Thursday, December 08, 2005

There seem to be a few topics grasping for my attention today. The most pressing issue, that seems to bother me the most, is the excessive rock salt use in Waterloo. I understand that this issue won’t necessarily change the world, or make much of a difference, but I think I’ll bitch about it anyway.
This morning I harnessed Jetta up and headed out to my appointment. I ended up being very late because of the multiple stops that Jetta and I had to make in order to wipe the salt from the pads of her paws. I do not comprehend the reasons for over using the toxic, carcinogenic crap to coat dry sidewalks. It hasn’t snowed in Waterloo as of late and there hasn’t been any ice either. Why a thick layer was dumped along the sidewalk near the university is beyond me.
Don’t people know how horrible this stuff is? In northern Ontario, rock salt never is used unless it is icy and, sand, which is used to create traction, cannot do the job. In southern Ontario, people use salt for everything. It snows, and instead of actually shovelling, people take the easy way out. The only problem is that, the salt melts the snow, the snow turns into water, it gets colder out and the watery snow turns into ice. Thus, you have a vicious cycle.
Besides the stupidity and laziness of the situation, the rock salt is extremely damaging. It rusts cars, discolours clothes, winter boots and every it touches, and it soaks into the earth and poisons animals and plants. Not to mention it burns every dog’s, guide dog or not, paws. Yes I know sand can create problems too because in the spring it will clog the sewer covers, but those issues are easier to deal with than pollution and sick people and animals.
Certainly, there is no easy answer to this dilemma, but bloody Hell people, just shovel and that would make a little difference.

5 comments:

L^2 said...

Hey Jess,
Sorry to hear about the salt problem. For us the salt is not as bad here as it was in Hastings, and it doesn't sound nearly as bad as where you are. Of course, you probably get a lot more snow up there.
Does Jetta still wear the "shoes" to help avoid getting salt on her feet? I think you sent me a picture of Jetta in her new shoes a couple of years ago, but I don't know where I saved it now.

- Laura, Willow & Stella

Freda said...

Hey Jetta,

Ruff! Ruff! This is Freda. Hi. Belated birthday barks!

That rock salt problem is a real pain. I use to live in Colorado before we moved to California. I miss playin' in the snow.

Dad, too, had to wash my feet after we walked on the public streets. The state of Colorado went from spreading rock salt on their roads to sprayin' MAG, magnesium chloride, on the roads. The two following links (Hope they work) will tell your human a little about the good and bad of MAG.

http://www.peterschemical.com/Magnesium%20Chloride.htm

http://www.usda.gov/rus/electric/engineering/2001/magnesium_chloride.htm

The Colorado town in which I lived has a law requiring all property owners to shovel their walks within 48 hours of the end of a snowfall or be fined. Sometimes that works and sometimes not.

Like you said, shoveling is the best and simplest solution. Too bad there are soooo many lazy and inconsiderate humans.

Lookin' forward to readin' more in the future.

Woof!

Freda

P.S.
You may consider lookin' into Blogger's 'Word Verification' add on to keep spammers out of your comments area.

Just Jess for now said...

Thanks Freda. I had never heard of the Mag stuff before. Those links will be helpful. I would turn the the "word varification" thingy on, but it is not compatible with my computer software. Hopefully, people don't find it necessary to spam me. :)

JuliaR said...

I have followed Laura’s lead to your new blog and wish you well on it. Rockwell has already been getting sore feet from the salt around here too. They over-use it mostly on public sidewalks and at the bus stops, especially at transit hubs. I think they do it to prevent people from slipping and falling, not because they worry about people hurting themselves but because they don’t want to be sued if they do! They figure if they carpet the sidewalk in salt, no one will fall and they won’t get sued. I agree that sand would be better and far less toxic. However I think the only way to make them change will be to develop a critical mass of people willing to say they want sand instead of salt. Plus someone will have to do a study (or find one already done) that proves sand is better than salt. Maybe we could find a champion for this cause, a city newspaper reporter perhaps. I’ll think on it.

Just Jess for now said...

Hmm newspaper reporters...good idea and I am sure some university has done an environmental analysis of rock salt...the issue is just finding it