I know this is clickbait, but in case anyone's in any doubt - wood-burning stoves aren't the answer to the energy crisis. A short 🧵
https://twitter.com/TelegraphLife/status/1582106918746660865
Wood burners are quite chic in western Europe, but burning biomass fuels (wood, charcoal, crop residue etc) is associated with poverty worldwide. The @WHO estimates that more than 3 million people die each year from fuel-related air pollution. who.int/news-room/fact…
Even in a rural area, stoves can lead to higher outdoor air pollution - but it's indoor air quality you need to worry about, especially harmful PM2.5. These cause heart disease, stroke and a whole range of other illnesses. And they're worse for kids! sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
The author says correctly that wood and other biomass burning is now the source of the largest fraction of outdoor PM2.5 in the UK. What's more, they're offsetting falls elsewhere (e.g. in transport) keeping emissions static. gov.uk/government/sta…
It's tempting to think that wood burners are sustainable because they don't result in net CO2 production (the wood grows back, right?) But that's only true if it's allowed to (and over a long enough time). In the meantime, you're harming your health (and your family's).
Air pollution is a public health emergency! We need to bring PM2.5 down, not increase it. Heat pumps, insulation and other energy saving measures are the way out of the crisis in home energy use, not turning back the clock to smoggy stoves. bmj.com/content/378/bm…
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