This is a true story.

Protect the Innocent. A picture paints a thousand words. This is an artist's rendering of one particularly shocking scene we witnessed in recent months.

The scene: A ranch house nestled in a valley with a large OWB standing ominously in the right side yard, streaming plumes of opaque gray smoke into the air and against the side of this home. On the front lawn stood a "warming" welcome home sign:  IT'S A BOY !  This was such an impactful scene of horror to witness that we felt a need to share.  We believe the family installed the wood furnace just about the same time the baby arrived.

Will this child's risk of asthma and respiratory problems be increased by his own parents?  You be the judge.

As Smoke Free Dutchess Housing NY  apartment dweller television ads WARN: Second hand cigarette smoke can enter through walls, floors and electrical outlets.  Imagine then the impact of ONE outdoor wood furnace streaming enormous plumes of smoke onto AND into your home on a daily basis?  Wood smoke is more deadly than tobacco smoke. Toxic smoke and carcinogenic particulate matter DOES enter adjacent homes through CLOSED windows, walls, electrical outlets and air exchange; every time you open your door to the smoky outside, you are increasing the contamination inside your home. The air inside your home contains approximately 70% of outdoor toxins. So when you think the smoke is OUTSIDE it's INSIDE too, affecting the health of everyone. Even if you think you cannot see or smell it--be assured it's inside your home and your LUNGS, your children's lungs, where fine particulate matter as small as .01 microns is embedding itself into otherwise healthy internal organs.  Pregnant women, babies, children and the elderly are most at risk, but even healthy individuals can develop asthma and a host of other health problems due to wood smoke exposure. Those with respiratory problems, such as COPD, and individuals suffering cardiovascular disease and autoimmune illness are at great risk.

Wood Smoke is dangerous to health and the environment in which we live. One outdoor wood burning boiler/furnace produces more toxic particulates per hour than two heavy duty diesel trucks, more than forty passenger cars, more than one thousand oil furnaces, and more than eighteen hundred gas furnaces.  This is scientifically documented.  Burning wood in any device, be it outdoor furnace or wood stove is the dirtiest and most uneconomical way to heat a home.

Cigarette smoke has been banned in many public places because of the KNOWN health hazards associated with exposure to second hand smoke. Wood smoke is an even greater risk!  Why should anyone be forced to inhale wood smoke? We need the same attention drawn to wood smoke as was to tobacco.  Wood Smoke is a lethal cocktail of toxic chemical elements and gases being forced down our throats.

The burning industry is pushing their products at trade shows and fairgrounds. They make claims that heating with wood is more economical than home heating fuels. They claim their stoves don't make excessive smoke. They say burning wood is GREEN! Why would anyone consider the burning of wood to be green? Among other contaminants, burning wood produces black carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. This is all manufacturer hype. Don't fall for it. They don't care about your health. They care about selling their wood stoves and furnaces. If you are thinking of purchasing an OWB or wood stove PLEASE do some research first!

When burners argue: "It's my right to burn wood on my property."  Reply: "It's your right, as long as your smoke doesn't enter my yard and my home! My right to breathe clean, smoke-free air is far more more important and presides over anyone's right to burn wood."

Burning wood for residential heat and hot water is the dirtiest thing you can do to your neighbors - and to the air we must all share.  Burning wood in outdoor wood furnaces, indoor wood furnaces, wood stoves and fireplaces all contribute to poor air quality, health risks and global warming.

If you are in any way affected by a neighbor's wood smoke from an OWB, wood stove or fireplace, contact your local and state officials and tell them to declare wood smoke a public nuisance.  Sample letter you can use. Declaring wood smoke a public nuisance is the first step toward freedom and justice for those who do not want to inhale any forms of smoke! 

Wood smoke must be regulated and controlled for the welfare of all forms of life on our planet.

The time to stop wood smoke pollution is NOW ! 

Trees were meant to stand tall and give us Oxygen.

Not to provide heat, hot water and respiratory disease.

A sample letter you may want to use or customize to mail to public officials: (tell them if you have been affected by a neighbor's wood smoke)

Your Name

Address

City, State

Phone # or Email Contact

Dear__________(your town, county & federal legislators)

I am a resident who is concerned about the negative impact of increasing amounts of residential wood smoke that affects the quality of air in _________ town, city and state.  I urge you to protect residents of affected areas by regulating and controlling toxic wood smoke emissions that have been scientifically proven to endanger health and environment. The burning of wood in outdoor wood boilers, wood stoves, fireplaces and any other wood burning devices should be strictly limited or banned when appropriate.

One outdoor wood burning boiler/furnace produces more toxic particulates per hour than two heavy duty diesel trucks, more than forty passenger cars, more than one thousand oil furnaces, and more than eighteen hundred gas furnaces.  This is scientifically documented.  Burning wood is the dirtiest way to heat a home. This is insanity that must be stopped. 

Although some may argue, it is a right to burn wood on one’s own property, it is not a right for someone else’s wood smoke to cross property lines and invade the lives and health of others who want to breathe the cleanest air possible.

Minimum Acreage Requirement for OWB: The carcinogenic particulate matter contained in wood smoke travels for miles. Require installation and operation of outdoor wood boilers/burners/furnaces on no less than 10 acres, where caustic smoke can disperse to lessen the negative impact upon neighboring homes. This should include indoor wood furnaces as well.

Wood Burning Devices: Excessive wood stove and fireplace smoke is just as harmful as OWB, and equally deprives residents of healthy lifestyles and the right to use and enjoy their property. Include wood stoves and all wood burning devices in all regulations.

Burning Season: Climate and temperature should be a consideration. Limit the wood burning season to the coldest months of the year; December through March so that residents may open their windows to fresh, smoke free air in spring, summer and autumn. Limit the amount of burning time to a few hours per day.  Don’t force residents to inhale wood smoke as an alternative to fresh air.

Do not permit the use of wood burning as a primary source of home heating. Every home should have a primary source of heat and hot water, other than the burning of wood. Burning wood produces the most harmful particulate matter and black carbon emissions in residential areas. Limit the amount of time wood burning devices may operate to a few hours per day in residential areas where it directly affects and endangers public health. Wood must not be a primary source of heat and hot water in any residential area.

Regulate: Implement strict regulations for all wood burning devices. Enforce all wood burning laws to the fullest extent of the law.

Declare wood smoke a Public Nuisance as a number of municipalities are seriously considering—working on legislation which will protect those who are negatively affected and harmed by wood smoke.  This is the first step toward our freedom and right to inhale cleaner air. Some may argue that they don’t want to take rights away from burners: Our right to breathe wood smoke free air far surpasses the toxic “right” of burners who needlessly pollute air that must be shared by every living thing on our planet.

Burning wood in my residential area is an invasion of my privacy and property rights, denies me the quiet enjoyment of my land, and contributes to air pollution and disease all over the world. The right to breathe clean air and enjoy a healthy lifestyle should, and must preside over anyone’s right to burn wood.  I have been gravely affected by wood smoke. Can I count on your help?

___________ sign your name.