It is that time of the year when we start to change our wardrobe, and clean our houses in anticipation for spring. We take pictures of the cherry blossoms blooming, and post those on Instagram and Facebook as part of our daily routine as teenagers and young adults. Goodbye, winter (at least in Vancouver)!
Looking back this past winter, we experienced a number of snowfalls that made us play outside for five minutes, and then return to our warm, cozy beds. On the other hand, traffic slowed down as the road became more slippery from the accumulated ice. Our solution, salt!
Salt has been traditionally used to melt snow, as salt water freezes at a lower temperature. In the US, approximately 22 million tons are scattered on the roads annually. It is perhaps the easiest way to deal with snow.
What we do not know is what happens to the salt water once the ice melts. It goes down the drain, then travels to streams, lakes, and rivers. And then what?
As much as how salt helps us go through the harsh cold winter, we cannot ignore the consequences it brings to our environment. Salt residue prevents plants from absorbing moisture and nutrients. High concentrations of salt, particularly chloride, in wetlands can affect the freshwater aquatic animals in many ways. This is just to name a few.
Fortunately, there have been no major events that involve any danger to freshwater animals in Canada. The government is doing its best to be efficient in salting the roads. Nevertheless, it can be a potential concern in the future once weather conditions worsen, or we lose track of how much salt we use. Before we reach that point, it is best to look for alternatives that have zero impact in the environment.
As of now, salt is the only solution to melt road ice in the fastest possible way. However, there have been some efforts to reduce the use of salt by mixing it with other substances, such as beet juice, sugarcane molasses and brine (salt diluted in water). These do not eliminate the need for conventional salt, but they play a role in cutting down just how much we dump on the roads.
Do you have a unique method of melting road ice? Let me know!
I do have a unique method of melting road ice! But I’m pretty certain that it is not a sustainable alternative, unless it uses renewable energy… Back in High School in Toronto a few of my friends and I would go to an upscale neighbourhood where individuals had extra money to spare and shovel people’s driveways for good money. However a few of the residents had heated driveways! There was never any visible snow or ice, I couldn’t believe it and even back then it seemed excessive.
It is clear that salt is a unsustainable way to melt ice and there is a need for a more sustainable alternative. However, there is different ways to look at finding a solution to icy roads… Perhaps there is a ways to design roads or car tyres that would be other possible solutions.
Salt certainly an interesting problem. On one hand we are highly dependent on it weather the effects of winter at the cost of damaging the environment and eroding our vehicles. There is different a huge opportunity in this segment for innovations that can replace salt outright. The alternative solutions you listed actually work better than salt because they can lower the freezing below what salt can achieve. The only problem is it leaves a sweet taste. Why is this a problem? Well animals, as it turns out, aren’t much different from human in having a sweet tooth. This leading to animals lining the roads, licking the pavement, while cars are screaming past them. For the time being it would seem salt will be the go to solution for the foreseeable. Certainly another reason for flying cars.