5 ms·

Why ?

VMG 15y ago
Unless he has high-tech stoves, it is pretty polluting. Smoke contains many toxic chemicals. http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/is-burning-wood-for-heat-really-green.html http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/is-burning-wood-f...
- burgerbrain 15y ago
  Hardly anything wrong with them as far as I can tell, provided you don't have neighbours. I would suspect that all the wood people burn in North America as fuel is greatly offset by all the forest fires people in North America put out. Large-scale adoption of course is not a bright idea, but that's not what this guy is doing. (And it is carbon neutral, so if you're going to burn something, better wood than fossil fuels from that standpoint.)
  - Retric 15y ago
    <pedantic>Your still burning fossil fuels to get the wood chopped and into your house.</pedantic> Granted, if your burning something for heat it's the best option. But, with that much passive solar and the fact he is living in California he could probably get by using more insulation and basically never need to use a wood stove. I mean just look at all those single pane windows.
  - VMG 15y ago
    > (And it is carbon neutral, so if you're going to burn something, better wood than fossil fuels from that standpoint.) It is carbon neutral only if you plant a tree. Which you can do anyway. Burning gas or oil, which have a better co2/kwh ratio and planting a tree is better than burning a tree and planting a new one.
    - burgerbrain 15y ago
      It's carbon neutral in the sense that the CO2 it puts in the air was taken out of the air a decade ago, not millions of years ago. >Which you can do anyway. Buying wood funds planting trees. Buying gas and oil do not.
      - VMG 15y ago
        > It's carbon neutral in the sense that the CO2 it puts in the air was taken out of the air a decade ago, not millions of years ago. That doesn't matter at all. > Buying wood funds planting trees. Buying gas and oil do not. Buying wood to burn it also increases the price, reducing the use of wood for better things.
- halfwave 15y ago
  The described Pollution only exists if don't know how to start and run a wood stove. (like running it low on oxygen & overloaded with wood). Most people who own such a stove know how to operate it right, for the simple reason that it saves money (less material burned) and work (less ash produced). If you run an mis-adjusted oil-burner with a dirty nozzle you get (at least) the same level of pollution.

Why ?

VMG 15y ago

Unless he has high-tech stoves, it is pretty polluting. Smoke contains many toxic chemicals. http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/is-burning-wood-for-heat-really-green.html http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/is-burning-wood-f...

burgerbrain 15y ago
Hardly anything wrong with them as far as I can tell, provided you don't have neighbours. I would suspect that all the wood people burn in North America as fuel is greatly offset by all the forest fires people in North America put out. Large-scale adoption of course is not a bright idea, but that's not what this guy is doing. (And it is carbon neutral, so if you're going to burn something, better wood than fossil fuels from that standpoint.)
- Retric 15y ago
  <pedantic>Your still burning fossil fuels to get the wood chopped and into your house.</pedantic> Granted, if your burning something for heat it's the best option. But, with that much passive solar and the fact he is living in California he could probably get by using more insulation and basically never need to use a wood stove. I mean just look at all those single pane windows.
- VMG 15y ago
  > (And it is carbon neutral, so if you're going to burn something, better wood than fossil fuels from that standpoint.) It is carbon neutral only if you plant a tree. Which you can do anyway. Burning gas or oil, which have a better co2/kwh ratio and planting a tree is better than burning a tree and planting a new one.
  - burgerbrain 15y ago
    It's carbon neutral in the sense that the CO2 it puts in the air was taken out of the air a decade ago, not millions of years ago. >Which you can do anyway. Buying wood funds planting trees. Buying gas and oil do not.
    - VMG 15y ago
      > It's carbon neutral in the sense that the CO2 it puts in the air was taken out of the air a decade ago, not millions of years ago. That doesn't matter at all. > Buying wood funds planting trees. Buying gas and oil do not. Buying wood to burn it also increases the price, reducing the use of wood for better things.
halfwave 15y ago
The described Pollution only exists if don't know how to start and run a wood stove. (like running it low on oxygen & overloaded with wood). Most people who own such a stove know how to operate it right, for the simple reason that it saves money (less material burned) and work (less ash produced). If you run an mis-adjusted oil-burner with a dirty nozzle you get (at least) the same level of pollution.