Poles may forage for wood to heat homes

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Montanalocal

Montanalocal

Minister of Fire
Dec 22, 2014
571
Helena MT
Poles may forage for wood to heat homes – Minister

Authorities in Warsaw have allowed citizens to forage for firewood in forests to keep their homes heated amid spiralling energy costs. Poland is in the midst of a coal shortage after banning Russian imports.

Those wishing to gather wood must first undergo training and obtain permission from the local forestry unit. The report went on to clarify that people can only take branches already lying on the ground, and cannot cut down trees.

“Only branches can be gathered. At the same time, the collected branches cannot be thicker than seven centimeters,” said Katowice Directorate of State Forestry official Marek Mroz.

He explained that branches should be taken to the local forester, who will issue an invoice. Collectors will have to pay between seven and 30 zlotys ($7.02) for approximately 0.25 cubic meters of firewood.

www.rt.com

Poles may forage for wood to heat homes – Minister

Polish authorities have approved brushwood collection from forests so citizens can heat their homes
www.rt.com www.rt.com
 
Wow, that would be a tough way to heat your home--and then you have to pay for it anyway!
 
Better compress that cubic meter pretty darn tight, to get any BTU's out of laying branches under 7cm (2.75in).
 
How many will actually pay for it? 100$ a cord equivalent. Government is responding. Every 1k btu helps. Air quality will suffer in the short term. Subsidize mini splits will be effective too.
 
I imagine you'll be trekking pretty far for those branches quickly.
 
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Sound's like it was great idea. Then after I'm guessing, government gets involved your picking up dead rotted branches. Then pay for for it. Hopefully those desperate people just go get the wood the need.
 
This ain't a quick solution to their problems, but Poland's population growth flatlined nearly 50 years ago, and is now in decline. Between emigration, and so many millennials not having children, they're projected to be back down to 1970 level population by 2050. Where else can you look back 80 years, and see population parity?

I do believe the fuel shortages will not last another year, but the beginning of the next heating season could be rough for most of Europe.
 
Ashful said:
This ain't a quick solution to their problems, but Poland's population growth flatlined nearly 50 years ago, and is now in decline. Between emigration, and so many millennials not having children, they're projected to be back down to 1970 level population by 2050. Where else can you look back 80 years, and see population parity?

I do believe the fuel shortages will not last another year, but the beginning of the next heating season could be rough for most of Europe.
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I get that diesel refinery issues are causing the big spike in diesel prices, but what about gasoline? Regular is $5/gallon in Maine on average. I'm also not convinced on refining shortages, as the oil majors all posted record profits recently. I can't see the prices going back down to even 2008 levels with the climate crisis. I can tell first hand that high fuel prices have reduced the number of travelers coming up to my region. There will never be a big jump to renewables if FF prices go way down again.
 
Profits and refinery capacity are not correlated.

Diesel and Gasoline are usually made in the same refinery, an issue in one area of the refinery usually has a cascading effect on the entire refinery. Keep in mind that oil prices are still hovering near $110/barrel driving up fuel prices, and for the developed world $5/gallon gasoline is still pretty cheap right now.

Refinery supply is tight, refineries are expensive to build, so companies are unwilling to build refineries that won't operate at or near capacity. The last one built here was completed in 2017, cost $8.5 billion dollars, and only processes 80,000 barrels per day.

Add to all this the environmental regulations on motor fuels. Organic volatiles, BTEX, vapour pressure, octane, cetane, sulphur, lubricity, freeze points, etc all have to be within prescribed limits. To meet these limits adds extra steps in the process, and costs more. Fuel isn't simply run through a distillation column and sold anymore.
 
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On an ag site that I frequented, there was a US farmer 5 years ago or so who shipped some of his equipment to Ukraine, and rented land, to grow grains like we do here. One of the pictures of his fields and equipment after harvesting had many many brown dots off in the distance. The question was, are those deer, like it would be here? Nope - villagers out collecting corn cobs left behind by the harvester. I'm thinking branches to heat a home just might be a big deal for some.
 
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Imported Energy Crisis Sees Wood Burning Stoves, Dry Firewood Sell Out in Germany

The rush on wood-burning appliances is so pronounced the waiting time for some is a year, with no hope of delivery for this winter. While wood burners are made in Germany, there are shortages of individual components and materials, including parts that come from Communist China.

This shortage of stoves is extending across the whole of Europe, the spokesman said.

There has been so much demand for firewood in the past months that it is effectively sold out in Germany.

www.breitbart.com

Energy Crisis Sees Stoves, Dry Firewood Sell Out in Germany

While govt prevaricates about the energy crisis, citizens are taking matters into their own hands to keep themselves warm this coming winter.
www.breitbart.com www.breitbart.com
 
It's going to be bad for some pellet boilers too. Russia supplies a lot of pellets to Europe. The price for baseload electricity in Germany has gone through the roof in anticipation.

Europeans are preparing for a tough winter ahead. This is modern siege warfare.
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