Posted on 11/06/2007 10:12:36 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
Igniting a public health war on smoke, the Bay Area's air pollution agency proposed Monday to ban wood fires on bad air nights and to bar new installations of open hearth fireplaces in homes and buildings. Until now, the air quality district has not regulated indoor burning of wood.
Instead, the district has asked people to voluntarily refrain from lighting fires on chilly winter "Spare the Air" nights to protect the public from the health effects of tiny smoke particles that can lodge deep in human lungs.
The particles can aggravate asthma, emphysema and lead to premature death among the elderly.
Under the proposed rule, people in the nine Bay Area counties who burn on bad air nights would be subject to a ticket and small fine.
Enforcement of the rule would rely heavily on public complaints. District inspectors would provide a grace period for people to learn about the rule before any tickets are written.
"This isn't about tickets, but having the public participate in a wood smoke reduction strategy to protect public health," said Karen Schkolnick, a spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. "Wood smoke accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the particulates on winter nights."
The proposal would exempt people who rely on wood fires to heat buildings and who have no access to other heating sources.
After holding seven public workshops this month, air district administrators will consider whether to revise the draft smoke rule before sending it on to the 22-member district air board, a group of city council members and county supervisors from throughout the Bay Area.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
But then the Nanny Staters realized their mistake and began writing new regs to control yet another aspect of our miserable little lives.
This is only the camel's nose under the tent. Their real objective is to completely outlaw wood burning.
The paper today said that enforcement will depend on neighbors turning in neighbors. First fine will be $50, rising quickly to $1,000 for subsequent violations!
Denver has had this for decades. I’m not sure how much it reduces pollution, though. And the bay area doesn’t exactly get cold in the winter, so I wonder how many people use a fireplace anyway.
While I basically agree with you, the problem is-everything they pass out there spreads across the rest of the country slowly like a cancer.
The only thing that may save wood fire places is a good stiff carbon tax... for the children.
We have enforcement of this in my town. The Air Board NAZI”S actually drive around whith heat guns detecting heat in chimeneys.
Are they capable of detecting warm gun barrels?
Just curious.
And they will wonder why someone starts shooting randomly from the clock tower...
I AM SO SICK OF THESE FREEKIN LIBERAL SCUM BAGS!
Dang, they tick me off.
I can see the news real now, some sniveling brat looking pathetic as his illegal alien mommy whines on about his asthma and how they need to stop burning all this wood and drowning polar bears.
I guess my $1100 heating bill last January was because of all my computers running day and night. True, it’s not seriously cold like in Minnesota or somewhere, but people use their fireplaces all winter. On a still day with no wind, there is a blue haze hanging over the valleys from all the wood smoke. It’s always seemed very ironic to me that the same liberals who want to ban smoking, are oblivious to the pollution from their precious fireplaces. This is one law I would like to see passed.
Correct. The sponsors of the NRDC want to sell more natural gas at higher prices. They don't give a crap about an overstocked forest.
I am lighting an extra huge fire in the fireplace tonight ... I don’t care if I have to don shorts and run the AC to keep it comfortable in the house. Damn these nannystaters!
If my friends in the health care professions are correct, anal intercourse carries with it a much greater health risk than wood-burning fireplaces.
Bizarre. I heat primarily with wood, and as a result offset the use of at least 700 gallons of heating oil. This season it’s going to be especially nice not to see the delivery truck in my driveway.
My stove runs 24/7 from November through March, and it only smokes if I put too much wood on a low fire, which is rare.
Wood. Good for America, good for your pocket.
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