As the capital and environmental costs of road salt continue to mount, has the time come to ask whether we’re putting too much of it on our streets?

Recent research indicates that salt is accumulating in the environment and poses an emerging threat both to ecosystems and human health.

The human footprint continues to expand, with three quarters of earth’s land surface now experiencing measurable pressures from buildings, roads, crops, pastures and other human structures and activities, according to a new report. But the report also finds an encouraging trend: In recent years, growth in the footprint has lagged far behind population and economic growth.

Roads data are critical to planning and development of rural transportation in developing countries, where better transportation systems can help improve livelihoods.