Timeline for Should I use my wood fireplace?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
22 events
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| Jun 18, 2020 at 8:35 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
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| Sep 9, 2018 at 13:26 | history | edited | gerrit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Sep 8, 2018 at 21:07 | history | edited | gerrit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Sep 8, 2018 at 21:02 | comment | added | gerrit | @Tim I have rephrased my answer to not blame the fuel as such. | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 21:01 | history | edited | gerrit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Sep 8, 2018 at 20:53 | comment | added | gerrit | @Tim Many people in the world cannot access clean drinking water, many people in the world who can just about afford a motorised vehicle can only afford one of the dirtiest type of scooters, etc.: often the cheap alternatives are dirty. Just because many people can only afford dirty solution does not mean we shouldn't thrive for a cleaner one. The question I'm answering is one of sustainability, not affordability. And I don't think your statement on freezing temperatures in SEA is accurate. | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 14:18 | comment | added | Tim | Thanks for editing your answer and toning down some of the wildly generalised and false statements. Facts: Managed woodlots are entirely renewable and sustainable. Large swaths of Af/SEA endure nightly freezing temperatures on a regular basis, so treating it all as "warm" is simply wrong. Most of the planet cannot afford fancy alternatives, so there are no other options. By admitting that low-emission heaters exist, you contradict your own assertion that "burning wood" causes the problem. The reality: Poorly designed heaters are the problem. Blaming the fuel is a mistake. I'm done. | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 13:32 | comment | added | gerrit | @Tim I have rephrased my answer to explain the context more. | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 13:31 | history | edited | gerrit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Sep 8, 2018 at 13:26 | comment | added | gerrit | @Tim The people you're talking about primarily use wood fires for cooking, not for heating, as most live in warm climates such as in Africa, South-Asia, or South-East Asia. The question is about heating. The majority of the world lives in cities, this is even more true in cold climates. It is very important for the air quality in cities in cold climates (like in northern China or Mongolia) to move away from fires for domestic heating, but regrettably they cannot always afford the alternatives. My answer of course is about whether wood burning is sustainable: de facto, it is not. | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 13:20 | comment | added | gerrit | @Tim As for cooking in rural areas in 3rd world countries, charities are working to bring solar cookers to these communities, saving forests and improving health. The reality is that the wood being burned by poor people is not sustainably sourced in practice, so it's not even carbon neutral. Deforestation is a serious problem. In big polluted 3rd world cities, local government is aware that traffic and home wood fire cooking toxifies and they are working on providing alternatives. | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 13:16 | history | edited | gerrit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Sep 8, 2018 at 13:12 | comment | added | gerrit | @Tim I'm not talking about carbon (climate change), I'm talking about particulate matter (air quality), and there are people in central London who are burning wood because they think it's cozy or sustainable, while it isn't. I cited evidence for the effects on air quality. England is rich enough to upgrade their homes to never need any active heating. Yes, there are billions of people who are living in bad air quality because they are too poor to afford a healthy way of heating or cooking or transport. My final line clearly said alternatives are available. | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 11:28 | comment | added | Tim | Oh, and finally, if the firewood is from a managed woodlot (i.e. the fuel is renewable), then all you are doing when you burn wood is returning carbon back to the same atmosphere that it came from in the first place. Over a 20–30 year time frame the whole process is carbon neutral. That's pretty-much the gold standard for environment friendliness. If you think "carbon neutral" is "the worst thing you can do" then I'm not sure we are living on the same planet. | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 11:10 | comment | added | Tim | Also, even if the 250,000 deaths per year figure is accurate, given that at least 2,500,000,000 would die within a single year from not burning biomass, that makes "banning fireplaces" ~10,000x more lethal than leaving them in place. Have you really thought this through? | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 10:36 | comment | added | Tim | Please cite actual evidence that something like a Rocket Mass Heater produces more particulate emissions than a diesel truck. It burns wood, and your assertion is that burning wood produces more particulates than a diesel truck. Evidence please. | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 10:33 | comment | added | Tim | A third of the planet (2.5 billion) lives off less than $2 a day. Unless you somehow think they are able to afford [fancy, feel-good heating option of your choice] then they have no option but to use wood for heating and cooking. If you outlaw fireplaces you kill them from exposure and starvation. Well played. | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 9:57 | history | edited | gerrit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Sep 8, 2018 at 9:57 | comment | added | gerrit | @Tim Do you have any citation for "for billions of people wood heat is so far ahead of any other option"? Who are those people and what are their other options? | |
| Sep 8, 2018 at 6:10 | comment | added | Tim | It seems that you are on a holy crusade against wood heaters. You are cherry-picking facts and making blanket statements that simply aren't true under average conditions. Do you think that is even remotely wise? Sure, in a small number of situations, wood heaters are sub-optimal, but for billions of people wood heat is so far ahead of any other option that it's not even funny. | |
| Sep 7, 2018 at 17:24 | history | edited | gerrit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Sep 7, 2018 at 16:52 | history | answered | gerrit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |