The Editor,
Re. “Metro Van ponders new wood-burning rules” (The Tri-City News, Feb. 3).
To Metro Vancouver’s director of air quality and climate change:
I grew up in east Vancouver in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s and well remember the dirty air that we all breathed. I lived in houses that had oil stoves, sawdust burners, wood and coal stoves and furnaces. The atmosphere in and outside our dwellings was polluted. Industrial pollution was rampant and the contribution of cars, trucks and buses should not go unmentioned (and, of course, cigarette and cigar smoking was extensive).
I am your ally in continuing efforts to improve our environment but the suggestion that all conventional fireplaces be replaced by more efficient wood-burning units is not acceptable.
We have a well-maintained fireplace that is used just a few times a year — Christmas, etc. Our wood is well seasoned and dry. We keep our fireplace in case the power goes out or there is some other emergency when it would be our only source of heat.
I wish we could rely on Metro to take care of our home heating in the event of an emergency or power outage. Until such a guarantee is in place (and we all know it never will be), we should not be denied the ability to keep ourselves warm.
I would like to see Metro addressing pollution that is not necessarily visible but threatens the lives of humans and wildlife. I am referring to the extensive use of pesticides and other chemicals by homeowners, municipalities and farmers. The ongoing battle between people who live near the Metro organic waste processing plant and the owners/operators of that plant is a disgrace. The pollution of earth and ground water by garbage deposits in the Metro area and towns that are being paid to take our garbage will have health effects for many years to come.
Pollution from gas-powered snowblowers, lawnmowers, hedge clippers, weed trimmers, leaf blowers and chainsaws is huge. Metro has done nothing to prevent air pollution from these sources — no emission controls on any of them and no attempts to minimize the noise pollution.
Does Metro have adequate ventilation requirements for restaurants? The grease and smoke from char broilers, deep fat fryers, griddles and pizza ovens can severely affect the indoor and outdoor air quality for people living near by.
The air pollution from ships in the harbour; airplanes and helicopters; trains spewing diesel fumes all over the Metro area; and coal dust that is very harmful to the environment goes on unchecked.
Clearly, there is much that can and must be done to improve our air quality and I have no doubt that some owners of wood-burning devices would benefit from an education program.
What would benefit our air quality the most, however, would be an aggressive correction of the extensive and huge sources of pollution that I have described.
Helen Brown, Coquitlam
