Interesting comments (and language) in this Economist article

[BowlandStoves]

Looks like the government is targetting stove owners as they assume they are all located in "well-to-do homes":-

 

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/08/27/wood-burning-stoves-the-picturesque-polluters

 

"An article in the British Medical Journal called for a “polluter-pays” tax on new stoves, to equal the associated health costs, which it put at £889 ($1,150) per stove each year in inner London."

 

"The black smoke will continue to waft from the chimneys of well-to-do homes until wood-burners go back out of fashion."

 

Any comments?

[Steve Bullman]

£889!!  

[BowlandStoves]

There is also the incinuation that only wealthy people have stoves - which is surely a form of discrimination?

[westphalian]

Ok. It is a middle class fashion but so what. A fire is a beautiful thing. It’s complete BS though about creating figures like £889. I know about this type of research. £900 is a more accurate figure taking into account the rising costs of antibiotics and the ppm of cgi/joules per square hectare of nanocalories

[BowlandStoves]

You should be a politician my friend

[westphalian]

Oops. Meant to say “I know about BS”
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know they just make these figures up. The more important an issue they make it sound the greater chance of getting future funding for more research

[sandspider]

1 hour ago, BowlandStoves said:

"The black smoke will continue to waft from the chimneys of well-to-do homes until wood-burners go back out of fashion." 

 

Whoever thinks wood burners put out black smoke has obviously not seen a well fed stove burning correctly.

[Khriss]

Dry wood should be a carbon neutral burn as the carbon has been processed ( <100yrs or so ) per inch of wood whereas coal takes abt a 1000yrs per inch , so we are burning out what has been absorbed in only the last 50-100 yrs or so . How that can be classed as pollution - compared to say, steel making , baffles me . K

[Stubby]

4 hours ago, sandspider said:

 

Whoever thinks wood burners put out black smoke has obviously not seen a well fed stove burning correctly.

That's the point . You cant see it as there is nothing to see !

[Mark Bolam]

£899?

Pfffft.

 

I must be pumping out at least £5k’s worth of harm burning MDF and old copies of Razzle I can’t open anymore.