Berserkley Bans Fireplaces

NewsMax ^ | December 28, 2001 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

NewsMax.com

 

Friday, Dec. 28, 2001

Berserkley Bans Fireplaces

The communist outpost of Berserkley, Calif., infamous for its anti-choice stances on flag displays, freedom of the press, capital punishment, the fight against terrorism, ad nauseum, has now declared war on fireplaces.

The city council has banned log-burning fireplaces in new buildings and - the most tragic news of the year for the crackpot college town's snooty sybarites - even attacked those trendy wood-fired pizza ovens spewing the foul fumes of vegan arugula foccaccio.

Jami Caseber, a self-described environmental activist who pushed the ordinance, calls it merely "the first step to controlling or curtailing residential wood burning."

He wanted to crack down on fireplaces already built, but the new law was a compromise with "conservatives," an epithet used in Berserkely to describe non-leftists.

Michael Gersick, a lobbyist for fireplace makers, said his industry clients would support emission limits for fireplaces. "All we really want is a standard to meet," he told the Los Angeles Times.

The fireplace ban, rather than raising "awareness," is a lesson in foolish policy, said Gersick, who lives in the area. "I love the tempest and tumult of Berkeley. But God help you if you want to act responsibly and expect Berkeley to confront a public policy issue using facts."

[goodnesswins]

"What will they ban next? Indoor flatulence?"

Don't they need to start with the cows of the earth, first? They are supposed to be the biggest contributors to nasty gases on earth, aren't they? OOPS....better not give them any more ideas, but maybe that's why they are pushing vegetarianism....except all those veggies need FERTILIZER!!!!

[Paul Atreides]

I hear the reason there are no old men in Berkeley is because they have a ban on old f*rts.

[JAWs]

They prefer burning books.

[RightOnline]

"Jami Caseber, a self-described environmental activist who pushed the ordinance, calls it merely "the first step to controlling or curtailing residential wood burning."

JUST another example of what one committed person can do, folks.

THAT is the lesson here.

Now, I do understand that Caseber, as a drooling, tree-hugging, Al Gore-sucking liberal, had "sympathetic ears" on the City Council. Still, if it works for libs, it works for US.

I'd like to see more Conservatives get up and push ordinances that we'd all like to see on the books.

[Howie66]

Your garden variety bovine can't possibly hold a candle to those wild-eyed, hairy legged, non mascara wearing, non armpit shaving, feminazi, socialist heiffers that are seen waddling around the streets of Berkley when it comes to the flatulence issue.

How anyone there could engage in procreation is beyond me.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

I keep hoping it will fall in the ocean as predicted.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"They'll take my firewood away.........from my cold dead fingers!! "

Out here in the woods of New England, cutting and splitting a cord or two for the Winter is actually a certified exercise program!

[Grampa7030]

I have no trouble believing this article. About ten years ago I was telling a group of people in San Francisco about having cut some trees down over the weekend up here in Washington State. I was really shocked by the horror I saw on their faces that I could be so backward thinking. Not only was I destroying the forests (this was alder, the weed of the forest that I thin every couple of years) and that I could be polluting the atmosphere (it rains a lot here so that really isn't a problem). At any rate, I learned that it is a topic best left not discussed in the Bay area.

[Cindy]

[Reeses]

burning wood occupies a holy place in the human psyche

Most human evolution has occurred next to a wood burning fire place. Because of that it's in our genes. Most people who aren't romantic about fire places were weeded out long ago. I'm sure nature is slowly doing its work on the Berkeley gene pool.

[Wonder Warthog]

"They're threatening that in my county too. A friend just bought a house with a "fake" fireplace, little gas jets. Very environmentally correct. But when the power went off overnight she just about froze to death."

Must be a bad design. I've got a gas-log fireplace, and I can pretty much heat the entire house with it if the electricity (and electric furnace) go off (which happens frequently in this neck of the woods in the winter).

[mewzilla]

You hit the nail on the head with your inversion layer comment. The smoke from a woodburning stove or fireplace can be awfully thick when trapped like that. In a city it's not a good idea. I truly hate to say it, but this time I'm with Berserkley, at least when it comes to regulating this sort of thing within an urban setting.

[Brandybux]

Not enough heat? What ever are you thinking?

We have heated our 2000 square foot house for ten years with a single unvented gas heater. For most of those years, it sat on the fireplace hearth. I kept wanting the damn thing to malfunction, so I could replace it with a gas-log set.

Well, this year, it happened -- a malfunction good enough for me to get the "ventless gas log heater" (as they call them around here.

The view is beautiful -- logs glowing with incandescant red heat in the midst of it, and cheery dancing flames of yellow. I expected that it would put out somewhat less heat than our previous unit. But, no -- it can make the entire house oppresively hot if we don't crack some windows on opposite sides of the house to pull in a bit of cold air from outside. A few times, I've opened the front and back doors wide open to get a quick cool-off.

These things put out Mucho Calories of heat. Hot, hot, hot. And still their the prettiest things I've set eyes on.

[CedarDave]

The smoke from our wood burning fireplace used to whiff it's way across the street to our early rising dairy farmer. He'd remark on how much he enjoyed it.

And when the wind changed direction, what did you say about the aroma from the dairy farm?? Did you enjoy it as much as he enjoyed yours?? ;>))

[patriot5186]

The city council has banned log-burning fireplaces
But city council doobie parties are still OK.

[Boxsford]

lol, yes, indeed that did happen--often. But, we loved our neighbors and we moved into their territory that we never thought to complain.

[BFO]

Here's Berkeley in a nut shell. I was in Berkeley over the Christmas holiday, and stopped at a pizza place. We'd phoned in an order for two pies to take home after spending the day in SF. While waiting in line to pick them up, we decided to grab a few slices for the 30 minute car ride home, because we were starving. When we told them that we wanted the pies, and 4 slices too, the long haired Berzerkley type behind the counter told us we were really going to cause him a problem by buying his slices, because then there would be none left for others. I turned to my liberal brother in law, shook my head and said, "Only in Berkeley does buying the product cause problems for a businessman."

I was expecting something strange as we were driving in, and they did not disappoint.

[arly]

Isn't there anyway that we could annex Berkley to Mexico ?

[pointsal]

fine...let'm freeze in their mud huts