tea vs. coffee...sand vs. salt

As many of us prepare for - or are already knee-deep - in the first major snowstorm of the season, we rely on snowplows and salt trucks to keep our streets safe. But the debate over the best way to keep roads clear without damaging the environment rages on, just like the Arctic winds.

Since even Vancouverites will need some help this winter, Business Week has a good report on the pros and cons of salt and sand. In essence, this answer is this: neither one is a perfect solution.

Sand requires repeated application and extensive cleanup. Salt can hurt the environment by ending up in streams and rivers, killing fish and plants.

Salt is twice as expensive as sand, but sand needs to be plowed up immediately after a storm and can plug storm drains. Sand also creates particulates and dust, which can cause air-quality problems.

But salt is corrosive and damages trees and cars (not to mention my faux-leather boots), and can pollute groundwater.

The article notes that here in Canada, there was a huge public outcry in 2001 over how salt was affecting the environment, particularly the water supply. Our environment agency even considered listing road salt as a toxic substance.

Toronto devised a way to reduce the use of salt by pre-wetting it before applying it to roads, a process that melts ice and snow much faster, and the results have been dramatic: the city decreased its annual salt usage by almost 37,000 tons.

Like everything we do, there are ways to improve, and science to help us along. In the meantime, you can personally take steps to reduce salt AND sand use at home, and use alternatives like EcoTraction to melt snow and ice.

ontario liberals told to curb use of road salt

It saves lives on slick winter roads, but kills plants, trees and aquatic animals. Road salt (sodium chloride) is a primary ice-fighting tool for most Canadian municipalities - despite a growing realization the chemical compound has nasty eco-consequences.

Last week, Environmental commissioner Gord Miller told the governing Liberals to curb the use of road salt by forcing municipalities to take advantage of modern technology.

He noted that widespread use of road salt used to be justified because people argued saving lives was more important than saving the environment. Now, modern technology means the municipalities don’t need to make that choice, Miller said, noting that the Ministry of Transportation uses on-board computers to monitor road temperatures and distribute salt more efficiently on 20 per cent of Ontario roads.

Miller also complained that development is trumping environmental concerns in the Golden Horseshoe region, where the population is exploding and “car-centric” culture continues to thrive.

Dan McDermott, with the Sierra Club of Canada, said the Liberals should follow Miller’s recommendation to halt the construction of new highways in southern Ontario. Adding and expanding highways will just mean more urban sprawl and more asphalt to salt, he said. “Fewer roads would mean less road salt,” McDermott said. “More transit would mean less road salt.”

You can’t argue with that. Read the story at the Toronto Star>>