CA: California air regulators propose fireplace ban

Sac Bee ^ | 12/6/02 | Kim Baca

[NormsRevenge]

FRESNO, Calif.(AP) - Residents of California's agricultural heartland for years have blamed their thick layer of smog on exhaust from cars and trucks in the San Francisco Bay area. Now, air regulators are proposing a solution that hits much closer to home.

[Always A Marine]

I propose a ban on all future bans.

[Z-28]

At $235 for a full cord, we use our fireplace very little here in San Diego.

[Dog Gone]

True enough. I was hoping somebody would notice the irony of California forcing homeowners to switch to fossil fuels.

I sure did enjoy my visit to in-laws house this Thanksgiving just north of Fresno. Burning those eucalyptus logs in the fireplace was rather nice.

I guess I'll just file that in the memory bank, kind of like the days when we used to cut seat belts off so that we wouldn't sit on them.

[RogueIsland]

"I have a problem with you telling me I can't light my fireplace," Bakersfield resident Pat White said. "You're telling me what I can and can't do in my home. That's not fair. This is a taking, I feel, of my rights."

I wonder if Pat felt that way when it was the California gun owners' oxen that were being gored? Maybe he did, but I'll bet a lot of fireplace-owning liberals are suddenly finding out that the jack boot of coercive government tends to become more and more indiscriminate the more power it gets.

[FreedomCalls]

Can't we just ban California politicians from passing laws?
Can't we just ban California politicians?
Can't we just ban California?

[PAR35]

California is sort of like East Germany in the 1950s. The smart folks are getting out now, before the regime builds a wall to keep them in.

[Isle of sanity in CA]

OMG! This is real? I thought it was satire... Of course I also laughed years ago when Rush talked about SUV's, smoking in your home, and fast food being attacked. It's scary how quickly something once thought impossible becomes a reality.

[Mark]

[meyer]

I don't really see the problem? Where are these residents going to find the wood to burn in their wood-burning fireplaces anyway? Its not like the Sierra Club has left them any wood in the forests after the summer fire season.

A little bit of irony in this - how many millions of BTU's were burned up last summer and now they want people to freeze.

[meyer]

Fireplaces are a miniscule part of the air pollution problems, as are bbq grills etc, but because they are a small part of the population, government thinks they can run over them.

Exactly! This, along with tobacco legislation and the like illustrates exactly what happens when you have a pure democracy. That is why our founders chose a representative constitutional republic as the correct form of government.

I hope a huge, cold throng of people decide that its time to burn politicians for heat. All that fat ought to provide plenty of BTU's.

[tubebender]

Starting Jan 1 it will be illegal to burn any thing in a outside burn barrel which may make some sense in urban and suburban areas but it applies almost to every square mile of Cal except RARE cases. Of course this will lead to more dumping in land fills and roadsides.

[facedown]

Great rant/reply!

If all the forests burn, there will be no firewood, so the people might have to scavange cattle dung to burn for heat.

Cow chip energy!

[Cobra64]

Next it'll be barbeque grills.

Yup. Next outlaw Mexican food. It generates too much methane gas.

[willyone]

When you get the federal govt. to do something about illegal immigration maybe something will be done. Immigration is in the Federal Govts. courtyard and Jorge Bush just loves them illegals. Any more stupid hate California comments?

[willyone]

Go to Rancho Santa Fe and look for wood that SdG&E leaves by the road when they trim trees. I have not had to buy wood in years.