Ask yourself this question: when all the scientific and medical evidence proves that you are wrong, and yet you still persist in believing that wood burning is safe, and that wood smoke is harmless, then what does that say about you, and your thinking?
If you don’t believe the evidence then put your head over a chimney, with a fire alight below, and breath in, let’s see how long you last.
When it comes to wood smoke, it is far better to tackle this problem now, than to persist in the delusion that nothing is wrong. And that a warm, cheerful looking fire, is not in fact a noxious, toxic smoke spewing killer. No matter how satisfying and reassuring that fire may seem.
No one would deliberately eat contaminated food, so why would anyone want to breathe or tolerate contaminated air?
The general populace needs to know that there is no such thing as a safe, environmentally-friendly, carbon-neutral or clean way to burn anything.
Most people do not seem to care that wood smoke causes many others, or themselves and their family to suffer with chronic breathing problems, or think about the fact that wood smoke is poisoning the air with proven carcinogenic toxins, and greenhouse gasses.
We all know that smoking tobacco is a killer. Wood smoke is a 1,000 times worse, and even 100 times worse than car exhaust.
I hear people moan about the cost of energy being too high, and that they have to burn wood to keep warm. Well, my house is 2,000 square feet and my energy bill for the whole year is $2,640 and I only have electricity for everything. My house is not cold in the winter, it’s at 20 C. If your combined energy usage is costing you more than $2 per square foot per year, then I suggest you contact BC Hydro for a free home energy evaluation. Or get a heat pump.
Parksville residents: it’s time raise your voices and reject wood burning and demand clean air. It’s 20 per cent of the population who burn and who are causing the poor air quality and contribute to global warming, decimating the polar bears and penguin habitats.
Inundate city council with demands for clean air and become the green city it got an award for a couple of years ago.
Enact a bylaw with teeth to fine and stop wood smoke polluters, before it’s too late and we all choke to death.
There are at present three air quality monitors in Parksville, which can be monitored on PurpleAir.org.
You can also get the local weather forecast here as well.
It’s a fact that more than 75 per cent of all fatalities in a fire die because of smoke inhalation, not burning. Don’t believe me? Then ask a firefighter or a fire investigator — their figures may be even higher, but certainly not lower. Why do you think firefighters always use oxygen masks?
Bob Budd
Parksville
