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Is wood considered a polutant when not burnt?

• Aromasin 5y ago
  No, it is (largely, machinery aside) carbon neutral - provided we're growing said wood on existing forestry reserves or farmland, not wildland or old-growth forest.
• eptcyka 5y ago
  Unless treated, it doesn't matter if wood is burned or left to decay as it will release the same amount of CO2 in the atmosphere anyway.
  • cassepipe 5y ago
    Well there's a time component to burning or leaving to decay. Leaving a tree to decay takes a long time and there's time for many other trees to grow in the meantime. Pretty safe.
    • eptcyka 5y ago
      In mature forests, the replacement time is pretty much 1:1. If you disregard the nutrients being taken away from the soil and the energy needed to transport and dry the wood, wood would be a pretty good fuel. Slightly worse than nuclear, I imagine.
  • maxerickson 5y ago
    Particulates from wood smoke are brutal. (there are stoves that do better of course)