Posted on 12/15/2005 4:49:48 PM PST by NormsRevenge
The hottest item for Christmas this year might not be a trendy video game or high-tech digital camera, but a stack of firewood. That's right. Dead trees are in.
High natural-gas prices this fall have ignited demand for wood in a way not seen in years, as a growing number of Northern Californians are attempting to save money on their PG&E bills by turning to their fireplaces instead of thermostats for heat.
Many Bay Area firewood dealers say supplies of seasoned oak, pine and other firewood are running low. Some have already run out.
--snip--
And nationally, sales of wood stoves are up significantly this year, while sales of many types of natural-gas burning stoves and fireplace inserts are down.
``We may run short of wood this year, only the second time since we've been in business,'' said Robert Bahara, whose family has owned Bahara's Farmer's Outlet, a Sunnyvale firewood dealer, since 1954.
But one group isn't full of cheer about the trend: air pollution regulators.
Officials at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District note that soot from burning wood, or ``particulate matter,'' is a health hazard. During cold nights with no wind or rain, smoke from wood fires can stagnate over neighborhoods, aggravating breathing problems for people with asthma, the elderly and children.
``It is unfortunate because we are concerned about the health impacts,'' said Jean Roggenkamp, deputy air pollution control officer with the air district. ``It is worrisome to see the trend.''
Air district officials say that as much as one-third of particulate pollution in the Bay Area in the winter comes from fireplaces. They are pushing a number of programs, including urging cities and counties to pass ordinances that ban developers from building new homes with traditional open fireplaces.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
I'll say. And I always keep at least a quarter cord around. It's just so much more cozy and inviting having a roaring fire in the fireplace. (Of course, it pays to have the chimney swept at least once a year, too.)
I bought my cord in early October for $350. I wish I'd bought two.
The enviro-kooks that won't let us drill anywhere for known recoverable deposits of gas or oil on-shore and off-shore in the U.S. are responsible for the doubling of gas prices the last 4 years. Now the same enviro-kooks are going to ban wood burning. They won't be happy until thermostats and furnaces are banned and we are all shivering in the dark.
Did you see this article yesterday? I was wondering how many days of the year this ban goes into effect.
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/11589614p-12321922c.html
Wood fires banned today
Today, the restriction on wood-fueled fires, already banned in the southern part of the valley, has come to San Joaquin County.
Red flags displayed at local schools today are a reminder that cold-weather air pollution has worsened in the San Joaquin Valley.
Until now, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has discouraged wood fires in San Joaquin County and recommended that people opt for clean-burning, EPA-approved heaters. Today, all wood fires are prohibited, and violators can be subject to fines from the air district.
(snip)
Hogan Malay said people who violate the ban face a $50 fine for a first-time offense, but fines can escalate to $1,000 for repeat offenses.
She said air conditions improved slightly over the weekend, prompting a warning that discouraged, but did not ban, the use of wood-burning devices in Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties.
But the ban was reimposed Monday and again Tuesday in Stanislaus County. Use of wood-burning devices was prohibited Tuesday in Merced and San Joaquin counties.
Well, get cold enough, and folks will burn anything, even if it doesn't happen to be wood.
I burn 300,000,000 year old fossils for heat . Coal . One 5 gallon bucket in my Franklin stove a day heats my 2100 sq/ft. house .Only use the oil burner when away and the coal fire goes out .Costs $360.00 yr to heat the palce -- in New Jersey !
Didn;t see that but doesn;t surprise me. and I thought cows were the largest polluters. (maybe they still are, probably roasting marshmallows and making old fashioned cocoa due to the colder weather.)
I discovered the wonders of coal a few years back. Burns nice in a wood stove (I burn wood and coal together to get things going). It provides 90% of my home heating needs, even when things drop to zero. It burns much hotter and longer than wood and costs a lot less to heat with.
This is some kooky stuff!!
On the East coast the libs are blocking the Marthas Vineyard windfarm which would eliminate a coal fired powerplant!
