The BAAQMD forced all of us to sit through their one hour promotion before they would let us speak.

Their promotion is to use alternative sources for heating the home. The BAAQMD recommended alternatives is electrical and natural gas heating sources.

Two very poor alternatives because of the high cost of electricity and the high cost of natural gas. It is because of that high cost that everyone is burning wood or wood pallets to heat their homes.

On multiple spare the air days, we use our natural gas forced air furnace to heat our home. When the spare the air days are four or more consecutive days in a row. We go from tier one to tier three and maybe tier four.

Tier two is 130% of base line rates, tier three is 200% of base line rates, their four is well over 200% of base line rates.

Before I purchased my highly efficient insert, my heating bills were well over $200 every winter month. My neighbors heating bills were also over $200 month during the winter. With my wood burning insert my heating costs are $34 every winter month.

The BAAQMD are absolutely obscene in promoting electricity and gas as good alternative fuel source for heating the home.

The vast majority at the BAAQMD "work shop" spoke out against the new rules being proposed by the BAAQMD. The vast majority being 99.99% against.
I tend to think that is the case at every work shop they have conducted and will be conducting.

Lets end all wood burning in the valley! That way we would have healthier air. the gas inserts are a perfect solution and great we have government enforcing the ban. Now if we could get the same results with reducing water use. Also Tim you also missed the great job PGand E are doing at the training center by hiring veterans and providing JOB s that are needed. The VPs wife is doing wonderful job by helping our former soldiers , thanks.

Data from the American Lung Association:

Ninety percent of lung cancer deaths and approximately 80-90 percent COPD (emphysema and chronic bronchitis) deaths in the San Francisco nine county bay area are the result of tobacco, marijuana, and hashish smoking by those suffering from those illness's.

Tobacco smoking accounts for an estimated 14 percent of preterm deliveries, and some 10 percent of all infant deaths. Even apparently full term babies of tobacco smokers have been found to be born with narrowed airways and reduced lung function.

Those of us that have never smoked anything, but inhaled other peoples smoke, are being forced to stop wood burning in out homes in order to not cause inconvenience to those people that have lived their lives abusing their lungs and their bodies, with tobacco products and illegal smoking junk, along the way infected their children with their lung decease.

@Michael Austin: "Those of us that have never smoked anything, but inhaled other peoples smoke, are being forced to stop wood burning in out homes in order to not cause inconvenience to those people that have lived their lives abusing their lungs and their bodies, with tobacco products and illegal smoking junk, along the way infected their children with their lung decease."

Well, that's not quite fair to characterize this as being law abiding, wood-burning citizens versus smokers and junkies, is it? Or don't you think that any non-smokers or non-junkies could possibly have legitimate concerns about air pollution from wood burning?

Pleasanton old-timers remember how bad the air in the tri-valley was long ago in the '60's. Read the post below by one old-timer and consider the fact that the population of Pleasanton and the tri-valley then was a small fraction of what it is today:

............................................................
Posted by Cleaner Tri-Valley
a resident of Amador Estates
on Oct 8, 2012 at 8:41 am
You short-timers have no clue how bad the air was in Tri-Valley in the sixties. If you were standing on Stanley next to the gravel pits, now called Shadow Cliffs, in the month of August you would not see the Pleasanton ridge due to smog. It was that bad.

The amazing thing is that adults would call it haze and never had a clue it was man-made smog. It was "normal." Your lungs hurt....

Web Link
....................

Well, according to the American Lung Association.

The non-smokers and the non-junkies make up approximately 10-20 percent of the population. I am a member of that distinct minority group.

In my immediate neighborhood there are 14 homes with fire places. Two of those homes heat with seasoned wood. The other 12 homes heat with natural gas and or a combination of natural gas and electricity. A few of them will fire up over the Holidays with wood they purchased at the local market.

@Michael Austin: "Well, according to the American Lung Association. The non-smokers and the non-junkies make up approximately 10-20 percent of the population. I am a member of that distinct minority group."

You're joking, right? The study "population" that you're referring to is those who died of lung cancer, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis in the SF Bay Area.

If your argument is that lighting your wood burning fireplace on a spare-the-air day is not as bad as smoking a pack of cigarettes, that's correct but it's also a rather weak point.

Hope you will publish articles more often!

Web Link

In the past I felt sorry for those that didn't light up from time to time. So many Plutonians jump on everything that happens on planet earth.

Get yourself a gas mask, a rubber suit, place a brown paper bag over your whiny heads, stick corks in your nostrils...go away...far far away.

If your home is cold inside, bundle up, put on a jacket, cap, ear muffs, comfy gloves and get warm. I seen no reason to make a fire and make others pay for your creature comforts. get a life folks...get a life...i rest my case

Well, there are more than a few of us in the Pleasanton area that don't have natural gas to heat our homes, nor central heating/AC, or even live in the "city". I have used wood to heat our home for years, usually burning several cords a winter. My alternative would be to install a propane or electric heater, at great expense for both the install and ongoing heating costs, both of wich are not as "green" as what I use now. I don't hear any alternatives for the "country folk".

I am 54 years old and I was told I had COPD 7 years ago. I immediately quit smoking, but as the years pass by my condition got significantly worse, and I started having serious attacks. I used to be able to exercise, but it became so hard because I`m constantly out of breath. My pulmonologist started me on oral steroids to help control symptoms and minimize further damage but my symptoms never stopped getting worse. In January this year, my pulmonologist and I decided to go with natural treatment and was introduced to NewLife Herbal Clinic natural organic COPD Herbal formula, i had a total decline of symptoms with this COPD Herbal formula treatment. The infections, shortness of breath, fatigue, dry cough and other symptoms has subsided. Visit NewLife Herbal Clinic official website ww w. newlifeherbalclinic. com or email info@ newlifeherbalclinic. com.

I have had great improvement with my over all respiration with this product and i breath very much easier, i can never be thankful enough to nature