Renewable resource vs local air pollution

[Bster13]

So I recently returned from Montreal where they are famous for their bagels. They are bakes in wood fired, open ovens. The guy in the store stated they use ecobricks now and in 2020 wood fires will be outlawed, including even stoves (unsure if this includes EPA stuff).

Anyway, I googled a bit and it appears local air quality is the reason, even if wood is a renewable resource.

So I've been reading and while most of the legislators and health groups are concerned about outdoor boilers, the reading also got me worried about my BK Princess insert I have yet to use. It is a CAT stove and one of the most efficient, but still will pollute the local air quality a lot more than oil and even more emit more small particulate than gas furnace.

I LOVE that wood heat is a renewable resource but if these particles are being embedded into my lungs every time I step outside (heck one article stated the particles are so small they get past window seals and door jams and indoor air quality suffers.) it scares the chit out of me.

Has anyone else looked into this? Not just for outdoor wood boilers?

 

[begreen]

This topic comes up at least a few times every year. Sometimes local conditions are worse than others and decisions have to made based on the situation and population density.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

A lot can happen between 2013 and 2020. I wouldn't count them out just yet. Sometimes it is amazing what will get printed whether it is true or not. Sometimes things can also be taken out of context then the hollering and screaming kicks in. Then the politicians start in and that is where it can get really deep. Best keep the swampers handy.

 

[jharkin]

I Found this hard to believe till I googled it...they are seriously going to try and make people remove wood burning fireplaces from existing homes. Nuts.


Sure wood makes a lot more particulates than natgas, but people have been living with wood smoke for 20,000 years. It hasn't killed us off yet. Fossil fuel caused global warming might yet cause a heck of a lot more damage.....

 

[begreen]

Can you provide a link to the article(s)?

 

[Bster13]

http://www.montrealgazette.com/heal...ndered+inoperable+December/8684286/story.html

 

[begreen]

And if the 2020 wood stove burns cleaner than today's pellet stoves? Sounds like this ordinance will be up against some industry challenges if it is not based on quantifiable measurements.

 

[Bster13]

Does anyone worry about the local air pollution part? That's what concerns me most... Montreal will be fine I suppose.

 

[hockeypuck]

Does anyone worry about the local air pollution part? That's what concerns me most... Montreal will be fine I suppose.

The cynical libertarian side of me says it is just another means to get all dependent on a centralized government. I have woodstove and pellet stove... one reason why I would not give up my woodstove is the peace mind knowing I could take a hatchet to the living room table to keep warm if I had to. Take away a persons freedom to burn wood...that seems like a very basic right. City center.. maybe not.. you live in a metropolis you should know what you are signing up for. But if they try to do that province wide... riots would ensue... or at least I hope they would.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Wait until an ice storm comes by and kills the electricity for a week. All the unprepared and elderly are going to be in a world of hurt.

 

[begreen]

Does anyone worry about the local air pollution part? That's what concerns me most... Montreal will be fine I suppose.

With a city island and 85,000 wood burners I can see how sometimes the air could get pretty thick. What the local council has to learn is there is a world of difference between an open fireplace, an old smoke dragon and a woodstove burning at 1.5 gms/hr or lower.

 

[BrotherBart]

They have been wrestling with this since it was proposed in 2009. Lots of holes have been punched in it.

Burn in the Princess. You have more particulate pollution in your house coming from your carpet and your vacuum cleaner than will ever come in the windows from that stove. Or into the yard for that matter.

 

[begreen]

Ya, like I said in another thread, with a modern clean burner your pet's dandruff should be a greater concern.

 

[dafattkidd]

Sounds like this area would benefit from a swap out program. Have some sort of incentive to upgrade to a modern efficient burner, while trading in your smoke dragon. This way everyone wins. Homeowners get a much better product, pollution is greatly reduced, hearth industry sells more products, and the public is better informed.