Black Ice is good for the Local Economy.

 If you are from a mountainous or northern part of the American Continent you might well now be stating my insanity, or the stupidity of this statement.

And you would be right,

but you would also be wrong.

When environmentalists discuss regulation with policy makers, we always run into the question of whether or not the ‘costs’ of regulation will be a burden on the ‘profit’ of industry. Policy makers are very shortsighted when it comes to these things, perhaps because they can never seem to see beyond the next election.

One wintry day I was having a conversation with the manager of a car dealership. As is common in CNY we were discussing the weather and how treacherous it had been on the way into work. He stopped me dead in my tracks when he unapologetically said, “Ya know, Black Ice is good for business”. The dealership was also a full service Repair and Body Shop. Black Ice meant a lot of business for the Body Shop.

It’s true Black Ice creates profits for many sectors including:
Body Shops
Tow Trucks
Police*
Ambulance*
Snow Plow/Salt Truck Drivers*
Insurance Companies
Lawyers
Courts*
Doctors
Nurses
Hospitals
Physical Therapists
Home Health Aides
Pharmacies
Road Repair Crews*
Hazardous Waste Disposal (often sold to municipalities for ice control)

(* likely to have a tax payer burden element)

Is that the way you want your Local Economy to profit? On the back of personal tragedy?

Unregulated Industry (and unenforced regulation) may bring short term gain to Local Citizens

IF it increases total Local Jobs.

Long Term jobs that may exist at the detriment of Local Citizens are not weighed against the supposed Short Term gains. Environmental Damage creates long term jobs mostly in the Health Care Industry as workers battle with Cancer, Emphysema, Leukemia, Birth Defects, Asthma, etc.
This is true for Black Ice as well. Body Shop work is particularly Hazardous.
That Industrial Chemical Waste being touted as a superior product for keeping roads open, is seeping into our soil and water. It is carried into our homes on the soles of our shoes, and is kicked up into the air we breathe with each passing car. Our taxes paying now for the luxury of spreading poison through our communities so industry can save the cost of proper disposal. We will pay for it again later in very personal ways.

Viva long term health effects – the real Job Creators