Road Salt In Canada

This source features a report by Jill U. Adams on the dangers, and current regulations of air pollution and climate change. Holding a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Emory University, the author primarily writes a health column for the Washington Post. She has also been featured in the magazines Audubon, Scientific American and Science. Because this article covers climate change, there is an inherent liberal bias. However, this bias coincides with irrefutable scientific data proving the existence of climate change. The audience for this article is anyone effected by air pollution and climate change; just about everyone. This source upholds my speculation that human beings have a significant effect on the climate. Before reading this article, I wasn’t aware that 55 million people a year died from air pollution. I found this source on CQ Researcher while searching for ‘pollution.’

If you live in a place that gets cold in the winter, you've probably seen trucks out spreading a mixture of sand and salt on the streets after a snowfall to help de-ice the road. Have you ever wondered how this works? This basic

Air pollution is a major threat to the atmosphere, causing damages to the environment by emitting harmful substance to human health. Alberta has become a vulnerable society that has resulted in an increase rate of illness caused by poor air quality from asthma to lung cancer. Although Alberta is one of Canada’s largest growing industries, Alberta produces the most greenhouse gas emissions, which has made Alberta to position as the worst air quality management in the Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) (Esrd.alberta.ca).

In Pennsylvania there is a lot of cold weather and snow. When it is cold outside the pavement in the streets or on paths through friendly neighbor hoods crack. These cracks do not make the pavement un-ridable or drivable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make it very unsafe for someone without expertise in riding in these conditions. The roads and and pathways need to be redone or refilled in many communities to offer a safer and more efficient way of exercising or even safer driving roads.

Alberta has the second biggest recoverable oil patch in the world after Saudi Arabia, which hides underneath Canada’s boreal forest. Indeed, the Albertan oil patch consists of tar sands, also referred as oil sand, a combination of clay, sand, water and bitumen – a thick and sticky form of crude oil. Tar sands are mined and transported to extraction installations, where the oil-rich bitumen is extracted from the mixture. Alberta holds at least 175 billion barrels of crude bitumen throughout its vast territory, thus the industry disturbs a 149 000 square kilometers area – about the size of England –, where the land was removed due to the mining required to access the oil sands. The bitumen is separated from the mixture by using large amounts of fresh water – about four barrels of water to produce one barrel of oil – and is heated by natural gas, thus requiring larger quantities of energy and water than conventional extraction. Indeed, the industry itself results in the emission of more carbon dioxide in a year than all Canadian cars combined, thus accelerating climate change at an alarming rate. The Albertan industry exploits the water from the Athabasca River, which is fed by the Canadian Rocky Mountains’ glacier, which shrinks at a frightening rate and is further endangered by the carbon emission of the industry. Therefore, the extraction of oil sands in Alberta results in a cycle of consumption that truly endangers the environment. The clay and minerals from the oil

Alberta is a province that is rich and abundant in natural resources such as oil sands. What are oil sands? Oil reserves play a very important role in the Canadian economy. Oil sands from areas such as Alberta have been described as “Canadians greatest buried energy treasure” by popular magazines such as Time magazine. Oil sands are a naturally existing mixture of sand, clay and other materials such as water and bitumen. Some materials in oil sands including bitumen are highly viscous that they need to be treated and refined before they can be used by industrial sites in order to produce fuels such as gasoline. Oil sands can be refined to make oil. There are approximately 170.4 billion barrels of oil that can be used in the Northern part of Alberta. Approximately 80% of the oil sands can be recovered through the In-situ production. 20% of the 80% is oil that can be recovered and purified by mining. Bitumen, a highly viscous material in oil sands is found by mining 90% of the time. While oil sands have a positive effect on us, it has a very negative effect on the environment. Oil sands have a very negative effect on aquatic ecosystems all around the world. Oil sands use up a lot of the water and energy. At present, two to five barrels of natural and recycled water are needed for every barrel of oil produced for mining. Oil sand project affect the natural aquatic ecosystems. Some of the negative effects oil sands have on aquatic ecosystems are that sometimes oil sands

Ontario has its own creative and effective strategies to combat climate change. One of Ontario’s goal is a low-carbon future. To accomplish this the province started making carbon reductions in 1990 and are on track to reduce carbon emissions by 15% in 2020, 37 per cent in 2030 and 80 per cent in 2050 (Climate Change Action Plan, 2017). Ontario’s target of reducing emissions by 6% was met on schedule in 2014 (Climate Change Action Plan, 2017). One of the reasons this has been made possible is because of Ontario’s investment in carbon reduction. For example, in 2015 Ontario committed $325-million payment to Ontario’s Green Investment Fund to support programs that help households and businesses implement

Every winter, 22 millions tons of road salt, approximately 137 pounds per person, are used by U.S. officials to melt the ice on the roads during cold weather. By depressing the freezing point of the water, salt melts the ice left on roads during snowstorms, making roads safer to drive. Applying salt to roads has now become a standard for fighting snow, due to its low-cost and effectiveness.

”The only thing we can really do to keep the rusting process a minimum is to wash and wax your vehicle as much as you can. Sealing your undercarriage helps, too. It’s often the parts of your car you don’t see that snow salt can damage the

This publication from the Government of Alberta’s Department of Energy tries to focus on an all-around view of the oil sands. It talks about what they are, how they work, and environmental problems and solutions. The publication is not nearly as current as some other sources, it was published late 2008. It is free from bias but tries to stay overly optimistic, something is a “challenge” not an environmental concern. Since it is a government source it is mostly objective but does try to keep the oil sands in a positive view, possibly to benefit our economy. The publication is factual, accurate, and has a limited bias

Is the pollution of our environment we live in more important than use of road salt? Road salt chemically turns ice back into liquid, by lowering the freezing temperature, n which them the tires reach the road for traction. With its safety benefits do come along with many drawbacks.

It took me awhile to decide what I would choose as my topic for this essay. I thought it would be easy to choose and start writing but I was wrong. I ended up choosing asphalt because it is a material that is used by mankind a lot. It is a part of every body’s daily life. It is what our car drives on when we go to work or school or when we run errands. It could be a part of our roofs that we live under. It is used in multiple ways.

The best and most widely researched alternative to rock salt is a product called calcium magnesium acetate. This product is different from rock salt because it “chemically breaks down snow and ice as it moves downward from the surface” (Washburn). Where rock salt is differs because it is used to break the bond between the road and the snow. Once this bond is broke it turns the snow into a type of brine which is move to the sides of the roads by snow plows and your car’s tires. (Commonwealth) With salt being moved by your cars tiers there is splash back onto the bottom surface of your vehicle, and onto anything nearby. This causes salt to be plastered all over the bottom of your car, and also pushes the excess to the sides of the road.

Although we all know ice can create hazardous conditions on your property, we also don't want to create more serious problems by applying the wrong ice melting product. Unfortunately, the use of salt on concrete surfaces has been a major concern for property owners. So how does salt damage concrete surfaces, and what are some of the best alternatives to protecting your pavement?

Health risks people take and the compromises government make. The incline of air pollution is endangering Canadians, updates are needed, the time to act sooner rather than later. Prevent the “Silent killer” before the silence becomes- to change the way Canadians think, before it’s to late, the opinions of the people