Tired of standing there first thing in the morning, wearing your bunny slippers and running through your busy day in your mind, all while munching on cereal and staring at the clock?  Put down the bowl and mix it up a little.  It takes a little preparation but the reward is an actual savings in time all the while getting a healthy and fun start to your day.  That’s right, make a breakfast smoothie!

There is some prep work but even that  can be fun.  Now that local farmer’s markets are open for business one can pick up fresh produce, mix and mingle with other locals, and pick up some just harvested ingredients for your favorite smoothies.  Good cereal is healthy, but every now and again a smoothie can put a positive twist on the day and offer a compliment of fiber, vitamins, anti-oxidants, and a serving of daily nutrients.  Try these healthy recipes for a different start to your day (you will need a blender as hand mixing is too time consuming and rather impractical):

Banana Strawberry (a bit plain but a good safe place to start  for you newbies)

1-1/2 cups 1% milk

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 banana (frozen or not)

1 – 1/2 cup ice

Combine and blend until smooth (about 20 seconds) and enjoy!

Blueberry Yogurt

1-1/2 cups 1% milk

1 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla)

1 tablespoon sugar (or honey)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 cups ice

Combine and blend well.  Pour into big 32 once cup with a lid and straw. This is perfect for that ride into work.

Clementine Pineapple (provides enough for four servings)

12 peeled Clementine oranges

2 bananas (sliced)

2 cups of plain yogurt or milk

10 1” square pineapple chunks

2 cups of ice

Blend well and garnish with a peeled and quartered Clementine on the rim of the pint glass.  This recipe is more of a weekend smoothie as it involves a bit more presentation.  And you can keep the bunny slippers on.

Breakfast Fiber Smoothie

1/2 cup granola

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup cranberry juice

1 banana

4 large strawberries

Dash of cinnamon (to taste)

Teaspoon of protein powder

Dash of vanilla extract (to taste)

2 cups of ice

Grind it all up well (at least 30 seconds), pour in a 32 ouncer, pop in a straw, and go to work!  Yea!

Pineapple Strawberry Surprise

3 cups frozen strawberries

2 cups canned pineapple (plus the juice!)

1 cup of fresh orange juice

1 cup of lowfat yogurt

Ice to your liking

Dash of lime juice

Blend until smooth.  This one will get your face all twisted up with a sweet tartness but it’s one of my favorites.  It definitely will wake you up!

Monday Mango Madness

2 cups sliced and diced mango

1 cup pineapple juice

1 teaspoon lime juice

1 cup frozen orange sherbert

1 banana

2 cups ice

Blend well and suck down all the nutrients and fiber a Monday deserves.

And to round it all out, try a Peanut Butter Power smoothie.  Talk about getting some protein!

1/2 cup soy milk

2 frozen bananas

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup cubed tofu

Chocolate syrup (to taste…start slow, maybe 2 teaspoons)

2 cups of ice

Blend it all up and pop in a breath mint when you’re done.  So, if you have any favorite recipies of your own, please share.

Eating right, taking care of your body by exercising and eating right not only increases the quality of  your life, but it has the potential to do the same for your pets.  One easy thing to do to increase the quality of life for your pet is to feed it pet food, not people food. However, it’s a fact of life. You drop any food on the floor while you are preparing a meal, or turn your head for just a minute while eating dinner, and you run the risk of Fido greedily licking up those cookie crumbs or snatching that slice of pizza off your plate.  When I was a kid I once accidentally dropped a whole plate of spaghetti on the kitchen floor and BAM!! out of no where Josh-O the dog swooped down on the steaming hot mess of noodle and sauce and didn’t even chew.  The food just disappeared.  And he was truly sick for days.  You don’t need the details.

Pet food is for pets.  People food is for people.  But, it sometimes happens that your pet takes advantage.  However, while tasty, not all people food is necessarily good for pets.  In fact, some people food that is good for humans can be toxic to pets.  Here’s a list, according to the ASPCA , of food that should not be given to pets and the  reasons why.

Bones can be problematic for dogs since the bones can splinter and/or be a choking hazard.  I had always been told chicken bones were a definite “NO” due to the fact they splinter so easily.  But having to personally pull a steak bone out my choking dog’s throat convinced me that the “bone” shaped processed dog biscuits one can buy at the pet store is probably the way to go.  They are also good for cleaning Fido’s teeth and for sweetening up his breath a little.

