AFAIK, it’s not the snow that poses an environmental risk, it’s the road grime and salt and other crap that gets mixed into it. I think certain neighborhoods near the Charles River can’t even use road salt because they can’t risk it washing into the river.
Of course, with the volume of snow we’re getting, suddenly dropping a bunch of it into the Charles might actually have undesirable effects even if it were pure snow.
Dumping it in the harbor is legally OK in extreme circumstances - which these are.
The salt and shit in the snow is going to flow into it eventually anyway, right? Maybe it’s the all-at-once aspect that’s problematic.
Well, looks like we’ve got another 12-14" coming to complicate my weekend plans. Do I go on Friday and try to make it back on Saturday evening before the snow gets bad? Or do I hope it ends early enough so I can drive back on Sunday afternoon? Or do I just stay at home all weekend and watch the storm fizzle out harmlessly over the ocean?
Snow days are nice, but I’m running out of recipes for nourishing hearty stews and soups.
Just for fun, use some water from snow to make your stew!
My physician daughter-in-law has to get to her hospital in Lawrence 25 miles away. She delivers babies among other emergencies. She has a 4WD van and so far has been able to make it.
It’s snow again right now. Hopefully not too much. But really, anything more than a dusting at this point is just fucking overkill.
A big problem that doesn’t get discussed much is that we’ve had no melting. NORMALLY we get enough warmer days so that a bit of each major storm melts away before the next one. Not all of it every time, but even just 10-20% means an inch or two fewer on the ground for later storms. There’s been no melting so it’s literally piling on top of previous storms. Plus for those of you who don’t live here, it’s snowing every couple days or so. It’s just unending in frequency and duration. The days where it’s not snowing have been really cold and not sunny.
The public radio program Marketplace did a story about the snow situation in Boston. They interviewed a guy who runs a snow removal company in Boston. Googling his company led me to “Snow Business Magazine.” I had no idea that there was a magazine for snow plow operators (and a trade group). I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised; there are trade magazines and trade groups for everyone.
See post #115 for your solution:
You do realize that 8000 feet above sea level tends to get quite a bit more snow than 141 feet above sea level, yes?
Latest update on 2/13 for southern Maine; “The Blizzard Watch has been upgraded to a blizzard warning. Travel will be impossible Sunday. Many roads will be impassable Sunday into Monday. Snow drifts may be 10ft high, forecast models are showing 100 mph wind gusts very close to the coast of Maine.”
I feel like I’m in a disaster movie.
Yeah, but not one of those awesome ones where the leading lady and the hero get to fall in love as they bond over their adversity. Here it’s unending misery and you’re not meeting anyone because you can’t see in the snow and you’d get hypothermia waiting for another idiot to venture outside anyway.
They’re predicting up to another 18" here for the weekend. I just can’t even.
The winter mrAru was up in Kitery at the shipyard, they just shoved the snow into an unoccupied dry dock, let it melt and opened the locks. No problem 
Can I come to your house? I can’t stay in this house for another 3 days running. 
I’m afraid my dog is going to go crazy and reenact The Shining.
It’s because of the salt and the deicing chemicals they throw on the roads. It’s also an emergency situation, given that most, if not all of the snow farms are already full. Where else could they put it?
[QUOTE=Slate magazine blog]
The city has recorded its snowiest 30-day stretch in history in just 17 days, breaking the record by more than a foot. A full Gronk of snow (6 feet, 6 inches) is now in sight for Boston, and will likely be exceeded by the end of the week.
[/QUOTE]
I expect widespread panic if we go over two Smoots.
The road salt and deicing chemicals aren’t the only problem. I did my grad school Master’s thesis on treating the pollutants present in roadway runoff, which includes oil and other petroleum compounds, heavy metals, etc. When these pollutants mix with the snow, it creates a real mess.
Finally, a lot of household trash has not been picked up by trash collection services due to all of the recent storms, and they are finding a lot of trash mixed in with the snow banks. The latest word on the news is that Boston is not going to dump snow in the harbor due to all of the trash present.
Ya know, most of the time I really love living in New England but I am currently in a state of mind that is best summed up as “WHY DID I MOVE HERE THIS WAS A POOR LIFE CHOICE WAAAAGH”
I want to commission a flamethrower, which will likely not actually help with the snow but I bet it’ll make me feel better.