Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Air pollution inspectors find 47 violations of home fire burning ban on Christmas Day
Contra Costa Times ^ | 12/28/9 | Dennis Cuff

Posted on 12/28/2009 3:15:11 PM PST by SmithL

Another holiday. Another sweep of smoke scofflaws.

Bay Area air pollution inspectors found 47 homes where wood fires were on Christmas Day during a Spare the Air alert when cold, unhealthy air was forecast.

The tally was more than double the 22 violators detected on Thanksgiving Day when the Bay Area Air Quality Management District also called a Spare the Air alert.

Violators get written warnings for a first offense and $400 fines for a second offense.

While critics have bashed the air district for intruding on a holiday burning tradition, a spokesman for the agency on Monday defended the Christmas crackdown as protecting public health from soot that can trigger asthma attacks, and aggravate other respiratory and heart problems.

"We know a lot of people like to burn on this holiday, but it's our duty to protect public health," said Ralph Borrmann, an air district spokesman.

Ten air district inspectors patrolled the Bay Area on Christmas to watch for and sniff out burn violators.

(Excerpt) Read more at contracostatimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Extended News; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: fireplace; goldenstate; smokenazis; sparetheair
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-78 next last
To: no-s

Yes, there have been 3 “spare the air days” this winter: on Thanksgiving Day, on Christmas Day, and on the coldest day of the winter in the Bay Area, a day that actually saw snow.

BASTARDS is right! They (those who established the Bay Area Air Quality Board) are against anything that smacks of tradition, nostalgia, warmth, coziness, and common sense.

It is all about social control.


21 posted on 12/28/2009 3:45:10 PM PST by olivia3boys
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: La Lydia
So. In addition to dictating what kind of toilets we can have in our homes, and what kind of light bulbs we can use, the government bans burning wood in your own fireplace.

I understand your sentiments, but don't confuse local with federal mandates. It's wrong and unconstitutional for the federal government to pass these laws, including Clinton's toilet ban and Bush's light-bulb ban. But these people are reacting to a local ordinance that they can control by either moving their tax dollars away to a different area or state or by electing people with views more like their own. The fault lies completely with the people in the Bay area and those in the Republic of Kalifornia for not changing their state's constitution to prohibit their government from enacting these silly laws.

22 posted on 12/28/2009 3:46:48 PM PST by Engineer_Soldier (Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security deserve neither!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: SmithL
it's our duty to protect public health," said Ralph Borrmann, an air district spokesman

Well you done did your doody, airhead.

23 posted on 12/28/2009 3:48:35 PM PST by MARTIAL MONK (I'm waiting for the POP!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: longtermmemmory
Detroit fell, san francisco is next

Yep, and the people voted with their money by not just moving out of Detroit, but out of Michigan as a whole. Michigan is soon to be a deserted wilderness.

24 posted on 12/28/2009 3:48:41 PM PST by Engineer_Soldier (Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security deserve neither!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: SmithL

The pattern that has emerged is: anytime there’s a spiritually-significant holiday, you can count on these amoral bureaucrat sons of bitches to put the fireplace-ban turd in the air-quality punchbowl.

The notion of pre-emptively declaring a pollution emergency on a day when no one’s driving is ludicrous on its face.


25 posted on 12/28/2009 3:49:28 PM PST by RightOnTheLeftCoast (Obama: running for re-election in '12 or running for Mahdi now? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahdi])
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SmithL

Secular Liberals trying to quash Christian holiday celebrations.


26 posted on 12/28/2009 3:50:36 PM PST by wac3rd (Felipe Calderon supports the public option.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: OldDeckHand
Am I to understand that the People's Republic of Kalifornia has banned burning wood in your own, personal home fireplace? Is that correct?

No, that is not correct. This only applies to the San Francisco area. Learn to read clown.

Dear Kalifornia, when the "big one" hits and you all slide into the Pacific (making Phoenix prime beach front property), I am not going to shed a single tear. Not one

Flunked geology did you?

27 posted on 12/28/2009 3:56:35 PM PST by Inyo-Mono (Had God not driven man from the Garden of Eden the Sierra Club surely would have.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Engineer_Soldier

Your point is well taken, although I suspect the local ordinance was enacted to comply with the federal Clean Air Act. El Paso, Texas has about 750,000 people, across the river in Juarez live another 1.5 million. El Paso has to comply with the clean air regs, although it has no control over what goes on across the river. El Paso is consistently in noncompliance for failing to meet the national ambient air quality standard Government again.


