7 ms·

I don't think turf (peat) has been burned for energy generation since 2023.

by rithdmc 7mo ago

CalRobert 7mo ago
True, I was referring to domestic heat in rural areas.
- redfloatplane 7mo ago
  Unfortunately I think that's going to be very, very hard to sell to many people here in rural Ireland (Roscommon in my case). I would really love to see people stop burning turf but it's such a strong cultural thing that in some parts you'd be ostracised for even thinking the thought. I've personally spoken to people (who are otherwise quite environmentally aware) who suggest they'd never vote for the Green Party because they'd take their turf away. It's a tough sell.
  - jahnu 7mo ago
    I think they should be allowed for cultural reasons but only if cut by hand like we did when I was a kid :)
    - disgruntledphd2 7mo ago
      > I think they should be allowed for cultural reasons but only if cut by hand like we did when I was a kid :) Me too! That was a lot of work, and surprisingly hard to stack.
      - jahnu 7mo ago
        And turning it would cut your fingers to shreds! But it was great if the weather was fine.
        disgruntledphd2 7mo ago
        Which it almost never was :/
        detritus 7mo ago
        Thank you both for the imagery here - quite beautiful, in its way. This has made me remember having to go out to the coal shed and fill up a brass bucket and then come back in all covered in coal dust. I've not thought about That Smell in years!
        jahnu 7mo ago
        Did you have one of those ubiquitous brass boxes beside the hearth?
        detritus 7mo ago
        No, we had some antique brass bucket thing that I'd invariably have to drag in, accompanied by complaints that I was doing so, because obviously I'd put way too much in, so I didn't have to go out later to get more...
  - invalidusernam3 7mo ago
    How much impact does it realistically have on climate change? I would expect it to be relatively small compared to things like owning a car? In a perfect world we would want to reduce emissions as much as possible in every facet of life, but in the real world I think we should pick battles that have the biggest impact.
    - asdff 7mo ago
      Might be one of those situations where globally it is irrelevant but heavily fouls up local air due to geography or prevailing airflow patterns.
      - mrspuratic 7mo ago
        Smoke yes, but you're also turning a carbon sink into a carbon source. At ~16% of the island's surface area, peatland stores an estimated 53% of soil based carbon. (source: Irish Peatland Conservation Council)
        asdff 7mo ago
        It grows back right?
- rithdmc 7mo ago
  I think the domestic heating use is a drop in the bucket compared to commercial extraction of peat for export, or historical use for electricity generation. I've only so many shits to give, and people heating their homes doesn't rank.
  - DamonHD 7mo ago
    People heating their homes can be very sigificant. In the UK ~15% of all its territorial GHGs come from heating with gas: actual CO2 from the home boiler flues. CO2 from small amounts of rural home heating is probably not the big thing to be worried about, especially if local recent biomass, eg wood from forest management. But there are still nasties (PMs, biodiversity losses, etc) to be considered and that should be dealt with in due course.
    - cogman10 7mo ago
      At least in 2004 (not sure if it's still the case) there are some homes which still burned coal for heat. That is the nastiest smell out there.
      - DamonHD 7mo ago
        In England it is no longer legal to sell "traditional house" coal for domestic heating: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-coal-for-domestic-use-in-england https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-coal-for-domestic-use-in...
    - rithdmc 7mo ago
      The actual quantity of people burning turf for home heat is tiny, though.
  - Zigurd 7mo ago
    On cold mornings you can see the wood smoke hanging over the town of Taos New Mexico. It's easy to see even a little bit of haze in the otherwise crystal clear air. Taos is in general a very environmentally conscious place. The KTAO radio station has been solar powered since the early 1990s. It also has a significant population of low wage tourism industry workers.
redfloatplane 7mo ago
Your username made me chuckle!
- rithdmc 7mo ago
  ;) thanks.
- mohatmogeansai 7mo ago
  very funny

I don't think turf (peat) has been burned for energy generation since 2023.

by rithdmc 7mo ago

I don't think turf (peat) has been burned for energy generation since 2023.