Chocolate is another people food that can be toxic to dogs. Methlxanthines, the substance that is in coffee and chocolate, is harmless for humans (within reason, folks). However, dogs can not process the chemical. Dogs can not break down the methlxanthines and this can cause vomiting, loose stool, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, seizures and even death.  The type of chocolate doesn’t make too much of a difference. However, the higher the cocoa content of dark chocolate, as opposed to white chocolate, the quicker the risk of these symptoms coming on.

Avocados and dogs don’t mix well due to a substance called Persin found in avocados. It can be toxic to dogs.  The Guatemalan avocado especially seems to carry the biggest risk and it just happens to be the most common variety.  As research continues a clearer understanding of just how avocados affect dogs and their lack of ability to process Persin will become clearer.

Dogs can also become quite sick from eating  fruits like grapes and apples.  Grapes can cause kidney failure in dogs regardless of the variety of the grape.  Even raisins, just because they are shriveled up grapes, can still affect a dog’s kidneys.  Apple seeds, leaves and stems carry a substance called cyanogenic glycosides which affect dogs just like chocolate because they can’t process the substance and it can build in their system to toxic levels.

Sugarless candies, gum and tooth paste all have a chemical called Xylitol which is also toxic to dogs.  So, keep that cap on your tooth paste, the gum in the drawer, and the candy in the candy jar.

Cheese can be a tasty treat for dog but most dog breeds have a hard time digesting cheese and this can lead to an inflammation of the pancreas.

For a more complete “doggie no-no” list of toxic foods, cleaning products, plants and trees, and even insects please visit this handy ASPCA web site.

Having a pet is a big responsibility.  They rely on you for just about everything.  Here’s one more thing you can do in case Fido gets into something he wants, but something he shouldn’t have.  Always have the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center phone number handy.  It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and can be reached by calling (888) 426-4435.  A fee may apply for a consultation.

It reminded me of watching my sixth grade students emotionally tattle on each other and wag pointed fingers defiantly in each others’ faces when confronted with who broke the coffee cup that sat on my desk.  At this week’s U.S. Senate hearings the guests of honor being questioned were the top executives from BP, Halliburton and Transocean.  What I heard and saw made my jaw drop.  All three were being questioned about the deadly and environmentally disastrous explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico and the subsequent massive oil leak.  Even President Obama called the hearing a “ridiculous spectacle,” because of what he saw and heard.

Since the April 20^th explosion and sinking of the oil platform over four million gallons of oil have spewed from the broken connector pipe over a mile down in the Gulf of Mexico.  That oil has started washing up on the shores of Louisiana and is creeping towards other gulf coast states.  Four million gallons.  How much is four million gallons?  I couldn’t fathom.  Click here to gauge what exactly that much oil looks like.  It’s frightening.  And they just pointed fingers at each other. 

There is no end in sight to the oil gushing into the gulf.  Another 210,000 gallons a day adds to the volume of oil polluting the waters.  So far the oil slick just on top of the waters is 3,650 square miles, according to Hans Graber, Director of the University of Miami’s Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing.  The heavier oil is slowly making its way to the top is even larger.  And they just pointed fingers at each other.

I appreciate how much effort has been put into play to bring to a close this ecological disaster.  It’s refreshing to see a whole-hearted effort on behalf of so many people to stop the flow and clean up after it.  It boggles the mind that so many people, industries, ecologies and livelihoods are affected.   And they just pointed fingers at each other.

The Big 3  just wanted to explain why it wasn’t their responsibility.  “It wasn’t my oil rig.  I just rented it.”  “They rented it so they are responsible, not us.”  “They installed the (now-famous) blow-out valve incorrectly.  “It’s not our fault they broke the blow-out valve.”

I agree with Mr. Obama.  It was a “ridiculous spectacle” I wonder how many of you feel the same way.  Where was the real concern?  Where was the sympathy?  What good does it do to point fingers?  What I wanted to hear was real remorse, a degree of responsibility taken, and what the short term and long term solutions to the problem are.  In other words, “We’re all really sorry.  We’re going to work together.  Huddle up!”

But, that’s not what we got.  We got pointed fingers.  For once when something goes wrong I would like to see immediate and lasting action or at least a working plan, and responsibility taken by those in charge.  But, prior to doing those two noble things, every effort has to be made, especially in situations like this where so much is at stake, to do the right thing, in the right way, and for the right reasons.

