Free Republic

(CNSNews.com) - "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." But WAIT! Stop the music -- What is the moisture content of those logs? Before burning the logs, did you knock them together to see if they sounded hollow? You really should go dashing through the snow to your local hardware store in search of a "moisture meter," the perfect gift for that environmentally paranoid person on your Christmas list. Those people are so hard to please, aren't they? And be sure to check your local air quality forecast on airnow.gov before lighting a fire. Alas, the Environmental Protection Agency recognizes that,...

As the first rays of sunshine pierced the dense Bakersfield air, Mike Oldershaw searched for smoke..... This morning, though, his eyes led him to the culprit: a stucco home in northwest Bakersfield with a wisp of gas piping out its tile roof ....... Oldershaw, an air quality compliance manager with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, had spotted what could be the day's first no-burn violator...... Violators face either a $50 ticket or enrollment in so-called "smoke school," which involves a take-home test. For repeat offenders, fines can soar to $1,000.......

RULE 445. WOOD BURNING DEVICES (a) Purpose The purpose of this rule is to reduce the emission of particulate matter from wood burning devices. (c) Definitions (4) FIREPLACE means any permanently installed masonry or factory-built device used for aesthetic or space-heating purposes and designed to operate with an air-to-fuel ratio greater than or equal to 35-to-1. (18) WOOD BURNING DEVICE means any fireplace, wood burning heater, or pellet fueled wood heater, or any similarly enclosed, permanently installed, indoor or outdoor device burning any solid fuel for aesthetic or space-heating purposes, which has a heat input of less than one million...

Air regulators have approved new restrictions that will limit the use of fireplaces in four Southern California counties. The regulations approved Friday include no-burn days and a ban on the building of wood-burning fireplaces in new homes, are intended to reduce pollution. The South Coast Air Quality Management District estimates that the 1.4 million fireplaces in the region emit more than four times the amount of harmful emission than from all the power plants.

<p>FRESNO, Calif.(AP) - Residents of California's agricultural heartland for years have blamed their thick layer of smog on exhaust from cars and trucks in the San Francisco Bay area. Now, air regulators are proposing a solution that hits much closer to home.</p>