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| writing:road_salt [2025/11/24 18:03] – JacobCoffinWrites | writing:road_salt [2025/11/24 18:11] (current) – JacobCoffinWrites |
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| * **Brewery/Distillery Byproducts** Producing whiskey, wine, beer, bourbon, vodka, rum, and other alcoholic beverages results in an organic waste product — distiller’s “mash,” and spent brewer’s grains — which possess chemical properties (probably alcohol, though [[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666517424000105brewery effluent contains a high proportion of sodium]]) that makes ice melt at lower temperatures. It looks like these have been tested and [[https://cottagelife.com/outdoors/looking-for-an-alternative-to-road-salt-try-one-of-these-de-icers-instead/|can be used to help road salt adhere to roads and melt more efficiently at lower temperatures]]. | * **Brewery/Distillery Byproducts** Producing whiskey, wine, beer, bourbon, vodka, rum, and other alcoholic beverages results in an organic waste product — distiller’s “mash,” and spent brewer’s grains — which possess chemical properties (probably alcohol, though [[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666517424000105brewery effluent contains a high proportion of sodium]]) that makes ice melt at lower temperatures. It looks like these have been tested and [[https://cottagelife.com/outdoors/looking-for-an-alternative-to-road-salt-try-one-of-these-de-icers-instead/|can be used to help road salt adhere to roads and melt more efficiently at lower temperatures]]. |
| * **Pickle juice** - this appears to still be a salt brine, just sourced as a byproduct to lower the cost. | * **Pickle juice** - this appears to still be a salt brine, just sourced as a byproduct to lower the cost. |
| * **[[https://mntransportationresearch.org/2020/09/08/permeable-pavements-reduce-slippery-conditions-during-winter-thaw/|Permeable Paved Surfaces]]** - Another solution is to change the infrastructure rather than the deicing practices. These pavements are usually constructed with asphalt or pavers and feature a porous structure that drains water into systems below the roadway rather than allowing it to pool on road surfaces where it freezes and requires an application of road salt. This can work, but the permeable pavements are typically more expensive than conventional asphalt, require care by contractors during construction, and require maintenance to keep pores from clogging with decaying leaves and other organic material. These pavements also don’t offer the strength of impermeable pavements and are better-suited for residential streets, parking lots and other applications not used by commercial trucks and equipment. It also looks like they might be best on level ground or shallow grades, and a poor choice for hills. The upside is that they're not just useful in wintertime, reducing the amount of impermeable surfaces is an important part of improving our cities through sponge city tactics, reducing both floods and water waste while refilling important aquifers. | * **[[https://mntransportationresearch.org/2020/09/08/permeable-pavements-reduce-slippery-conditions-during-winter-thaw/|Permeable Paved Surfaces]]** - Another solution is to change the infrastructure rather than the deicing practices. These pavements are usually constructed with asphalt or pavers and feature a porous structure that drains water into systems below the roadway rather than allowing it to pool on road surfaces where it freezes and requires an application of road salt. This can work, but the permeable pavements are typically more expensive than conventional asphalt, require care by contractors during construction, and require maintenance to keep pores from clogging with decaying leaves and other organic material. These pavements also don’t offer the strength of impermeable pavements and are better-suited for residential streets, parking lots and other applications not used by commercial trucks and equipment. It also looks like they might be best on level ground or shallow grades, and a poor choice for hills. The upside is that they're not just useful in wintertime, reducing the amount of impermeable surfaces is an important part of improving our cities through [[https://www.wired.com/story/los-angeles-just-proved-how-spongy-a-city-can-be/sponge city]] tactics, reducing both floods and water waste while refilling important aquifers. |
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| Things individuals can do to help: | Things individuals can do to help: |
