EPA issue ban on wood stoves

[ultrarunner]

Any ideas as to why the incomplete combustion?

Are the Fairbanks folks burning green wood or not burning efficiently?

I'm in Mountain Valley high in the Alps... every home burns wood in a ceramic tile oven all winter and no problems with smoke... I've attached a picture of the tile oven in my home and it is the only heat source.

It keeps the place cozy 24/7 with a two firings... once in the morning and again at night.

I fire it from the backside from the stairs to the basement.

Only problem is you have to plan for heat... can't just open the door and turn on the heat... good 4 or 5 hours to get is up to temp.

Burn mostly Beech and a little fir for kindling.

It's the sole heat source.

 

[Sodo]

Right to pollute appears to be a form of patriotic expression these days. That won't end well (for the grandkids anyway?.)

I try to reduce pollution if its reasonable, don't really like being told either. But I like clean air, water, & food.

 

[ultrarunner]

All depends on degree...

The EPA is regulating CO2 and we humans produce that each time we exhale.

I'm glad to be a part of this discussion.

In the past... as problems arose they were addressed in a forward looking manner.

The trend now is to go backwards and this is the case when permitted and existing installations are now subject to removal as with Oregon State Law.

In my part of California, the approach has been you can have it... just can't use it.

Air pollution is exponentially better than it was... the question is how good is good enough?

Don't forget the law of diminishing returns... the cost to go after the last 20% cost more and sometimes many times more than it cost to after the first 80%.

As I write this, I look out my window and see 25 miles of smoke from a new 172 unit San Francisco apartment building that is being incinerated by fire... California is also home to huge forest/wildland fires that seem to be getting worse... air pollution is both man made and naturally occuring...

Not that long ago, it was common to get a firewood permit to scavenge from parklands... now no one bothers because we can't burn... at least the people around me... so instead of supplying warmth in the winter... the wood is left to burn in wildland fires... it was common practice for more than a century to do control burns... can't do that here now... we just wait for a lightning strike or careless person to create an emergency situation.

It just seems common sense and best practices that have served us well are all but a thing of the past.

My neighbor built his own stove and one for his father... I imagine he can keep building them... just God forbid he tries to use one...

A few years ago, we were without power for 8 days outside Olympia... it was also a no burn with temps into the teens at night... without a pellet stove and two wood stoves to keep warm and cook... we would have froze and probably the pipes too...

 

[dave1949]

The population of the 48 counties in N. Cal. has grown a lot over the time period you are referencing.

6.3 million in 1960 to 14.6 million in 2010.
1990 to 2000: 15% growth. 2000 to 2010: 10% growth. Those are the two lowest growth decades since 1850.

I wouldn't expect everything to stay the same with that rate of population growth going on. By comparison, N. Cal's. population grows by more than Maine's total population every decade. Maybe the trend is toward a more reasonable rate of growth.

 

[ultrarunner]

The population of the 48 counties in N. Cal. has grown a lot over the time period you are referencing.

6.3 million in 1960 to 14.6 million in 2010.
1990 to 2000: 15% growth. 2000 to 2010: 10% growth. Those are the two lowest growth decades since 1850.

I wouldn't expect everything to stay the same with that rate of population growth going on. By comparison, N. Cal's. population grows by more than Maine's total population every decade. Maybe the trend is toward a more reasonable rate of growth.

That's controversial too... more people leave California than those coming in... at least legally.

New homes do not have wood burners and have not for a long time... in my city that goes back to the mid to late 90's

There are still lots of older single family homes with fireplaces... every tract home in the 50's and 60's had a wood burner... many installed inserts on the advice of President Carter... he said it was patriotic to reduce our dependence on foreign energy and touted wood as America's energy resource and this was also the time tax credits started coming into being... there were new fireplace shops popping up all over...

My city's population went from 374,000 in 1990 to 390,000 in 2010... about 4.5% over 20 years.

That said... there are regions in the central valley that have experienced tremendous growth...

It just seems there should be a way to differentiate between someone burning trash in the fireplace and someone burning seasoned hardwood in a certified stove.

 

[ultrarunner]

For anyone interested... here is a link to the next air pollution battle front in California... AG

http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Lin/CA_airqual_paper.pdf

 

[Wooddust]

I brought this up on Hearth.com and was immediately besieged by greenies who think this is super duper?.How can that be with all the people on that site wood burners.

 

[ultrarunner]

It's because the country is divided...

Those in the big urban areas and those not.

Part of the problem is one size fits all regs.

 

[Grateful11]

Right to pollute appears to be a form of patriotic expression these days. That won't end well (for the grandkids anyway?.)

I try to reduce pollution if its reasonable, don't really like being told either. But I like clean air, water, & food.

I'm with you I like clean air and water and do what I can try and reduce our output but can only do so much.

 

[Grateful11]

I brought this up on Hearth.com and was immediately besieged by greenies who think this is super duper?.How can that be with all the people on that site wood burners.

They don't all think it's super duper. I'm a lurker over there and I think they're just trying to make sure they are able keep burning wood in some shape or manner. They've had people come in and try make people believe that guys in black suits are going to come in a remove their current stoves. If those folks over there were true greenies they would not be burning wood at all.

I mean it really sounds like some on here would rather make more smoke and put out more crap out their flue just to prove a point. If that's a persons mindset then it's only going to get worse for us dedicated wood burners.