The Ionic Truth

"The toil of all that be helps not he primal fault, it rains into the sea and still the sea is salt." AE Houseman

Profound words from a different time and place aptly that describe the supporting role humanity plays not only within the confines of the solar system on an obscure fringe of the Milky Way, but on a planet bestowed with infinitesimal treasures and wonders hidden by logic and a pervading arrogance.

The decision by the City of Seattle to save pending climatological and ecologic deprecation by choosing to not employ a rock salt solution on roadways as a catalyst for safe driving conditions, borders on mendacious and incendiary notions. Apparently, based on the city's scientific models, the two or three days of cubic tons of rock salt used in conjunction with sand would have incalculable effects on the reproductive prowess of salmon species as well as damaging properties for many species in the animal kingdom. However, overlooked amidst this plethora of logic and duly supported is the cause and effect enveloping homo sapiens.

Through out much of the week leading up to the Christmas holiday, drivers and pedestrians were put in precarious situations as a sheet of glacier like ice covered most the urban thoroughfares. Cars slide like Russian ice skater Oksana Baiul after a night on the town in her luxury convertible, while people zigzagged in a frenetic motion on the frictionless sidewalks like Oksana Baiul in a passionate display for the wonders of socialism on the stage of the world. To those who support the notion of global warming, which has now evolved into the broad spectrum of "climate change", a virtual no-risk perspective based on the junk science of carbon dating, the onset of the next ice age may be upon us. (Already it has come to the author's attention that ice core samples acquired from above Seattle's sidewalks are on their way to NOAA) However, reality dictates that the pathway of decision making the the wake of the area's worst storm in 25 years borders on ineffectual dream weaving.

With streets precariously functional, combined with the daunting sensationalism of the Jim Forman school of journalism painting a state of emergency on the 6 o'clock news, and the ineptitude of public transportation as a viable alternative for transportation, area retailers were left scrambling during one of the biggest shopping weeks of the year. The enduring economic difficulties in the latter half of 2008 were merely compounded by the epic travel options left to potential consumers. Factor into the equation the cost of repairs to cars made from the innumerable accidents, the strain to the health system with the amount of preventable injuries, revenues lost from commuters who could not find a ride with Metro transit operating at %50 capacity and the pending springtime repairs to the gutted roadways. Does this dollar amount equate in any circumstance to the financial obligation required for clean-up of excess material, had a rock salt solution been utilized? Of course it is assumed that a certain percentage of consumers would fail to wash the underside of their cars after the thaw, thus causing the need for repairs as rock salt can be a corrosive material when exposed to metal over a period of time. Left out of this scenario has been the DOT's use of rock salt solution to treat highways. According to the scientific models of state ecologists, the use of sand as an agent for deicing is a deterrent to the environment. The lack of scientific consensus proves baffling. Sand or salt?

From a chemical point of view, rock salt is essentially NA+CL- or table salt. Obviously, sodium chloride is an important agent in the function of cells and the diversity of life. Of course the world's oceans, once the cradle of all life on Earth contain a solution of sodium chloride and water. From a simple mathematical point of view, how would two or three days of rock salt use have an effect, if any on the environment or the life cycle of area species? A few cubic tons of soluble compound spread over square miles of concrete layered on differing topographies would have no adverse effects on the mating rituals or genetic framework of local plants, animals, bugs or bacteria. The few protozoans who die a horrendous death thanks to realities of osmosis will be missed. Up the amount of material to thousands of tons and still the same result. In this overtly green state, does the use of a solvent for safe travel open Pandora's box for extreme measures in the future and disconcerting precedents? Will the employment of rock salt eventually lead to the progression and ultra efficient ice breaking wonders of anti-freeze which will ultimately be replaced by irradiated matter with a shelf life of 20,000 years? This is utter insanity.

Living in the state of Washington rivals signing a contract with a wayward landlord. In this case as tenants we are subject to the judgement of salmon, spotted owls, snail darters and native americans. Are we expected in the frenzy of an icy blizzard and running the errands of Christmas shopping to salute the grand verticals of a douglas fir tree as we spin 180 degrees in an intersection, a life of reason flashing before our eyes, before crashing into a telephone pole, shattering a fibula, radiator and transmission fluid mixing with blood to form a pool of irony and with deicing qualities? At least the nature's greenhouse of Washington dodged a bullet as the pure sand from the blustery beaches of the Pacific was promised to avoid the gills and gonads of the fickle salmon.

To those who yearn for the days of foraging and gathering; ideal of the noble savage quivering under their pillow, how can socialism act as a facilitator for population control of the human race? If every being is programmable and equal in a forced utopia, how will a rift form and the wondrous levitating properties of change be manifested? Thankfully, salmon cannot shed tears.