I say, outlaw wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. And, yes, I mean it.
This news I'm going to give you now seemed to spread like, well, wildfire today. Perhaps it is just that I heard it twice, or two versions of it, and concluded it must be on the tip of a lot of tongues. Version one said that, as far as pollution, an hour of wood burning equals about eight hours of driving a car. Version two said that one hour of burning a fireplace equals -- would you believe it? -- 1,000 miles of driving a car. Either way, it is surprising.
And, pollution from wood burning might be more onerous than most.
If I could pass legislation outlawing wood stoves and fireplaces (just in the Salt Lake area and in other hard-hit parts of the state where we have a pollution problem, as opposed to having a statewide law), I would. But, I'd make my law somewhat unenforceable. A share of the wood burning is done by the elderly and poverty stricken. So, my law would outlaw wood burning except when economically, it is necessary to keep the home warm. Since most could claim they were just trying to keep warm, that would make my law somewhat unenforceable. The irony would be that while fireplaces can be a nicety, providing little more benefit that ambiance for the well off, this law would make it so the rich would be the ones who couldn't have them: They who can afford them just for ambiance, are the ones who can't have them.
In addition the law, I'd start a charity, accepting contributions to replace the poor's wood burning fireplaces with energy sources causing less pollution.
If I'm correct, only maybe 5 percent of our pollution comes from fireplaces. Still, you cut back 5 percent, and that is a step in the right direction. I have heard, though, that as much as 10 percent of the Salt Lake area's pollution is being generated by wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. That is a reasonably sized slice. And, it is one we ought to be able to eliminate almost entirely if we took a good effort to it.
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