lotta pellets are made from saw-dust... it won't be missedI’m probably going to get one myself, but has anyone calculated the ecological impact if everyone requiring winter heat tried to switch to wood-burning?
I don’t think it’s the final answer.
It doesn’t need to replace every oil fuel heater, it can create a sustainable market on waste wood, and still reduce oil consumption
New stoves burn very clean. I’ve been heating with wood for years. I bought a new stove a couple of years ago, when warmed up, it makes no visable smoke.
lotta pellets are made from saw-dust... it won't be missedYou're kidding, right? Ain't enuff wood to go around, Hoss. Relax.
CO2 emissions from decomposing wood are equal to burning wood. The only difference is that burning wood releases the energy concentration rapidly, while the decomposition process is a very slow release of energy.
And wood is a renewable resource. An acre of forest will have a natural turn over of approximately a cord of wood from downed limbs etc. Selective harvesting of wood improves the forest stand. And a good forest cancels out the CO2 emissions because it converts the CO2 into O2.
with the clean burn technology available, an EPA Certified wood stove will provide many years of economical heat with very little environmental impact. And a wood stove is a great backup for when the power is out. I know I really appreciated mine when we were out of power for 3 days after an ice storm last winter. A pellet stove is worthless without power.
More than three quarters of the homes in my area use wood stoves to heat, and we have some of the cleanest, clearest air in the country.
The (San Fran) Bay Area Air Quality Management District says that fireplaces contribute the vast majority of particulate pollution to our air in winter. Thus, they are going to ban fireplace burning on “Spare the Air” nights, currently about 20 nights during the fall, winter and spring seasons. I’ve no doubt that, within a couple years, they’ll be back for a complete ban of all wood burning here. Liberal regulators just can’t help themselves and want to control every miniscule aspect of your life.