The topic of this month's climate action group was wood heating. If you are not in a local climate action group you should be (even if you start it with a few of your friends). The problems with wood heating are very clear and the evidence is overwhelming.
First, wood smoke is toxic. Breathing problems with wood smoke are found everywhere, people are homebound, hospitalized and die because of the air quality. The amount of wood smoke coming out of chimneys is a health concern. In valleys it is so much worse. Unlike the song One Tin Soldier, the hill people are killing the valley people.
Secondly, the carbon particles in wood smoke are a serious greenhouse issue. The minute particles absorb sunlight. The greenhouse effect is very high, luckily though the particles have a short lifespan. They can also affect water drops in clouds and alter weather patterns.
One option is changing to a heat pump and there are a number of government programs built around the change. Of course BC Hydro is front and centre in getting people to change their heating system to electricity. But heat pumps even with the subsidy are expensive and involve major changes for many homes. Scientists have also shown that most studies do not include the refrigerant loss. Refrigerants are a significant greenhouse gas and increase the carbon footprint significantly.
Also the question of solving carbon issues with elaborate technology is under debate. Author Richard Heinburg in his book Power questions whether all of the system changes being designed to draw down our carbon foot print will not in themselve create a carbon spike. Moreover he posits that as we chase scarcer raw materials are we also going to be doing unreparable damage to the environment in addition to using increasing energy (carbon) to extract resources.
David Holmgren, famous for identifying the principles of permaculture in the mid 70's, devote a major portion of his book Retrosuburbia to wood heating. One of his core views is that we should assume society structures like the grid are going to collapse and we should look to wood as a heat source within the principles of permaculture (taking a yield but protecting the natural environment). Strong opinion, but it is pretty hard to not give it some merit given our current inaction (individually as well as collectively).
Many countries consider wood a renewable energy source. England subsidizes wood pellets making it viable to purchase them from logging communities around the world. Yes, trees are part of the natural carbon cycle, but harvesting practices for large scale pellet production are not. Wood as a heating commodity needs to be looked at carefully. Sometimes the best place for a dead tree is either standing and supporting the birds and insects that live on it, or lying on the forest floor as a nurse log. Yes there are legitimate sources of firewood such as safety removal, forest fire prevention and excess deadfall, but not enough to begin exporting wood as energy.
Not all burning is the same. Open fires such as fireplaces are the worst and improperly cured and dried wood will not burn properly. Ideally you want a hot fire that will burn all the carbon particles and gases leaving little visible smoke coming from your chimney. Proper wood, proper burning techniques and a well designed wood stove/heater are essential. Cleanliness is critical, soot in the chimeny increase the amount of pollutants that come out the top.
In rural settings a woodstove is key. Power may go off for extended periods and repairs go to high population centres first. Burning is going to happen, but care can be taken to ensure that smoke pollution is kept under control.