28 posted on 12/28/2009 3:59:21 PM PST by La Lydia
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

Comment #29 Removed by Moderator

To: SmithL
I know how Colleyforrnya could save a lot of money for their budget... and there are probably a thousand other, equally useless, bleeding sores on top of this one.
30 posted on 12/28/2009 3:59:55 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SmithL

Every day it is less and less like the USA...gee what will these inspectors do when they push people too far and they decide to burn the entire towns down.

This is insanity...45 fireplace fires is going to damage the environment...unbelievable...

Perpetual opposite day in OblamaBush’s kingdom!!!


31 posted on 12/28/2009 4:05:46 PM PST by surfer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LonePalm
Perhaps they should light a fire under whoever wrote this POS ordinance.

It was written by cooped up city dwellers striking out in envy at suburbia. They hate fireplaces because they are not ant-hill living compatible. Envy is not about taking steps to have what others have, but taking steps to destroy what others have.


32 posted on 12/28/2009 4:07:38 PM PST by Reeses
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Joe Boucher

Reminds me of when my neighbor was building a garage and “The Inspector” had to come on my property to measure that his garage was at least 150ft from my well head (it’s about 100+ yards easily - so it was ridiculous).

Well, as he was standing there measuring he looked at me with a smirk and said “I’ll bet it makes you nervous having a government inspector on your property”.

With a totally deadpan straight face, I looked him direct in the eye and told him I had NO problem with government inspectors - the one I buried in the swamp in the back of my yard last year has given me no problems at all - and just continued to stare at him.

He got kinda quiet and sheepish after that....


33 posted on 12/28/2009 4:12:22 PM PST by KeepUSfree (WOSD = fascism pure and simple.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: La Lydia

Christmas was a no-burn day up here in Phx.


34 posted on 12/28/2009 4:14:45 PM PST by Cyber Liberty (Ram "Health Care Reform" down our throats in '09, and we'll ram it up your @ss in '10.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: SmithL

The same city that banned Segways because we are “too fat” and need to walk more.


35 posted on 12/28/2009 4:15:07 PM PST by LiberConservative (Global Warming/'Climate Change": Biggest Scam in History)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: OldDeckHand

You’re a real mouth breather aren’t you?


36 posted on 12/28/2009 4:18:09 PM PST by Inyo-Mono (Had God not driven man from the Garden of Eden the Sierra Club surely would have.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Mr. Lucky

>”Isn’t burning firewood pretty much, like, you know, carbon neutral?”

no No NO!

Making wood absorbs the carbon. When you burn it, it RELEASES the carbon back into the air! OhhhhhGodddddddddd!!!

You should not allow the wood to rot either as it does the same thing! Therefore, I task you with gathering wood for the rest of your life and putting it into a freezer (but, wait, the extra electricity that it takes to run the freezer makes more carbon so, you mustgetmorewoodandputitintothefreezertomakeupfortheelectictysoyoucangetmorewoodandputitintothe...... pk, well, something like that anyway.


37 posted on 12/28/2009 4:18:53 PM PST by scoobysnak71 (Just a national security threat, trying to get a nut.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: SmithL

“........when cold, unhealthy air was forecast.”


38 posted on 12/28/2009 4:19:09 PM PST by moehoward
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Inyo-Mono
"You’re a real mouth breather aren’t you?"

Whatever I am, I pale in comparison to your liberal idiocy. It's apparent why you're right at home in Kalifornia.

39 posted on 12/28/2009 4:22:58 PM PST by OldDeckHand
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: OldDeckHand; hinckley buzzard; Inyo-Mono
You're from Ohio?

Did you get your: "Smoke waivers from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA)?"

You don't think this crap is coming your way?

Think again, it's starts incrementally, and only becomes more intrusive and controlling.

Don't believe me? Want to see more?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Burning Ban

Open burning (burning of trash, debris and brush), is prohibited in Ohio during the months of March, April and May between the hours of 6AM to 6PM.

Open burning is prohibited within the City limits at all times.

Only Certified Prescribed Fire Managers can conduct prescribed fires in Ohio during these months.

To conduct a prescribed fire when open-burning is prohibited, an Ohio Certified Prescribed Fire Manager must request a waiver from Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry.

Smoke waivers from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) are required for most prescribed fires and open burns.

http://newlexingtonfiredepartment.com/burning-ban

40 posted on 12/28/2009 4:22:59 PM PST by dragnet2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-78 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson