Tuesday, January 16, 2007

A (Late) White Christmas

Well, it’s snowing here again, a lot, and of course the town has their big salt shakers set to “über rust” out patrolling the streets.

While this is normal, I noticed something strange about them. They were NOT plowing the roads, instead they are just dumping a ton of salt on the roads and turning them into a dangerous, slushy, slippery mess.

*Siiiiggggghhhhhh*

Now ME, I would rather drive through 2 FEET of snow before I drove through 1 INCH of slush.

When you’re driving through snow, it may be slightly perilous, however as one with over 150,000 miles on my duff after a meager 7 (nearly 8) years on the road. I’ve learned more than a few things. When you’re driving through snow it is predictable, it’s consistent, and it’s not all that slippery.

Slush, however, is an entirely different story. It’s highly unpredictable in nature, it can not is slippery, but can induce hydroplaning many, many times more easily than water and it can “pull” your vehicle as you hit thicker and thinner patches of it.

I think the worst part of winter though is the salt on the roads, it’s hard on vehicles, it’s hard on cloths and shoes, it destroys concrete, it damages trees and plants and so on and so forth…

If they could find an alternative to NaCl I’d really have nothing to complain about in regards to winter… Oh wait… they HAVE! What’s that? It also causes far less property and environmental damage?!!?!?! OMFG!

Yet they STILL refuse to use it, because it’s slightly more expensive.

Way to go people, humans putting money ahead of the planet has been steadily destroying it for years, why stop now? We still got TONS of planet to trash right? After all the cancer and birth defect rates skyrocketing MUST be a coincidence and could not possibly be linked to the toxins and chemicals we keep dumping into the air, water and land.

It will be a proud day when we as a society care more for the environment and the future than our pocket books.

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