Meet The Beet

I'm going out on a limb to say that we have probably seen the end of the snowstorms for 2022. 

I know, watch a blizzard come to town next week. 

But we didn't have a whole lot of snow this year, which means one of two things: we are in for a really wild winter next year or two, or there is something to this global warming. 

I don't know what it is, why we don't get as much snow as we used to, but I do see that some parts of the country, instead of throwing down ten tons of salt on the road, are using something else, because salt, while effective, is harmful to property, the infrastructure, and the environment. 

"Road salt can contaminate drinking water, kill or endanger wildlife, increase soil erosion, and damage private and public property. Alternative methods are needed to mitigate these drawbacks," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. "Rock salt can have corrosive effects in large quantities that affect cars, trucks, bridges, and roads resulting in approximately 5 billion dollars in annual repairs in the U.S. alone. In addition, road salt can also infiltrate nearby surface and ground waters and can contaminate drinking water reservoirs and wells."

Thanks, EPA. And did you ever notice that your grass turns a brownish shade where the salt snow piles up by the mailbox?

Here is one alternative: Linda Horn, Communications Director for the Missouri Dept. of Transportation, says "We use beet juice. We've had a lot of success with it."

I have no use for beets on my dinner plate, but their juice is coming into play more and more in winter weather situations.

"It's a little tackier, and it sticks to the road," Horn explains. "In Missouri, our winters sometimes can be difficult because they'll start as rain, then it'll snow, and then back to ice. We're not as fortunate as some of the northern states that just get snow."

MoDOT uses a product that is actually a by-product of the process by which we get sugar for our coffee and tea and cereal. A fermentation process extracts the sugar crystals, and what's left behind is this juice, that, when mixed in an solution of 80% salt brine and 20% beet juice, does a bang-up job preventing cars from banging into each other on the beltway 

What's more, cutting the salt with beet juice makes the salt less corrosive, so the roads don't crumble quite so much.

Ms Horn goes on to toot Missouri's, uh, accomplishment of treating over 33,000 miles of road. "We're the seventh-largest state highway system. Missouri is certainly not the seventh-largest state, but in the state of Missouri, we maintain a lot of roads that in other states would be maintained by a county or city."

One problem with beet sugar is that it can't be stored like salt. Up in Philadelphia, Richard Montanez, deputy commissioner for the Streets Department, says they have talked about using beet products but decided against it. One reason: the city can’t store it for long periods like salt, which can be stockpiled for years in those picturesque salt domes.

“There is a balance between clearing the street with salt and [being] mindful of the environment,” Montanez said. “It is important to make sure all streets are clear of snow for safe travel.”

No matter what states and municipalities decide to do about snow and ice removal on the roads, the way I look at it, every beet that goes for snow treatment is one less beet I have to see on the dinner table, and that's a good thing!