this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2023
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A Boring Dystopia
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Lead poisoning really did a number on that generation. While I'm also angry that they were complacent in what's happened, as I refuse to be, it's like blaming a severely handicapped kid.
Did you know we found out to stop including lead in gas in 1976 because school kids were getting dumber and less empathetic?
We knew from the time Thomas Midgley put lead in gas it was toxic, but it was cheaper. He also introduced CFCs to the environment. Sherman Williams reported in 1904 that lead paint was bad, but it took until the 1970s for bans to start, but plenty of places still have no ban.
The only solace in his detriment to humanity is that he died a terrible death. He got polio made a contraption to help him move around and got tangled and died of strangulation
Because it serves are purpose. People don’t just fill their race cars up with leaded fuel for the pleasure of paying a LOT more.
We're aware that it does make a difference. In something completely unnecessary. You can enjoy life without polluting lead.
Probably should talk to the multiple other “sports” that allow it in FAR larger and more harmful ways.
Whataboutism
Motorsports are by far the most polluting form of sport per capita. Hardly anyone can partake in them and those that do inflect massive amounts of environmental damage. It's ok to like something, but we should still be mindful of the negatives a hobby can cause so we can at least minimize the damage. Like golf is fine, but we don't need to use so many pesticides and build golf courses in deserts.
lol you got a source on that claim, or is it a “I pulled it out my ass stat” because I find it pretty hard to believe.
The MASSIVE water consumption, in addition to pesticides, and the plastics used in golf balls (going with your example here) that are left in the wild, in addition to the significantly higher rate of people who play golf, are likely far worse for the environment than a handful of cars having some fun. I’m not saying racing isn’t bad for the environment. What I am saying is there are things that are FAR more common, and worse.
Clair Patterson lives!
What happens if you get 20% lead in your body? How are you supposed to remove any of it from your body?
I love how you all singled out a small subset of a pretty niche sport to be uptight about. No mention of avgas, which is used far more widely, and covers far more people. According to FAA nearly 250k planes still use it. They fly all over. They flyover your house, mine, everyone.
Or lead in ammunition, which is studied and proven to kill animals, and their young. The CA condor is a good example of it. They are still dying from lead poisoning, and lead ammo has been outlawed in CA. It only took until 2019 to outlaw it here, but I believe we are the only state. The recent fires here, that killed multiple condors proved that. At least one (probably more but I heard about this one) had lead in its system and when they went to try to find their young, they also had lead poisoning.
Oh and it’ll probably shock you to know, even in CA, you can go buy fuels (C16 and Q16 are the most common we see) and use them in street cars. Go to any classic American car show, and you can smell it. But yes, please single out a small subset of race cars as being the issue.
They are all an issue. Just because someone mentions one thing it does not mean the other things aren’t an issue also. If I tell you leaded race car fuel is an issue and should be banned, I am not telling you all other uses of exhausted lead are fine, or even “lees bad”. The post did but appear to be in any way constructed as an comparative analysis of lead use in order to author regulation from.
My point is that it’s likely the absolute smallest subset of use. There’s also a functional reason it’s used in race cars. Same is true of avgas.
There isn’t one for it being used in ammunition, for instance, which is simply a preference
What is the functional reason?
And is it anything I would remotely care about?
Probably not, since everyone seems to have their minds made up, but it’s an antiknock agent. It can increase power output, but it also increases efficiency.
Wait, the California condor is having a population crisis due to lead poisoning? Why won't they stop lead use immediately?
I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic but yeah, they have been dying of lead possessing since like forever. In the 90s, when the condor was something like 20 animals alive on the planet, organizations like the San Diego Zoo, started to push for the outlaw of lead ammo. It took until 2019 (apparently) to finally outlaw it here completely, yet the animals are still dying from it.
Lead poisoning from ingestion of lead ammunition is the most significant threat to condor survival, but other factors - including ingestion of microtrash and electrocution - also present challenges to condors as a species.per the national park service
Of the 213 condor deaths in the wild between 1992 and 2020, half (107) were due to lead poisoning, according to USFWS. according to us fish and wildlife
To answer your question why, people just don’t give a shit. Apparently lead is preferred because it’s softer than steel, and deforms in an appealing way for “hunters” and “gun enthusiasts”.