Care for Creation
January 21, 2024
Be Winter Salt-Wise
Long range winter weather forecasts predict everything from many snow storms this year, to warmer than usual temperatures. I guess we’ll know when it happens!
Wanting to be prepared for whatever occurs, I looked for local advice on ice and snow. The Northern Virginia Regional Commission talks about safety and winter weather at www.wintersaltsmart.com ; here you can find a flyer describing the proper use of salt to treat slippery surfaces.
We are reminded that even though using salt can make it safer to walk and drive when there is ice and snow on the ground, there is no easy way to remove salt once it has been added to the environment. And “it only takes one teaspoon of salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water.” That surprised me!
Once it has entered the environment, salt can:
Tips for safer outcomes at home include:
Considering how we respond to weather for safety and convenience reminds me that our every action has an impact on our environment and the plants and creatures who dwell here. Laudato Si’ teaches that we should always be aware of how we impact our interconnected brothers and sisters, human and otherwise.
“These ancient stories (in the Bible), full of symbolism, bear witness to a conviction which we today share, that everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others. “ (LS 70)
January 21, 2024
Be Winter Salt-Wise
Long range winter weather forecasts predict everything from many snow storms this year, to warmer than usual temperatures. I guess we’ll know when it happens!
Wanting to be prepared for whatever occurs, I looked for local advice on ice and snow. The Northern Virginia Regional Commission talks about safety and winter weather at www.wintersaltsmart.com ; here you can find a flyer describing the proper use of salt to treat slippery surfaces.
We are reminded that even though using salt can make it safer to walk and drive when there is ice and snow on the ground, there is no easy way to remove salt once it has been added to the environment. And “it only takes one teaspoon of salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water.” That surprised me!
Once it has entered the environment, salt can:
- Raise sodium levels in our drinking water and increase treatment costs.
- Harm fish, insects and other wildlife; amphibians are particularly endangered.
- Damage plants and grasses in landscapes and roadsides.
- Create road hazards when wildlife attracted to salt come lick the roads.
- Corrode vehicles, roads, bridges, and parking lots.
Tips for safer outcomes at home include:
- Shovel as it falls – to both protect your back and keep the precipitation from building up into a thick ice layer.
- Scatter don’t clump – a 12 oz. mug of rock salt will cover a 20 ft. drive or 10 sidewalk squares; for calcium chloride, use 1/3 of that amount.
- Be patient, give it time to work and watch the temp, if it’s too cold adding more won’t help.
Considering how we respond to weather for safety and convenience reminds me that our every action has an impact on our environment and the plants and creatures who dwell here. Laudato Si’ teaches that we should always be aware of how we impact our interconnected brothers and sisters, human and otherwise.
“These ancient stories (in the Bible), full of symbolism, bear witness to a conviction which we today share, that everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others. “ (LS 70)