Pubs are installing patio heaters in outdoor smoking areas
Posted on 06/10/2007 5:28:10 PM PDT by Stoat
Pubs are installing patio heaters in outdoor smoking areas
Patio heaters installed by pubs to keep smokers warm on chilly nights could soon produce as much carbon dioxide as a small city, it has been claimed.
Next month's smoking ban has triggered huge demand for the gas-fired heaters from pubs, restaurants and clubs creating legal outdoor smoking areas.
But according to experts, a single heater releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year than the average fuel-hungry "Chelsea tractor" - a large 4x4 car.
They estimate the additional patio heaters bought by pubs this year could produce up to 320,000 additional tons of carbon dioxide.
This equates to a "substantial chunk" of the annual reduction in greenhouse gases needed to meet Britain's Kyoto targets and close to the carbon emissions from every home in a city the size of Bath.
Although some DIY stores have banned patio heaters, tens of thousands of pubs have added them to gardens and outdoor areas to keep smokers happy.
"It's pretty sad that keeping warm while you have a cigarette is more important than tackling climate change, especially in a country familiar with simpler remedies to chilly evenings such as the woolly jumper," said Ben Tuxworth, of the environmental charity Forum for the Future.
The findings come from British Gas, which studied the impact of pub patio heaters as part of its energy saving campaign. It found half of all pubs in Scotland bought at least one patio heater after the smoking ban in March 2006. Many bought several.
With a single heater releasing almost four tons of greenhouse gases a year, the patio heaters installed in Scotland produced up to 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide in their first year, the company said.
British Gas estimates a minimum of 40,000 heaters will be bought for the July 1 deadline by English pubs.
That would produce around 160,000 additional tons of carbon.
If pubs buy two, the emissions would rise to 320,000 - the equivalent to the annual domestic carbon output of a small city. The estimates are based on Government findings that a typical commercial patio heater is used for around five hours a day, 237 days a year.
Jon Kimber, the company's spokesman on energy efficiency, said many homes were working hard to improve their energy efficiency.
"There has been a real step change in people's concerns about reducing their impact on the environment and it's worrying to see these efforts cancelled out by a sudden boom in patio heater sales," he said.
Earlier this year the garden chain Wyevale stopped selling patio heaters after pressure from environmental campaigners. According to Friends of the Earth, the energy used by a heater in one hour is the equivalent of boiling a kettle enough times to make 400 cups of tea.
Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper said: "Patio heaters waste energy and inflict unnecessary damage on the environment.
"Ministers must do more to get their climate strategy back on track. It's time to ban the sale of these metal monstrosities."
The smoking ban in indoor public spaces begins on July 1 in England. Wales and Northern Ireland introduced their bans earlier this year.
Whenever it stops being a route to profits via Enviro-Jihadism and whenever it stops being an effective mechanism by which Leftists can destroy Western civilization and culture.
Unintended consequences strikes again.
This is just insane! OK antismokers, how ya’ gonna defend this??
One thing we can do that we seem reluctant to do is just ignore their rules. Just light up where ever you want to. They banned smoking at my husbands workplace and the workers just ignored them. This place employed around 1600 people and a good part of them smoked. Anyhow they just continued to smoke as usual and the company never said anything to them. When my MIL was in the hospital, they had a smoke tent set up a long ways from the hospital. So we just smoked in the courtyard. It was far enough away from the front. Anyhow they had this flunky who would come around and tell us to put our cigarettes out. We would say ok. Then when he walked away we’d light up again. He got tired of telling us after awhile and just ignored us. Of course it would have to be a mass effort or you’d probably wind up in jail.
And try not to breathe too much cause you are exhaling carbon dioxide.
I’ve got an old tom cat that can pollute a 2000 square foot house in 5 seconds with just one emission.
“...far nicer than straining to hear her sultry voice over the din of the other patrons and the blaring TV.”
YAHTZEE!
Wow. I guess all of us that use propane gas grills will be targeted next by the Enviro-Wackos. I’d better switch back to charcoal, lest I wake up to find the cat on the spit one morning soon. *ROLLEYES*
It’s official! I’m only “one puff away” from starting to smoke, just for the PRINCIPLE of this stupidity.
Actually, my birthday is in July and I always purchase a nice lady-like cigar to smoke in celebration of another successful trip around the sun. I’ll have many more reasons to light up this year! :)
So these heaters are 100% efficient at creating CO2 (all fuel consumed goes to CO2 production and not other gasses)?? I’ll take one!
On average, humans haven't lived very long until modern society came along. People were lucky to make it to 40 at the turn of 1900.
The 3600lbs of propane (plus 12910lbs oxygen) will yield 5586lbs of water vapor in addition to the 10924lbs of CO2. Impurities in the fuel will likely cause trace amounts of other gases.
That's correct.
And people are living a lot longer today. Smoking or not, second hand smoke or not, people are living longer today!!!
I credit the gyms and working out and keeping fit and foods being prepared a lot better today. :)
And burning kerosene, I think, the smoke they emit probably IS hazardous to peoples’ health, unlike the SHS scam. Save me from a liberal trying to fix a ‘problem’.
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