About 14 years ago a well-known local figure said to me something along the lines ‘of it must be lovely to be an eco-warrior, feeling you are doing the right thing?’
My reply was that, far from feeling smug, trying to do what was right for our planet involved constant worry, search for evidence, failing and struggling to understand the fairest way forward.
On many fronts, the correct answer is not clear or the evidence changes.
Take home heating; living in an off-gas village and with oil central heating, it was obvious I should shift to heating that produced less carbon dioxide. I looked into biomass boilers for central heating (fuelled by wood or wood pellets) but thank goodness I did not proceed because nowadays it is recognised that some suppliers of pellets are getting their wood from ‘virgin’ or ‘old’ forests, thereby destroying unique, biodiverse landscapes which cannot be replaced.
At that time, wood fuels were thought to be ‘carbon neutral’ because, in growing, trees absorb carbon dioxide. I therefore installed a wood-burning stove, which was said to be 80% efficient compared to my then open fire (which was said to be 20% efficient). The theory proved true in practice in that wood burned for about four times longer than in an open grate. I’d avoided a ‘multi-fuel’ model because optimum performance results from gearing to either wood or solid fuel.
Of course, the stove was much safer and you could go out while it was still burning.
However, in the years since the 2013 installation of my stove, evidence emerged and
strengthened that wood-
burners produce not only outdoor air poll-ution but also indoor risks, especially from particulate matter 2.5.
The government introduced strict measures to reduce harm, requiring all wood burned to contain less than 20% moisture. Regulation on stoves in built-up areas was also introduced. Even so, the joy of toasty, radiant heat on a chilly day is no longer what it was.
It’s really not easy being green…
Shirley McCarthy, for Melksham Environment Group
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