Happy Earth Day! One thing that is easily noticeable is that a growing percentage of people try to do their best to make Earth Day, everyday. From recycling plastic bags to ditching plastic (and expensive) water bottles and installing a water filter in our kitchen, to eating better and taking part in meatless Mondays – people are starting to think green.

So it is with joy that I share with you two hard working and natural cleaning supply brands: Mrs. Meyer’s and Method. I’ve been a fan of these two super effective and fantastic smelling brands since I first discovered the Lavender and Lemon Verbena All Purpose Cleaners from Mrs. Meyers and the Foaming Hand Soap from Method in my early college years. I own it all to the great and unique packaging both brands had that led me to purchase and bring in to a design class I was taking. From then on, I was hooked – almost addicted.

“Soap’s job is to clean. Not kill. So why do so many brag about their 99.99% death rate? If microbes can’t take it, what makes you think your hands can?” – Method.

When we’re washing our hands throughout the day, using a non-toxic, triosan-free soap is best. If not, we’re not only dirtying up our water, but we’re killing all the aquatic and plant life that it comes in contact with after it leaves our sinks. Mrs. Meyers and Method have been bringing us great smelling, non-toxic, paraben and triosan-free soaps for years! Mrs. Meyers’ soaps contain aloe vera gel, olive oil and a unique blend of natural essential oils to create a hard working, non-drying, yet softening cleanser for busy hands.

When we’re cleaning our kitchens and bathrooms, we use a lot of water with all our products… We should be sure they are not contaminating while we’re cleaning. If we can’t understand half of the ingredients on the label, and if it says “harmful if digested, keep out of reach of children,” then it’s probably not good for the water either… We should be using biodegradable, bleach-free products. All of Mrs. Meyers cleaning supplies are biodegradable and phosphate-free, made with natural essential oils, and never tested on animals. Method’s cleaning formulas are from renewable or abundant resources and contain biodegradable ingredients derived from natural materials like soy, coconut and palm oils and naturally derived surfactants that work by absorbing dirt rather than chemically degrading it.

If you have pets or little kids, you soon realize there isn’t a single surface in your home that doesn’t interact with what goes in your little one’s mouth. Tiny hands seem to go directly from counter tops and table surfaces into the mouth and anything found on the floor gets immediately licked. So being aware of what we clean with and use on all these surfaces is important.

As we grow into a more “green” conscience society, there are more and more product lines becoming available to us to assist us in detoxing our homes (and water!). One of the two fastest growing and leading brands out there today, are Method and Mrs Meyers. Not only are they selling environmentally safe products, but Method has started a movement called “people against dirty.” Method and Mrs Meyers have acquired a faithful following of product users like kids to the neighborhood ice cream truck! Other major brands have quickly tried to follow suit with providing environmentally safe products but have a while to go before they start nipping at these two brand’s heals. If you haven’t heard of Method and Mrs Meyers, or tried their products, check them out. Method published a book a few years ago called “Squeaky Green” that spills the beans on all the dirty little secrets hiding in your home. You can find Method and Mrs. Meyers at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Cost Plus World Market and other major retailers. You can also check them out online at methodhome.com and mrsmeyers.com

So, you are driving along and you see, off to the side of the road, one shoe lying in the gutter or in the middle of the bike lane.  One shoe.  Why is it always just one shoe?  Where’s the other one?How does a person lose one shoe, perhaps not notice it, and keep walking, rolling, jogging or biking?  At some point I do believe a person would realize that they are one shoe short.  How embarrassing.  Imagine being in a job interview, looking down to pull your resume out of your briefcase, and seeing one shoe too few.  What would be a primary concern to you, how the interview was progressing, or how you made it this far with only one shoe?

This question I have about there only being one shoe off to the side of the road is an example of a “Ponderable” question, something that can’t be readily answered and must be “pondered.”  In fact, a purest would defend the notion that a ponderable question is one that shouldn’t be answered.  As a college philosophy teacher once taught me, “The discovery is in the journey towards an answer.  It leads to enlightenment.”  I don’t know about that but on a practical note, it does stimulate thought.  Why is it only one shoe that I keep seeing?  While driving along try turning off the cell phone, give the iPod a rest, put down your fast food burger, and look for a Ponderable.

Try your search while you are mountain biking or skiing, walking or flying or anything that gives you a little down time.  Let the mind focus, of course, on safety, but also be open to the interesting things that you see or otherwise experience each day. And what adjective would you use to describe what you observe?  What kind of ponderable did you experience? Is it one you experienced, or just thought about?

