized cities until the tire lobby persuaded city governments to invest in buses.

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

They didn't persuade them, they bought the companies and then killed them off. My town had a pretty extensive trolley system, the remnants of which still exist as bike and walking trails further from downtown. The infrastructure for it is still visible and it's a painful reminder of what could have been. Instead we get a routine traffic problem in a town of only 160k.

That is the most reasonable and achievable solution. Nothing else would really change things, as tires need to be made of durable materials that shed durable microparticles as they wear. Even trains do this, but because they carry people more efficiently, the impact is lessened. It's never wise to bet on magic materials when the magic materials of the past are at the root of the problem.

We need a decades long change in both the economy and the way we live to fix most environmental problems. The solutions always exist, but we rarely implement them because power decides the future, not a quest for human well-being. Unless some country gets more powerful or some people become richer, it doesn't happen. In this case, a solution will only be reached when cars are so disfavored by the country and market that the transition happens naturally.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 6 points 10 hours ago

That's just the easiest solution.

Using other materials are less convenient.

[–] quips@slrpnk.net -1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

Yeah fuck you buddy its already happening whether you like it or not. Car dependency is dying and public transport and walkable cities are our future.

You don’t like it go move to your local dying ponzi scheme suburban stroad.

[–] quips@slrpnk.net 1 points 10 hours ago
[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Steel tyres. They'd also look better!

[–] Bustedknuckles@lemmy.world 3 points 6 hours ago

Metal would wear out too fast on asphalt/concrete though. What if we used metal tyres on metal roads? Less friction, less abrasion! It'd be expensive though to replace the whole road. Maybe just a pair of strips the same width as the tyre spacing. Cars could even connect to each other to reduce aerodynamic drag.... Nah, would never work