A recent upswing in woodstove use might sound yawn-worthy, but recent findings about the dire health effects of wood smoke might mean the long-term future of wood as a heating fuel is in question.
As someone who grew up with wood heat, I assumed it was hands-down one of the most sustainable, eco-positive fuels for home heating. Like many other widely shared conventions, it turns out the veracity of that assumption depends on a lot of things.
How many people burn wood in a given locale is an obvious factor. The number of homes using wood heat rose sharply in the years following the 1998 ice storm which left residents without power for weeks on end. Also no surprise, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of wood heat. [Read more…] about Where There’s Wood Smoke, There’s Pollution
Burning fuel, like wood and gasoline, happens around the world every day. Most of the time, we burn fuels to make heat or power engines. Sometimes the burning happens by accident, as in the case of wildfires.
Exposure to light typically gets most of the blame for fading photographs. However, air pollution can sometimes be an even bigger cause.