Ponderables can come in many forms.  Try funny…“How did a fool and his money GET together in the first place?”  They can be oxymoronic, “Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?” A ponderable can be scientific, “How far does a bowling ball get before it stops skidding and is only rolling?”  They can be biblical, “Why didn’t Noah swat those two mosquitoes?” A ponderable can be philosophical, “Why do we believe astronomers when they tell us that there are 100 billion stars in the universe, but when someone tells you the paint is wet, you just have to see for yourself and touch the wall?” They can also be idiomatic, “How come one  person sees a glass as half full, another sees it as half empty, but no one ever sees a glass twice as tall as needed?” Ponderables can be of a military nature…“How can a civil war be civil?” Actually, that one is philosophical as well.

What about political? “If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?”  And they can be technologically dated, “Does the film in my camera weigh more after I take a picture?” (Another philosophical one, there.) And ponderables can be designed to teach different approaches or methodologies to drive the question towards a practical and/or logical answer, “How much energy, measured in watts, does one person have to expend to walk up three flights of stairs?”  That last one is real.  It can be figured it out.

What do you see as you are driving along that makes you ponder?  And are you the only one who ponders about that particular thing or event.  Do you really want to know, or does just the thought of  thinking it through seem relaxing?  Maybe frustrating?  Did anyone else experience it, and how would you know?  What about the guy in the car next to you at the stop light?  What’s his ponderable? Or the teen-aged check-out girl at the market who bags your groceries?  What does she notice and ponder?  About you, perhaps?

And just where is that other shoe?

Caught ya!

Yesterday when I was sitting at a light on an freeway off ramp I looked at the ground and saw a sea of cigarette butts.  There had to be hundreds of butts littered in an area 20 feet by 10 feet. I’m not kidding, it was a sea of cigarette butts as far as the eye can see.

To all smokers who contribute to this unsightly seen, guess what?  Flicking your cigarette butts out the window IS LITTERING, not to mention a serious fire hazard if you live in a dry climate like I do.

How can smokers think this is not littering?  Those butts aren’t just paper and cotton. The filter on cigarette butts are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that degrades very slowly.  A used cigarette butt also contains hundreds of cancer-causing chemicals such as cadmium, arsenic, lead, and radioactive Polonium 210 (which is 250,000 times more toxic than cyanide gas).

In the U.S. more than 340 billion cigarettes are consumed each year. Not all of these get littered, but enough do to make this a big problem.  In many cities cigarette-butt littering is getting worse.  This increase in litter is being contributed to by smokers being forced outside due to indoor smoking bans.

City, State and private companies spend a good deal of resources picking up tobacco waste.   Studies have shown that San Francisco spends about $6 million cleaning up tobacco waste. To help subsidies this cost San Francisco has implemented a 20 cent tax on each pack of cigarettes to go towards cleaning used cigarette butts.

In the 70‘s the beverage industry was asked to help stem the problem of cans and bottles being littered across the country. They responded by contributing to anti-litter campaigns and by starting recycling centers across the country. Why has the government not asked the tobacco industry to do the same to step up to contribute to anti-litter campaigns?  They sued them for billions of dollars, but we can’t ask them to help curb littering of their products?

So all you cigarette smokers out there who flick your cigarette butts out the window and think it’s  just paper and will just decompose, here are some facts about your butts:

• Depending on conditions, a cigarette butt takes 18 months to 10 years to decompose.
• Studies done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Johns Hopkins University, and the tobacco industry show these contaminants can get in the soil and waterways, harm or kill living organisms, and generally degrade surrounding ecosystems.
• It is the single most littered item in the world, and probably one of the easiest to correct.
• If you live in a dry climate, flicking a lit cigarette butt out your window can start a fire.

If you live in Texas, North Carolina or Pennsylvania visit www.litterbutt.com.  There you can sign up to report people who you see litter.  This can be any type of littering and not just cigarette butts.  The participating state will send a letter to educate the offender and hopefully prevent future littering.  Even if you don’t live in one of these states the site has helpful tools and tips to get your state signed up.

Golf Courses are making their Greens Greener while implementing measures to conserve water and reduce the use of potentially harmful pesticides. Living in a city with over 15 golf courses and with constant discussion regarding drought, it’s great to hear how golf is adapting to the challenge of conserving water. Several local Reno area golf courses are already using treated effluent water (or wastewater) instead of potable water, are irrigating more efficiently and with better equipment, are raising mowing heights to encourage longer and stronger root growth, and are using new strains of grass that require dramatically less water.

