Fireplace, wood, match....CO2

Well, winter is almost over and I have a confession to make...I have a huge fireplace and I love fires. There, I've said it out loud. But what am I doing to the environment?

Well, this one seems simple...but of course...it never is.

Trees absorb carbon dioxide (yea) and they use it to build more tree. About 50% of a tree is made up of carbon. When you burn the tree it releases the carbon (along with other particulates) back into the air. That's why cutting down rain forests and burning them is so pivotal to CO2 amounts in the atmosphere. It removes the plants that are utilizing (storing) the existing carbon from the air, and, releases the long stored carbon into the atmosphere through burning. A double whammy.

Bottom Line 1 - If you cut down live trees or pay someone to do this dirty work for you so you can burn a fire, you are being irresponsible. You remove a working carbon capture unit and then put its carbon back into the air.

But what if the tree is dead or dying? This is where it gets complex. First dead or dying trees are an important part of any woodlot or urban forest. When dead trees fall to the forest floor and begin to decompose they release much of their stored carbon back into the air. Another portion is taken into the soil.

That says that a tree is really temporary carbon storage. The problem left with burning it is we are accelerating the process...what might take 10 years of decomposition, we can achieve on a cold night.

Here in the city much of our firewood comes from tree trimmers, arborists etc. If they are cutting from our supply of urban trees, those trees are being removed anyway. They are dead, dying or in the way. So dead or alive, they are going to become firewood or be sent to the landfill. (More on that here and here).

Bottom Line 2 - Getting your firewood from local tree trimmers is a good thing. Don't buy from any other suppliers as they may simply be going into rural areas and cutting down perfectly good trees.

Unfortunately, fireplaces are very inefficient. You might want to argue that your fireplace is keeping your house warm and therefore saving gas or electricity. Most estimates however place the efficiency ratings between - 10% to + 10%. The minus figure comes from how fireplaces pull already heated air from the house. The waste more heat than they provide.

In my home my thermostat for the whole house is in the same room with the fireplace. So when we burn a fire the heat in the room shuts off the furnace. It gets really cold in all the other rooms and can take a day or so to rebalance. So, I do save some on my heating bill and reduce that carbon, but the fire is still worse for our atmosphere.

To lessen the environmental impact of a fire you can increase the efficiency through fireplace inserts or doors. They prevent heated air from going up the chimney when a fire is burning or not. But, you do have to keep the glass doors closed. (It seems like watching it on TV to me). Another tip is to always close the damper when the fireplace is cold to keep your heated air from going up the chimney every day.

It’s also worth noting that green "unseasoned" wood burns slower and emits more pollution. Dry wood burns hotter and faster and less particulates go up the chimney. I haven’t had much luck getting my suppliers to give me truly seasoned wood. (Seasoned wood is much lighter in weight and much darker on the ends.) So I have begun to buy my wood in the spring or summer and store it for that winter. I get a fire that’s easier to start and burns cleaner.

Bottom Line 3- Burning wood is bad for the environment. But so is breathing. The carbon will be released at some point, but we are accelerating it. Minimizing the impact is important and burning responsibly can significantly reduce your fireplace's carbon footprint. We can’t make a fire guilt free, but there is a lot you can do...