Editor:
In response to Alan Smith’s letter concerning wood smoke in Canmore, I’d like to throw in my two bits.
I agree that woodsmoke can be unpleasant and is undoubtedly toxic. However, wood can be burned wisely, it is a local, renewable resource and if you look at the entire energy cycle of a piece of local firewood, it might stand up well to the “clean” alternatives.
In 1988, the U.S.A. began certifying wood burning appliances. In 1992, Canada followed suit. EPA and CSA certified wood stoves are now commonly available and are replacing more polluting, less efficient appliances.
In the last 25 years I’m sure many of Canmore’s old smoky stoves have been replaced by new cleaner burning models. It’s just like the auto industry coming out with clean diesel engines, the fuel is the same, but the emissions are down.
The impact on the environment of acquiring local firewood is very low when compared to the infrastructure and processing needed to extract and distribute hydrocarbons or electricity.
A lot of firewood is available right in town as waste wood and the rest can be fetched with a firewood permit from a short drive away. The procurement is also good exercise.
Each form of energy has a different impact at various points in the energy cycle. Anti wood smoke crusaders only look at what is coming out of the chimney at the end of the cycle. Wood burning does produce more pollution than heating with natural gas or electricity if you only measure it in your neighbourhood.
However, the environmental impacts of natural gas extraction, electricity production and the distribution of these energy forms need to be considered when you compare them to wood burning.
Alberta Energy states on its website that in 2012 Alberta produced 90 per cent of its electricity by burning hydrocarbons; 58 per cent of this was coal. So, if you are heating your bathroom floor with electricity, there is no smoke in your neighbourhood, but there sure is somewhere else.
Burning wood to heat your house just isn’t that bad when you consider the alternatives. Also, where would you rather sit, in front of the fire or on top of the heat vent?
Robson Gmoser,
Harvie Heights