In Southern Nevada the Water Authority provides rebates to the courses that remove grass and replace it with water-efficient landscaping. The golf courses in the region are voluntarily removing areas of turf that are out of play, and they have managed to save billions of gallons of water.

The Greens at Pebble Beach are some of the most notable in the country and it is impressive to see how the managers are maintaining the courses. Pebble Beach Co. decided to use treated wastewater and financed a $34 million public water-reclamation project. That decision has saved more than 3.7 billion gallons of drinking water for greater Monterey.  Pebble Beach produces nearly 2,500 tons of compost from clippings and forest debris and is working on reducing its energy use.

The newly updated Mirimichi in Tennessee has a new drainage system, a LEED-certified clubhouse,  and also a Certified Audubon International Classic Sanctuary, which means the owners made wildlife conservation and habitat rehabilitation a priority.

Water conservation is a primary concern for Barton Creek in Austin, Texas. They irrigate three of their courses with effluent water delivered from an on-site treatment plant.  Areas around many tee boxes have been planted with cactus, yucca and sage that use very little water, yet remain aesthetically pleasing. The courses do have waterfalls, but they’re not just decorative; they provide oxygenation to minimize algae growth. Much of the electricity to run those recirculation pumps is purchased from wind-generated turbines in West Texas.  Course conditioning involves monitoring of pests, testing the soil and water nutrient levels, and the use of slow-release organic fertilizers to minimize the chance of watershed contamination.

Hopefully the sun is out this weekend so you can use your biodegradable golf tees,  jump in a solar-powered golfcart and head for the first tee box. Oh, and with an estimated 300 million lost golf balls laying around US courses, grab up any old golf balls you might find and recycle them.  Just make sure they are not in play.

If you like to bike to work, PDX might be the city for you.  For a city that anually averages 155 days of measurable precipitation, they still boast that 16 percent of their commuters commute by bike. The city has been given the nickname of “Copenhagen on the Willamette,” (Willamette is the river that runs through Portland).  But Portland wants more people to bike commute.  So they have created programs that entice people to try it and stick with it.

To make biking commuting safer the city has created several safety programs.  For the downtown area the city implemented the Bike Box. A bike box is an intersection safety design to prevent bicycle/car collisions, especially those between drivers turning right and bicyclists going straight. It is a green box on the road with a white bicycle symbol inside. It includes green bicycle lanes approaching toward and leaving from the box. This is used as a tool for drivers and cyclists to remind themselves to be extra cautious when entering an intersection when both are present.

The city also sponsors community rides from several neighborhoods throughout the city.  These rides teach riders bike commuter safety and what  routes are the safest and most efficient to commute from their neighborhood to other areas of town.  The program is offered through much of the summer months.

More recently the city preliminarily approved their 2030 Portland Bicycle Plan.  This plan envisions a future when 25 percent of trips are made by bike, and includes the building of 681 miles of new bike lanes over the next 20 years.  But there is a downside and that is the price tag.  The city is estimating the cost of the plan to be about $613 million over 20 years.  Funding ideas being passed around are bond measures, usage tax, and even taxing the sales of bikes.  It will be interesting to watch how this gets funded.

With Spring right around the corner it’s a great time to start thinking about biking to work. For those looking to try bike commuting, the nice days of Spring and Summer offer perfect times to dive in.

I know not everyone is going to rush right out and ride their bike to work, but what about trying it out just one day a week? Most company’s have a casual Friday policy, this offers you a perfect day to start. You should try setting a goal of at least trying it to commute once by bike, once this spring. Better yet, join the hundreds of others in your community who will bike to work on this year’s “Bike to Work” Day event.

“Bike to Work Day” is usually held on the third Friday in May.  So, 2010’s “Bike to Work Day” will be held May 21.  To find out what events are happening you in your community, Google “Bike to Work Day.”

Before you begin commuting by bike, make sure you are comfortable riding on the streets with cars. Everyone says they can ride a bike, but it takes practice to ride in traffic.  Riding casually around the neighborhood doesn’t count as being a good rider. You should be able to ride in a straight line without the need to weave. You should also know all the rules of the road such as:

1. riding with traffic and not into traffic
2. not riding on the sidewalks
3. obeying all traffic signals and signs

By not following the rules you not only endanger yourself, but those around you.

