Stewardship in the Snow
January 13, 2009
It’s snowing again.
Since moving to Illinois, I’ve had to get used to the snow, and, if I want to keep my sanity, even develop a love for it. I love how it pacifies things: how everything gets still and quiet and slow under the snow, so that even the slightest movement from a bird or squirrel stands out from the rest of the world in stark and startling contrast. When it snows in my neighborhood, people stand in their driveways listening to it whisper, and kids play ice hockey on the frozen pond down the street. A camaraderie develops between neighbors as we shovel out our houses and finally have something to talk about: the snow.
All that shoveling-out-our-houses has made me wonder, however, if we’re counteracting God’s beautiful miracle of snow with actions that are destructive to Creation. I’m talking about de-icing. That final step in the snow-removal process. Pouring little white granules on my driveway and front steps makes me wonder, what is it? How does it work? Where does it go? What else does it destroy besides ice?
I found a few answers about salt and other de-icing compounds in these two articles. The bottom line? What we use to keep our walk and driveways ice-free can harm plants and animals, and eventually run off and exacerbate pollution or sedimentation in local waterways. Our best response to snowy days is to keep up with good old-fashioned shoveling (preferably with actual shovels, to keep from polluting the air with emissions from snow blowers or vehicular plows)–protecting God’s earth with the muscles and the energy he gave us.
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