EPA To Alaskans In Sub-Zero Temps: Stop Burning Wood To Keep Warm

Stories of our government yearning to show how great and helpful they are with their heads up their hind-sides, and you just wishing they would go away!
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bernomatic
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#1 EPA To Alaskans In Sub-Zero Temps: Stop Burning Wood To Keep Warm

Post by bernomatic »

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
Declaration of Independence

What the above phrase is saying is that more often than not, the individual man is willing to be trampled by government before he ever thinks of rebelling. Now Rebellion can take a lot of different forms, it doesn't always have to be in the form of open arms (combat). Sometimes it comes in selecting someone to openly confront those in our government and try to wrest the power to make inane regulations from those who believe they know better than us what is good for us.

Here is a prime example of "wise men" far, far away trying to dictate how we should behave and what is "good" for us, with little or no knowledge of the true situation. Even with all it's riches, Alaska is not a wealthy state. Of course it may be me, but it seems to me the less monetary wealth you have, the more our governments feel like they can tell you what to do. I have never been financially rich, but I have often felt that I have riches beyond what a lot of the Forbes 500 have. However, I have run afoul of certain government agencies which think I should be living my life a certain way or doing certain things. But this is not about me. This is about those intrepid individualists who call our 49th state home.

The problem appears to be with wood burning stoves and the extreme cold temperatures in Fairbanks in winter. Natural Gas is unavailable and heating oil is too expensive for some, so for those of lessor means, the use of wood burning stoves is the only practical source of heat in the winter. This can create a problem. If the temperature drops below -29° C, the smoke from the fire falls back to the ground and accumulates in low lying pockets. This falling of the smoke is called inversion and is the culprit behind the problems facing Fairbanks and North Pole, Alaska. It leads to a high particulate reading for the air during cold spells, but only in certain low lying areas.

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New York Times article
A more conservative viewpoint
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#2 Re: EPA To Alaskans In Sub-Zero Temps: Stop Burning Wood To Keep Warm

Post by tmacklin »

These (expletives deleted) should be tethered to the trees and fed to the bears. What a crock of (expletive deleted)!

Happy New Year!
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#3 Re: EPA To Alaskans In Sub-Zero Temps: Stop Burning Wood To Keep Warm

Post by Joe Wooten »

Did you know that you cannot get an old fashioned wood burning stove any more. The new ones have catalytic converters on them. I have an old Rebel wood burner in my basement that I use to supplement the propane furnace. Since the emerald ash borer killed off all my ash trees, I have a huge source of free firewood to use up. Probably enough for the next 3-4 years.
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#4 Re: EPA To Alaskans In Sub-Zero Temps: Stop Burning Wood To Keep Warm

Post by luke strawwalker »

Joe Wooten wrote:Did you know that you cannot get an old fashioned wood burning stove any more. The new ones have catalytic converters on them. I have an old Rebel wood burner in my basement that I use to supplement the propane furnace. Since the emerald ash borer killed off all my ash trees, I have a huge source of free firewood to use up. Probably enough for the next 3-4 years.
Or you can build your own, which is exactly what a lot of people are doing now... It ain't exactly rocket science-- just need a welder and a cutting torch and a little time and skill.

Or you can buy a used wood stove, which is another thing that a lot of folks are doing as well.

Leave it to the gubmint to screw up about the simplest thing possible...

Later! OL J R :)
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#5 Re: EPA To Alaskans In Sub-Zero Temps: Stop Burning Wood To Keep Warm

Post by Commander »

Joe Wooten wrote:Did you know that you cannot get an old fashioned wood burning stove any more. The new ones have catalytic converters on them. I have an old Rebel wood burner in my basement that I use to supplement the propane furnace. Since the emerald ash borer killed off all my ash trees, I have a huge source of free firewood to use up. Probably enough for the next 3-4 years.

Ah, but to those intrepid enough, as Luke has stated, an old 55 gallon drum with some sort of chimney can make a rather effective heater.
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#6 Re: EPA To Alaskans In Sub-Zero Temps: Stop Burning Wood To Keep Warm

Post by Joe Wooten »

luke strawwalker wrote:
Joe Wooten wrote:

Leave it to the gubmint to screw up about the simplest thing possible...

Later! OL J R :)
Yep!! Well said. AS Ronald Reagan said, the most terrifying sentence in the English language is "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
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