Smoke complainers are urbanites against rural folks
Here we go again. Urban versus rural. Who rants the most and loudest? Who wants to control the whole valley to suit their needs? Not the rural people. When you have the likes of One Cowichan demanding our political leaders declare a climate emergency, push the housing issue but actually not build any and have the rural populace pay for the watershed group that only helps the urban community, it is no wonder we get our backs up when now we are to stop heating our houses with wood and to take our yard waste to Bings. It is obvious that these people are delusional.
We don’t have back yards. We have acreages that are treed. We should start charging them for our properties’ carbon capture. Trees are nice to look at but they also come down. The tree and the branches have to be cleaned up, otherwise it adds fuel to the forest floor. We do not own dump trucks and excavators but if the urbanites are willing, let them deal with the disposal. We do ours by hand, pile it in a safe place and cover it with a tarp. When allowed to burn, the pile will burn down and be manageable in a couple of hours. After that, it is just a matter of tending the fire until it is just ashes.
I prefer using our wood stove. Nice even heat. The ashes are put into the compost for our garden. There are lots of nutrients in it. It is efficient and one would be hard pressed to know it is in use due to the lack of smoke. I will never use gas to heat or cook with. It is too dangerous and has to be serviced by a qualified professional. The other factor is where this gas comes from. Fracking injects all manner of unknown chemicals into the ground thus causing localized earthquakes and is a threat to the water supply. I guess that because it comes from far away, it does not affect you. What about the communities that it does affect?
As for the health problems, people are indoors more at this time of year. Have your house checked out first to determine a possible cause. With the newer homes, they have been made airtight so any contaminants are trapped. It is not always a puff of smoke far off in the distance that is your problem. It is in your own home. Household chemicals used, odours from new furniture, dust and mould can all be contributing factors. But I guess it is easier to blame others for whatever ails you.
PS: If you want to clear the air everywhere, may I suggest New Delhi or Beijing. Follow Greta and demand action over there because their problem is also our problem.
Ed Aiken
Cobble Hill
