Thread: WA - Collecting Firewood?

Originally Posted by Frenchie

I grow my own.

Is it seedy?

Originally Posted by nornalup

"A woodheater emits more pollution in a 24 hour period than a modern car does in it's entire lifetime"

Really Mabye we should look at the use of the word sustianable Frank, and get some perspective on the this.

A renewable resource means that the resource, in this case wood, can generate itself as fast as we use it. Given the time oil takes for mother nature to produce, and the rate we use it I think it's fair to say this became unsustainable soon after those texans tapped that first well. Using our forects for dunny paper aint sustianable, but collecting fallen timbber in selected areas I believe is a different story. Infact in WA it's used to actually controll the fuel load in areas, that otherwise would suffer more controlled burns by land managers.

For those of us, like frenchie, that live on large rural bush blocks we burn wood at a slower rate that that amount of bush produces and drops the stuff. As far as pollution from burning that wood I look at the burnt out trunks of 200 year old trees around our place and can only imagine my contribution a small part of what natural bushfires emit.

Living on the south coast of NSW how do you heat your place. Plug in the electric heater, or the gas bayonet. If so following your logic, do you make some coal or natural gas on the weekends in the back shed to make up for your sins.

Bottom line is going and chopping done a forest for woodchips is unsustainable. Having that forest intact and using it as a renewable resource makes sense. After all you don't cut done the lemon tree when a few are ripe do you?

Hopefully the blokes on this forum will chose to take wood in a responsible way and takes as much as they personally need. There are several areas around here that this has been going on for over a decade. They look in far better nick than the logged state forests and frequently burnt land surrounding.

Thats my rant for the night.

Nornalup, do you really beleive that wood is a Sustainable resource, I thought sustainable meant that what was being used was replaced by growing more. Timber in Australia and most other Countries is not harvested, but MINED same as coal, more timber is taken than is being grown, 2/3 of all the timber in Australia has been mined since white settlement and the 1/3 that is left is being mined unsustainably. Landcare admits that they are wasting there time because they will never be able to keep up. I am glad you think that chopping down a forest for woodchipping is not sustainable, 3 Million Tonnes of Forest, not Plantation BTW, is cut for Woodchipping/year, based on ABS and other Government depts. (State Forests, EPA) 6 million tonnes of forest is cut down to supply the Domestic Wood Heater (DWH) sector, that's Legally cut down, but as everyone knows most people pinch or illegally gather their firewood so thet figure could be 9 million or more tonnes/year from OUR forests so people can have that ambience of a fire in their house. You might live on a bush block, most of us live in urban areas in large cities or regional country areas, where DWH's total about 60% of all households, Sydney has about 13% of households with with DWH and in Winter 2/3 to 3/4 of Sydneys TOTAL air pollution comes from the humble DWH. The 2 most air polluted cities in Australia are Launceston and Canberra, TOTALLY due to DWH emissions (CSIRO DAR), the only responsible thing to do is leave fallen timber for the animals, insects and and other living organisms to use as nature intended. 4000 Australians DIE PREMATURELY every year in Australia as a direct result of Particulate (PM 2.5) Air Pollution of which the Majority comes from DWH's during winter, and for those with DWH's in their homes that dont think the emissions are harmful, just remove the heater flue and let the emission fill your house, cause that's what you're doing to your neighbours, that's my rant for the night, Regards Frank.

Ok Frank, you dont like wood heaters thats fine, I would love to have one as Ive had in most houses Ive lived in but there is nowhere to put it in here so I have to rely on electric heating that burns coal to create the electricity which is also quite polluting I think the statistics would say.

The only wood I used to burn was fallen timber from golf courses and the farm that cant be left to the bugs and animals as golfers dont like branches in the middle of the golf course and farm land is for animals that make you money and the others can stay in the bush IMHO.

I agree with most of what you were saying except for that and I know it is pretty bad some days when the smoke is thick on the ground from DWH's but this is probably the only way some people can afford to heat their house as was the case with me in my last place where I could get wood for free and the central heating caused my ex to have asthma.

Originally Posted by mcrover

Ok Frank, you dont like wood heaters thats fine, I would love to have one as Ive had in most houses Ive lived in but there is nowhere to put it in here so I have to rely on electric heating that burns coal to create the electricity which is also quite polluting I think the statistics would say.

The only wood I used to burn was fallen timber from golf courses and the farm that cant be left to the bugs and animals as golfers dont like branches in the middle of the golf course and farm land is for animals that make you money and the others can stay in the bush IMHO.

I agree with most of what you were saying except for that and I know it is pretty bad some days when the smoke is thick on the ground from DWH's but this is probably the only way some people can afford to heat their house as was the case with me in my last place where I could get wood for free and the central heating caused my ex to have asthma.

For the same unit of heat produced a woodheater emits 10 times more pollution than a reverse cycle air-con and that's if it is operated correctly and not allowed to smoulder for up to 16 hours a day, when operated as per usual it can be 100 times more polluting. I know people like their woodheaters and don't like being told they are polluting the air and making their neighbours sick, but you have to draw the line somewhere and also realise that woodheaters aren't cheap to own and operate and the crap about pensioners cant afford to heat their houses any other way is just bull$h!t, I'm a pensioner and I cant afford a $2500 woodheater installation. You only use wood from golf courses, that's great but there is at least 6 million tonnes of wood being burnt by others that dont, BTW the Australian Lung Foundation says one of the biggest triggers for asthma attacks in Australia and Overseas is woodsmoke, can you name any other household appliance that is being banned by Councils around Australia, or the NSW Government offers $500 rebate to switch from woodheaters to cleaner forms of heating, like gas or reverse cycle air-con
or the Government issues dont operate tonight warnings or if a council ranger sees excessive smoke coming from a residence can fine the owner $750 on the spot. But people who live in urban areas still buy these pollution machines and don't give a stuff about the pollution of theirs and their neighbours health, because they want that warm glow and ambience you get from a fire, too bad your killing the atmospere and your neighbours, Regards Frank.

I agree with everything you said and all the statistics you mentioned.

I just don't care about any of them!

Originally Posted by Studio54

I agree with everything you said and all the statistics you mentioned.

I just don't care about any of them!

Well, that's the whole problem, apathy, Regards Frank.

Geez Tank you better sell them cars you have and get a horse drawn cart

Originally Posted by Ken

Geez Tank you better sell them cars you have and get a horse drawn cart

Ken, yeh mate why's that, just because I dont like having to shut my home up because some ignorant @$$hole wants to pollute the neighbourhood with A woodheater from the 19th Century, Regards Frank