Little Shockers

Lately, whenever I think I have a pretty good understanding of the hazards facing humanity, I get a little shocker — a revelation of some problem or threat I hadn’t been aware of. This morning, it was a news story about how tiny particles from tires and brakes were causing more pollution than vehicles’ engine exhausts. I knew that tires wore down. I was reminded of that when a couple of months ago I bought new tires for our six-year-old car. This morning was the first time I considered what happens to the part of a tire that wears down. It devolves into innumerable numbers of microscopic-sized particles, which mingle with innumerable numbers of similar particles, many of which find their way into our lungs.