Across North America in newspaper articles, editorials and nasty posts to comments sections, an argument rages about the burning of wood in backyard fire pits. On one side are the anti-wood smoke activists who claim there is no safe level of wood smoke and that even an occasional hint of smoke smell in the air should prompt health concerns. Pungent push-back comes from those who apparently like to sit around a fire at night and want no interference with their freedom to make smoke.

Both positions can be offensive, depending on your point of view.

Butte County is in north central California and Chico is its largest city, with a population of about 87,000. Chico is located in the northern part of the Sacremento Valley and has a wood smoke problem in winter, which is not unusual for a city in a river valley where smoke can get trapped close to the ground. What is unusual is what Chico's newspaper, the Enterprise-Record, did last week. Between Thursday, May 13 and Sunday, May 16 the E-R published a series of ten articles about the wood smoke problem, and what's even more remarkable, they did a terrific job of it.

This guest essay by Rebecca Freedman, an emission specialist with the British Columbia Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport, expands on a comment posted at The Woodpile. We hope it prompts a dialogue among those whose work involves communicating with the public about wood heating.

I commented in response to the Wood Smoke Emission Reductions Through Public Education article, in which John wrote:

“The lack of good quality public information is not for lack of intelligence or creativity. I think the biggest reason why emission reduction through public information is in its infancy is because it is a very difficult task and that the agencies with resources, like government and manufacturers, are populated by technologists and marketing specialists, not sociologists and educators.”

The statement piqued my interest because I work for the government of British Columbia and, with both a marketing and education background, I believe in the critical role that public education and behaviour change must play in reducing wood smoke emissions. I run a province-wide woodstove exchange program, giving funding and capacity to local governments to promote exchanges, offer incentives, and deliver education. We currently have 23 programs running and over 3000 exchanges in three years.

Household energy strategy in tough times

When homeowners fear high energy prices, winter power outages or loss of income they turn in big numbers to wood heating. It is a recognized pattern that’s been apparent each time people lose confidence in conventional energy price and supply. This response is perfectly logical for people living outside the urban core because a wood stove installation is relatively inexpensive, firewood can be bought fairly cheaply (or scavenged) and the wood stove can keep the house warm without electricity. The thinking is that if everything goes to hell in a hand basket a wood stove can help get you through. That makes firewood a strategic fuel resource for families.

This is part of a doctoral thesis by Wendy Milne of Ontario, Canada, who studied at the University of Guelph rural studies department, in a program dealing with sustainable rural communities. Wendy was developing the idea of energy literacy, which has to do with how average people manage their energy use, how it affects their lives and how much control they have over their energy choices.

Most people who use conventional fuels for home heating have a relationship with the process that consists of paying the fuel bill and adjusting the thermostat. They know little about the system and are helpless if anything goes wrong. Wood heat is different and what follows is the most thorough exploration of that difference we've seen. JG