If you’re on the northern side of things, you’re probably experiencing some serious winter weather in early 2025, with much more to come. Even some southern states have received snow and ice to start off the year. Here are a few baseline tips to manage the winter weather with safe, effective, and environmentally conscious methods.
Tips for Snow Removal
- Pick the best deicer for your situation.
- Some chemical deicers like rock salt and calcium chloride can be hazardous to pets, children, and the environment. Some deicers are labeled as eco-friendly, pet safe, family friendly, etc. – these will be better to use.
- A common mistake that people make when using chemical deicers is applying too much, which can be harmful to the earth. Be sure to follow the instructions on the packaging for maximum efficiency and pick up any spilled or overused chemical.
- Remove snow as soon as possible to prevent it from turning into ice.
- Snow can melt and absorb into the ground when it is placed on a water-permeable surface like a lawn or garden. It works best when these areas are on level ground as well.
- Leaving snow on a water-tight surface like your walkway or driveway can cause it to freeze overnight when temperatures drop, which makes it much more difficult to remove in the long run. This also presents a slipping hazard.
Tips for Cutting Down on Emissions
Accumulation of snow is a challenge to the environment because it can easily become contaminated with salt, litter/debris, dirt, and countless other pollutants. As the snow melts, it becomes a method of transport for these pollutants, cycling through the watershed and doing great harm to nearby bodies of water. There are also many ways in which carbon emissions from people are increased during winter weather events, which are outlined below along with tips for carbon emission reduction.
- Extensive Car Idling
- In cold weather, people let their cars idle for much longer than they usually would. This is sometimes necessary to defrost the windshield and warm up the vehicle, but is often done much more than needed. By minimizing your car idle time, you can reduce your carbon footprint.
- Snowblowers
- If a snowblower is reasonable for you to purchase, consider going electric. Gas-powered snowblowers cause much more unnecessary carbon emissions when compared to their electric, battery-powered, or hybrid counterparts.
Tips for Winter Weather Safety
- Generator Safety: Many people impacted by annual winter weather find it wise to invest in a generator, protecting their household from power outages. If you have a generator, it is vitally important to keep it running safely.
- The generator should be in a place that is dry, protected from precipitation and potential flooding. Wet generators can cause injuries by electrical shock.
- Heavy-duty, trusted extension cords should be used to connect your generator to major appliances to prevent the chance of an electrical mishap or fire.
- When using a generator, you should always have a carbon-monoxide detection system in place
- When refueling your generator, make sure it has had time to cool down. Any spillage when refueling a hot generator can cause a fire.
- Certain health risks come hand-in-hand with extremely cold weather and winter storms. Here’s what you need to know to be prepared:
- Hypothermia can be recognized by shivering, exhaustion, confusion, memory loss, and drowsiness. If someone shows these signs, wrap them in blankets and warm the center of their body first, with emphasis on the chest, neck, and head.
- Frostbite can be recognized by numbness, firm or waxy skin, and gray-yellow skin. If someone shows these signs, soak the impacted areas in warm water.
Remember, safety is the most important thing when facing winter weather events!
References
Protecting the Environment in Winter Weather – What You Can Do | doee. (n.d.). Doee.dc.gov. https://doee.dc.gov/service/protecting-environment-winter-weather-what-you-can-do
Ready. (2017). Snowstorms & Extreme Cold | Ready.gov. Ready.gov. https://www.ready.gov/winter-weather
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