CalRobert 7mo ago

True, I was referring to domestic heat in rural areas.

redfloatplane 7mo ago
Unfortunately I think that's going to be very, very hard to sell to many people here in rural Ireland (Roscommon in my case). I would really love to see people stop burning turf but it's such a strong cultural thing that in some parts you'd be ostracised for even thinking the thought. I've personally spoken to people (who are otherwise quite environmentally aware) who suggest they'd never vote for the Green Party because they'd take their turf away. It's a tough sell.
- jahnu 7mo ago
  I think they should be allowed for cultural reasons but only if cut by hand like we did when I was a kid :)
  - disgruntledphd2 7mo ago
    > I think they should be allowed for cultural reasons but only if cut by hand like we did when I was a kid :) Me too! That was a lot of work, and surprisingly hard to stack.
    - jahnu 7mo ago
      And turning it would cut your fingers to shreds! But it was great if the weather was fine.
      - disgruntledphd2 7mo ago
        Which it almost never was :/
      - detritus 7mo ago
        Thank you both for the imagery here - quite beautiful, in its way. This has made me remember having to go out to the coal shed and fill up a brass bucket and then come back in all covered in coal dust. I've not thought about That Smell in years!
        jahnu 7mo ago
        Did you have one of those ubiquitous brass boxes beside the hearth?
        detritus 7mo ago
        No, we had some antique brass bucket thing that I'd invariably have to drag in, accompanied by complaints that I was doing so, because obviously I'd put way too much in, so I didn't have to go out later to get more...
- invalidusernam3 7mo ago
  How much impact does it realistically have on climate change? I would expect it to be relatively small compared to things like owning a car? In a perfect world we would want to reduce emissions as much as possible in every facet of life, but in the real world I think we should pick battles that have the biggest impact.
  - asdff 7mo ago
    Might be one of those situations where globally it is irrelevant but heavily fouls up local air due to geography or prevailing airflow patterns.
    - mrspuratic 7mo ago
      Smoke yes, but you're also turning a carbon sink into a carbon source. At ~16% of the island's surface area, peatland stores an estimated 53% of soil based carbon. (source: Irish Peatland Conservation Council)
      - asdff 7mo ago
        It grows back right?
rithdmc 7mo ago
I think the domestic heating use is a drop in the bucket compared to commercial extraction of peat for export, or historical use for electricity generation. I've only so many shits to give, and people heating their homes doesn't rank.
- DamonHD 7mo ago
  People heating their homes can be very sigificant. In the UK ~15% of all its territorial GHGs come from heating with gas: actual CO2 from the home boiler flues. CO2 from small amounts of rural home heating is probably not the big thing to be worried about, especially if local recent biomass, eg wood from forest management. But there are still nasties (PMs, biodiversity losses, etc) to be considered and that should be dealt with in due course.
  - cogman10 7mo ago
    At least in 2004 (not sure if it's still the case) there are some homes which still burned coal for heat. That is the nastiest smell out there.
    - DamonHD 7mo ago
      In England it is no longer legal to sell "traditional house" coal for domestic heating: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-coal-for-domestic-use-in-england https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-coal-for-domestic-use-in...
  - rithdmc 7mo ago
    The actual quantity of people burning turf for home heat is tiny, though.
- Zigurd 7mo ago
  On cold mornings you can see the wood smoke hanging over the town of Taos New Mexico. It's easy to see even a little bit of haze in the otherwise crystal clear air. Taos is in general a very environmentally conscious place. The KTAO radio station has been solar powered since the early 1990s. It also has a significant population of low wage tourism industry workers.

redfloatplane 7mo ago

Your username made me chuckle!

rithdmc 7mo ago
;) thanks.
mohatmogeansai 7mo ago
very funny