When considering your route to work, don’t instantly choose the same route you take with your car. Usually these routes are often congested with cars speeding down the road. If you like to live dangerously, by all means, take the busiest route. If you are like the rest of us, you may like to look for a more subdue route such as side streets or bike paths. Check out Google Earth to research a new route. Your new route should be a relatively calm commute. Maybe plan it so you pass your favorite coffee or bakery shop. You may also ask your local transportation department if they have a bike path map. Also, many larger cities provide clinics on the safest bike routes to travel to work. For example, Portland, Oregon offers summer riding programs showing bike commuters the safest bike routes from their neighborhoods.

Commuting by bike also offers you a workout. While your trip to work should be mellow so you don’t show up all stinky and sweaty, your bike trip home could be a little more intense. To get a better work out try picking up the pace or picking a route home that is a bit more hilly. There are tremendous health benefits of regularly biking to work such as reducing your risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, colon cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.

What if your company is not very bike friendly? You may want to bring to their attention that there are several local and federal government incentive programs offered to companies that promote alternative travel. The Internal Revenue Code/Section 132 (f) explains how an employer may be eligible for federal tax deductions when they implement a trip reduction program, which includes bike commuting.

So, this spring and summer set aside a day or two a month to bike to work.  You may find it relaxing and enjoyable.

With the recent move to a snowy winter climate, there has been an abundance of discussion regarding snow removal from our streets and driveways.  Are the de-icing methods we use good for our cars, our roads, and most important, ourselves and the Earth?

The most commonly used method of snow removal is a de-icing chemical called sodium chloride (rock salt). It’s the same stuff we put on our food to make it taste better. Millions of tons of this salt are spread on our streets and roadways countrywide. But when the snow melts, where does all that salt go?

The salt dissolves, mixing with the water. The chloride ends up in the Earth’s soil and in turn, back into the water, affecting everything from important bacteria, the trees, small and large mammals, birds, fish, and all the way up to humans. Only a slight increase in chloride within the soil can kill off the bacteria that helps break down plant matter, which in turn can affect the soil’s fertility and erosion rate.

Chloride can also change plant systems. Plants that are especially sensitive to chloride increases,  such as Pine Trees being over thrown and choked out by other native species of plants that can tolerate higher chloride levels such as Cattails.

As for our flying feathery friends, they can’t tell the difference between pebbles; required for their proper food digestion; and salt granules. Swallowing a few large road salt granules can be fatal to birds.  Animals such as deer, elk, moose, etc. will lick the salt off the road which puts them directly in  harm’s way of our cars and traffic.

Road salt, although having little effect on human health, can be tasted in our drinking water after a winter that needed heavy salting. Increased levels of salt intake can cause high blood pressure, or make already high blood pressure, worse. Most of the effects of sodium chloride towards humans is seen through corrosion of our home’s plumbing, cars, bridges, and structures made from steel, as well as the corrosion of the land we build on.

There are more environmentally friendly options that can be used. Calcium Magnesium Acetate is less harmful to the Earth and still works at lower temperatures.  A nitrogen fertilizer called Urea can also be used and it will help plants as it melts ice.  Potassium Chloride does the same thing to a degree – but the chloride still ends up in the Earth’s soil.

The Vancouver Olympic Committee chose a product called SafePaw , a de-icer that is supposedly environmentally safe and animal friendly, to clear the snow from surrounding delicate ecosystems. Missouri is using a mixture of rock salt and beet juice to keep roads clear. Illinois invented a fluid receptacle de-icing system. The receptacle is configured with a sensing unit and a heating element to heat fluid within the fluid receptacle which in turn heats the pavement to prevent ice from forming. Maine uses a product called Ice B’Gone; a deicer that uses a measured amount of sugar added with the chloride salt allowing longer time-effectiveness, and reduces corrosion as well as reducing the overall impact on the environment. Ice B’Gone is environmentally effective and meets the strict requirements of the Pacific Northwest Snowfighters Association (PNS) for corrosion and toxicity, as well as aiding in significant corrosion reduction. South Dakota is developing a new non-corrosive deicer from sodium carbonate and waste-wood products.  Although, it is too early in the developmental process to know about its environmental impact.  And finally, Oregon uses a combination of an eco-friendly anti-icer/de-icer and pure lava rock to keep the snow and ice at bay. The anti-icer/de-icer is chosen from the Pacific Northwest Snowfighters Association Qualified Products List, that provides no impact on streams or fish. The lava rock is used instead of sand and is picked up and recycled after the snow and ice have melted.