Fireplaces and Air Pollution

Some well-intentioned initiatives for regulating the environment are just plain silly. The Southern California Air Quality Management District wants to fine homeowners who burn wood in a fireplace on winter days that the AQMD has determined exceed federal health standards.

Their reasons are noble: “Fine particulates are not only bad for the environment, but bad for our health.” “They can lodge deep in your lungs and exacerbate lung conditions and asthma. So this year, on days when the fine particulate levels reach 35 micrograms per cubic meter, we’re asking people not to burn wood.” Fine. But for those in their own home, there is nothing better than burning wood in a fireplace and inhaling the aroma of oak or eucalyptus. How do we know when NOT to do it? Residents can call a “Check Before You Burn” hotline at (866) 966-3293, or click here to sign up for an online notification, or use an interactive map available here. If they don’t, fireplace owners who repeatedly light fires on those days will be fined up to $500.

But here’s the thing: these advisories are expected to be rare - only one voluntary no-burn advisory was issued in 2010-11 (in Riverside) – so why threaten to fine people when you only half mean it? Wouldn’t it better to rely on the news media for this? Worse, can you see homeowners using these notifications? I can’t.

The new “no-burn” mandates are the latest in a set of measures aimed at controlling pollution. Wood-burning fireplaces and stoves have been banned in new developments since 2009 in California, and voluntary no-burn days were initiated last year. I’m fine with all that. The real problem here is the way the message is being communicated. The AQMD should rethink this impractical policy.

Source: Zev’s Blog (here)

Check: Encino’s fireplace store (here)