“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes“,

Bolden emphasis is mine.

“The American market for wood heat is dwindling, and this emergency reserve of fuel-so entwined with the spirit of individualism and independence-is being elbowed to the sidelines by a glut of oil and natural gas. It seems that the same collective amnesia that allows us to build gargantuan sport utility vehicles has made us forget that a wood stove is one of the last practical defenses against another energy crisis. After we attended the convention of wood, gas, and pellet stove manufacturers in St. Louis, I discussed this situation with Dan Melcon [DM], who has made a career of monitoring the "hearth products" industry.”

<snip>

“D.M.: It seems that way, but wood heat is still one of your least expensive forms of home heating. The variable is how you account for your own labor. Throwing logs into a stove is, to some degree, labor intensive. So it depends upon how you value that. But in terms of cost per million BTUs, wood, along with natural gas, is still one of the best buys. Gone, however, are the days when your oil bill exceeded your house payment. Oil is selling for well under a dollar a gallon, about 50% less than in the heyday of wood stove enthusiasm.”

<snip>

“DM.: Wood heat is regarded by a lot of people as work, and work that they don't have to do now. It might be because their own economic situation is better or it might be because the cost of the other energy options is a lot less expensive than it had been. And also, as a society, we have gotten away from some of the core values of [ MOTHER'S ] readership: being self sufficient and harboring our natural resources and using them wisely. Whether you look at the incredibly wasteful sport utility vehicles or at the ostentatious square footage of new housing, we're not nearly as concerned about living on a small planet anymore. Part of that care should be heating with wood.”

The above was written in `98. To read the entire article

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Home...8_October_November/The_End_of_the_Wood_Stove_