Wow!!! I'll sell you firewood all day long for half that and still make a huge profit. Around here it sells for about $45/cord, cut, split and delivered (locally).
Last year I bought a powered log splitter and I live in a big, oak forest. I use free firewood, exclusively, for heating.
Wood isnt much cheaper than fuel oil when you add in all the Costs.
Chain saw
We lived where we could get all the firewood we wanted off our own property....never lacked for heat even in the worst ice-storm.
I'm waiting for news of "people" who put their bar-b-cue in the living room and got warm that way:)
Real men build real fires. Real women like real heat. My tootsie toasts her tushie a few times per night in front of our hearth stove.
How long before we must go William Wallace on these bureaucrats?
I turned 63 this summer. LOL!--that's why I got the log-splitter.
Since I live in a forest, a chain saw is a must no matter whether you burn the wood or not. Last year, for example, a huge oak fell across my driveway---had to cut it up to have access. If you live in the country, as I do, a truck is also a must--preferably 4-wheel drive.
I sharpen my chains at no cost with a small rat-tail file. I use used motor oil for chain lube. I used to split the wood with a maul and got by on that for years---cost $7.50.
I don't haul my wood via truck---I use a wheel barrow--it's all around me. In fact, its too close. A big oak fell this spring, missing my house by 1/2 inch---I cut it up and burned it in the stove. There was another huge, dead oak in the front parking area within 20 feet of my house. We cut it down (what a job since it was leaning toward the house) and I'm now staying warm thanks to it.
Two years ago I had my land selectively cut by a logging firm. That gave me enough income to buy the truck, chain saw, wood splitter and all the gas and oil to run them for a few years to come. The tops of the logged trees were left in a huge pile at the end of my driveway. Now they're all seasoned and on my covered deck, cut, split and fodder for the wood stove.
But you're right...it's a big pain in the ass.
We used to live in the foothills east of Sacto. The inconsistency was hilarious. There were lots of greenies who moaned about cars (though most drove 30 miles into Sacto to work), led the fight to get the Rancho Seco nuke plant shut down (even though it was clean energy, it was a nuke plant), fought against the Auburn Dam (even though it was renewable energy, it would dam up a barren canyon), etc. They all burned wood, feeling smug because it was "renewable" energy.
I'd exit Hwy 50 in Cameron Park and the whole valley was under a cloud of smoke from wood fires.
Well I still have the saw and I use it once in a while, I also have the pickup truck. I dont live in a woods , but I didnt have any trouble getting laps from where the sawmillers left them , Most people are happy to give them to you. I never had a splitter so I used the mall method too except where the knots were really bad, I took them over to my brother in law who has one. My wife got tired of the dirt left in the house from wood being hauled in and out.Ya know bark and crap also bugs that come alive when the wood sitting before the stove gets warm. Also one room, where the stove was would be hotter than hell and the back of the house was cold. I did it for 7 years then had enough. I also sharpened my own blades and used burnt oil for the saw. Try a Dremel tool on the blades they work great, better than a file,or you can put a small stone in a electric drill too. They sell the stones at the hardware store, right next to the Chains. I was exagerrating a bit on the costs just to have some fun.But it really does have a cost.
typical RAT logic... don't let electric companies build new plants or upgrade old ones without the MOST draconian EPA laws they can dream up... so what happens??? results: MILLIONS of people buy wood/corn/pellet/coal stoves that are COMPLETELY UNREGULATED!!! the law of unintended consequences strikes again.
I grew up in the coal regions of Pa. ( Wilkes-Barre ) . My job was to keep the furnace going . Saturday was the weekly take the ashes to the dump trip.
The coal I burn now ( near Atlantic City ) is actually still mined in the same area of Pennsylvania .
A ton in the 50's was $6.00. Now I pay about $130.00-$150.00/ ton . Still a bigger bang for the buck than oil and natural gas and is CONSTANT heat .
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