And Now This
Blowers for snow appeared at the University of Alaska Fairbanks:
"Recently, I had the same surprise on campus when Facilities Services at UAF started equipping their sidewalk cleaners with the same devices, except now they’re using them to blow snow. I don’t have the data to perform an economic analysis of this decision, but I guarantee that when you add in the externalities of noise and air pollution, engine maintenance, the damage done to cars when they blow gravel into them, and the impact of burning fossil fuels on the global climate, a shovel starts looking pretty cheap.
Blowers for snow appeared at the University of Alaska Fairbanks:
"Recently, I had the same surprise on campus when Facilities Services at UAF started equipping their sidewalk cleaners with the same devices, except now they’re using them to blow snow. I don’t have the data to perform an economic analysis of this decision, but I guarantee that when you add in the externalities of noise and air pollution, engine maintenance, the damage done to cars when they blow gravel into them, and the impact of burning fossil fuels on the global climate, a shovel starts looking pretty cheap.
They also don’t do a very good job because they can’t remove snow that’s been packed down at all. Check out all the footprints in the image. I can’t help but wonder, once again, if some problems are better solved with less modern technology."
Nov 2006
