Every few years, the tires on your car wear thin and need to be replaced. But where does that lost tire material go?

The answer, unfortunately, is often waterways, where the tiny microplastic particles from the tires’ synthetic rubber carry several chemicals that can transfer into fish, crabs and perhaps even the people who eat them.

There is much going on in the world, events severe enough that they deserve respect and attention. The topographically distant, but via the internet, the ever-present war in Ukraine is the loudest of the events, and its end will spell out what the next era for Europe will look like. Tensions are rising once more in the caucuses. The country of Georgia (which borders Russia) is hosting military drills with Ukrainians and some members of NATO.