WTVS News

Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

It’s hard to imagine how tires that are still on the road could affect the environment. It’s usually tire disposal that brings to mind a negative impact. The practice of burning old tires released toxic chemicals into the air and contributes to pollution. Proper recycling can repurpose tires into construction projects and other uses. Few people realize that low tire pressure is a major environmental problem too.

It is estimated that over two billion gallons of gas are wasted each year in Europe alone due to tire pressure. This is because over 90 percent of of the cars on the roads have tires that are under inflated. There are no reliable figures for American drivers, but it is probably in the same neighborhood, but with so many more drivers, that percentage represents an even greater waste of gasoline Properly inflated tires provide consistent air pressure across the tire for longer periods of time. This helps improve the vehicle’s gas mileage. If everyone checked their tire pressure every week and kept them properly inflated, the gas savings on a global level would be astounding.

A newer development is to fill tires with 100 percent nitrogen. The argument is that general tires , which are filled with about 78 percent nitrogen, lose pressure quicker as that 22 percent that is oxygen leaks out. By switching to nitrogen filled tires, pressure will remain more constant and gas mileage will improve and drivers won’t have to fill the tires as often.