Some researcher at the aptly named "Institute of Snow Research" at Michigan Tech University — located up in Michigan's UP...you know, the peninsula above the hand — has come up with a technological breakthrough in the not-so-exciting world of de-icing chemicals. Actually, this is pretty damn exciting — it's the first of what Cargill, the licensee for the technology is calling an "anti-icing" coating. It's called SafeLane, and it's a surface overlay that releases deicers when needed — even weeks after the overlay has been "painted" on to the roads. Testing begins this upcoming winter on select roadways. What does this mean? Well, not so much if you're down south of the Mason-Dixon — but if you're up in the Union side, it means the argument of "I buy an SUV for the winter" may become a thing of the past. Now who says de-icing isn't sweet?
MTU researcher aids deicing project [Mining Journal]
Institute of Snow Research [Michigan Tech]
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Cheeseheads Cheesed at GM Over Brake Recall [internal]