| But this requires an entire cultural shift. In the present, many people are dependent on cars (and thus the road network) for everything from buying supplies to seeking emergency medical attention. When you need to get to the hospital, or when your job won't accept a raging blizzard as an excuse for being late, you need the roads to be clear because you have no choice but to drive on them. This constant rush means the natural world has to conform to our schedules - sidewalks can't be slippery for a day or even a few hours because people have to use them //right now//. Roads have to be clear at all times because there's no alternative, and opting out for safety isn't an option for far too many people. | But this requires an entire cultural shift. In the present, many people are dependent on cars (and thus the road network) for everything from buying supplies to seeking emergency medical attention. When you need to get to the hospital, or when your job won't accept a raging blizzard as an excuse for being late, you need the roads to be clear because you have no choice but to drive on them. This constant rush means the natural world has to conform to our schedules - sidewalks can't be slippery for a day or even a few hours because people have to use them //right now//. Roads have to be clear at all times because there's no alternative, and opting out for safety isn't an option for far too many people. |
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| This might be different in a solarpunk setting where the pace of life is hopefully gentler. An emphasis on trains and other public transit options (such as [[airships|airships]], [[ropeways|ropeways]], and trams) would mean that many people would have options besides driving. And an acceptance that weather exists and can derail our plans and schedules would mean that many of those who still rely on cars could safely wait for it to pass without losing their livelihoods. Fewer cars on the road mean fewer accidents and less risk for those who have to drive in bad conditions. In fact, the expectation that roads will take a few days to fully clear would likely inform peoples' decisions on where to live and how to prepare themselves. In the recent past, rural areas often expected to be isolated during winter storms, and [[http://www.modeltfordsnowmobile.com/index.htm|people often adapted their personal vehicles to meet the conditions]]. | This might be different in a solarpunk setting where the pace of life is hopefully gentler. An emphasis on trains and other public transit options (such as [[airships|airships]], [[ropeways|ropeways]], and trams) would mean that many people would have options besides driving. And an acceptance that weather exists and can derail our plans and schedules would mean that many of those who still rely on cars could safely wait for it to pass without losing their livelihoods. Fewer cars on the road mean fewer accidents and less risk for those who have to drive in bad conditions. Society could safely reconsider the number of autoroads and bike paths which need to be maintained to bare-pavement conditions, especially during winter storms. In fact, the expectation that roads will take a few days to fully clear would likely inform peoples' decisions on where to live and how to prepare themselves. In the recent past, rural areas often expected to be isolated during winter storms, and [[http://www.modeltfordsnowmobile.com/index.htm|people often adapted their personal vehicles to meet the conditions]]. |
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| This might even extend to accepting that not all roads even have to be plowed, and might be seasonal, open for regular use during summer and fall, and restricted to suitable vehicles (such as snowmobiles, including a variety of ski-and-tracked truck-format vehicles), skiers, snowshoe-rs, etc during the winter. | This might even extend to accepting that not all roads even have to be plowed at all, and might be seasonal, open for regular use during summer and fall, and restricted to suitable vehicles (such as snowmobiles, including a variety of ski-and-tracked truck-format vehicles), skiers, snowshoe-rs, etc during the winter. |
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| Even in solarpunk cities, where driving would hopefully be less of a common concern, people would need to accept that they can be safe in the winter without salt crunching underfoot and that's not easy. This is a fairly recent expectation, and it's driven by a mix of things including legal liability (a bag of salt is a lot cheaper than a personal injury lawsuit) and the present day need to hustle, even in bad weather, that demands that people go out during an ice storm and woe betide anyone who hasn't salted their sidewalk enough. Education is a big piece here, informing people on how salt works on ice, that a heap of dry salt isn't changing anything but the local wetlands, and the consequences of overusing road salt. | Even in solarpunk cities, where driving would hopefully be less of a common concern, people would need to accept that they can be safe in the winter without salt crunching underfoot and that's not easy. This is a fairly recent expectation, and it's driven by a mix of things including legal liability (a bag of salt is a lot cheaper than a personal injury lawsuit) and the present day need to hustle, even in bad weather, that demands that people go out during an ice storm and woe betide anyone who hasn't salted their sidewalk enough. Education is a big piece here, informing people on how salt works on ice, that a heap of dry salt isn't changing anything but the local wetlands, and the consequences of overusing road salt. |
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| consider the number of autoroads and bike paths which need to be maintained to bare-pavement conditions, especially during winter storms. | |
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