Removing snow piled high in parking lots and along roadsides could soon be a far less tedious task. In a study appearing in ACS’ journal Langmuir, scientists report that they have tested sunlight-absorbing thermal blankets capable of melting snow three times faster than it would on its own. They say the blankets could slash snow-removal costs and reduce the risk of environmental contamination caused by soot and other products used to melt the white stuff.