EVs are to blame for worsening tire pollution, 'The Atlantic' says

The argument put forward in a recent issue of The Atlantic magazine — that electric vehicles exacerbate pollution from rubber tires — is intriguing. It’s also borderline fatuous and in some respects, misleading.

The essence of the thesis put forward by author David Zipper is two-fold: that EVs are heavier than internal-combustion vehicles because of the weight of their batteries, and that the “instant power” — the high engine torque —a dds twist to the tires, and hastens deterioration.

Although he allows that “much about tire pollution is still unknown,” he offers this:

“The smallest tire particles, measured in mere nanometers, can enter our lungs and spread to our organs. Various tire components have been linked to chronic conditions including respiratory problems, kidney damage, neurological damage, and birth defects—a particular concern in neighborhoods adjacent to highways, whose residents skew low-income and minority. Tire particles could also affect us through our food because their chemicals can work their way into the algae and grass consumed by fish and cows.”

These are genuinely concerning issues, but when Zipper goes on to indict EVs for making matters worse because they’re heavy, he ignores that gas-powered cars and trucks — diesel trucks used in construction, for example; gas SUVs with room for seven — are heavy as well. In fact, many gas-powered SUVs and pickup trucks weigh as much or more than many EVs — excepting outliers like the GMC Hummer EV — and there are far more of them on today's roads than EVs.