A compendium of news and commentary about wood burning collected (mostly) from around North America. If you see a relevant item that doesn't appear here, please post it in the comments section below.

Draft bylaw ‘leaves questions unanswered’
The Draft by-law to regulate the destruction or injury of trees in woodlands has been revised by Dufferin’s Museum and Archives and Heritage Lands Board committees and the legal firm of Cassels Brock and Blackwell LLP. This latest version leaves many questions unanswered. A landowner may harvest trees without a permit if they are for personal use but must have a permit if they are sold.

It is difficult to understand why personal use is allowed while sales are not. Once a tree is cut or as the province likes to call destroyed or injured, it makes absolutely no difference to the remaining woodlot by whom the saw logs or firewood is used. This distinction, which discriminates against people who do not burn firewood, should be removed. Few landowners, especially those of older ages, utilize wood heating.

After almost thirty years of telling people to burn only dry wood and not to let their fires smolder, we should admit that such general instructions don’t work very well. I speak from experience, having co-authored the following statements decades ago in a booklet that was widely distributed.

A compendium of news and commentary about wood burning collected (mostly) from around North America. If you see a relevant item that doesn't appear here, please post it in the comments section below.

Wood-fired boiler burns up neighbor
To appease Donnelly and meet county ordinances, Furness extended the smoke stack on the freestanding unit twice, from 2 feet to 32 feet. The wood smoke is a source of soot or particle emissions, which cause respiratory problems, heart problems and premature death. People who live within a few hundred feet of a wood-burning heater are exposed to short-term particle levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups, including children, the elderly and people who have a heart- or lung condition, according to IDEM.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has initiated a review of the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for wood heaters. That might seem like a desperately boring bureaucratic project, and in some ways it probably will be, but after all the hand-wringing and endless haggling is over, the result could be fundamental changes to wood heating technology that could shake the foundations of the manufacturers that make it and forever alter the wood heating experience of users.

If that sounds too dramatic, let me point out that it wouldn’t be the first time.

A compendium of news and commentary about wood burning collected (mostly) from around North America. If you see a relevant item that doesn't appear here, please post it in the comments section below.

Fossil Abstinence: Heating with Wood
Each of us has to find our own ways to live well that cause fewer problems. One appliance made a big difference in my life and it greatly reduces my family’s carbon footprint. As fossil energy becomes more expensive and its role in changing the climate becomes more apparent, it’s important to find ways to live that are also fun and rewarding.