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LETTER: Current air quality issues should make people rethink their wood stoves

Dear editor,
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Dear editor,

Currently we’re engulfed in smoky air throughout southern BC with health warnings about the air quality. The smoke from wildfires is worrying. It’s like living inside a highly polluted city.

So why do we willingly create a similar situation throughout the winter months with outdoor burning and a plethora of wood-burning appliances polluting our valley which create their own air-quality warnings?

We need to think about the increasing amounts of smoke-filled air and fine particles that cannot be kept out of our homes or our lungs. When we choose to heat with wood stoves it affects our neighbours and the smoke concentrations inside the home pose a danger as well.

We replaced a wood stove with a ductless electric heat pump soon after purchasing our home here. Our hydro bills are low and we have the significant benefit of summertime air-conditioning. It’s a choice that many might make with a bit of encouragement or assistance. It’s wonderful that some members of local councils and other levels of government are supporting efforts for cleaner air. But current rebate opportunities are limited and especially limited in helping people select a heat pump, which is the greenest alternative.

We can limit or ban outdoor burning. Perhaps new homes should not be built with wood-burning stoves or fireplaces, so that we don’t keep adding to the problem. Homes that are sold could be required to remove such appliances. Should we be permitted to use wood stoves at all during poor air quality days if we have other heating alternatives in the home?

When you look around this week and see the poor air quality, just think of how we will almost certainly be creating a similar situation this winter. We can’t do much right now about the wildfire smoke but we can do a lot about smoke from wood stoves and open burning. We homeowners should consider our alternatives, speak to government and ask what programs and rebates exist to help us if we want to make a greener choice.

Gail Jernberg

Comox