While Americans may dream of a white Christmas, living with snow the rest of the season is driving a nightmare salt habit.
Each year, Americans spread more than 48 billion pounds of salt on roadways to ward off the effects of winter weather. But it comes at a cost: De-icing salt degrades roads and bridges, contaminates drinking water and harms the environment, according to a slate of scientists expressing growing alarm.
“The issue of road salt has been out in front of us for decades but has received very little attention until the past five years,” said Rick Relyea, a biological scientist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute near Albany, New York. “Then we see, my goodness, it is everywhere, and it is a growing problem.”
There are many benefits to spending some time outdoors in the winter. One of them being that it will be less crowded, allowing you to really take in the peace and quiet that winter in the outdoors provides.
Other benefits include:
A great time for stargazing! The colder nights and dry temperatures make for clear night skies. A great time for birding! The bare trees make it easier to see and identify birds. A great time for scenic views! The change in the trees and landscape offer new ways to see and experience the natural world -- especially when covered in a blanket of snow.
Worried about the lack of snow for Christmas?Β There is always this option! Packaged in Styrofoam that will last much longer then the snow.
This interactive map shows the sunset time for every town in New York, tonight, the first day of winter. The latest sunset in New York is in the Town of French Creek, but then that usually is the case as it's so far west, regardless of the time of year. However, in the summer it's closer to the sunset time of Town of Porter in Niagara County, as the sunsets are later the further north and west you go in the summer.
Data Source: PHP's date_suninfo based on December 21st and the median point of every municipality in New York State.