Ban Outdoor Wood Boilers and Wood Smoke Nuisance

Please note that the new EPA head Lisa Jackson closed down Outdoor Wood Boilers in New Jersery beginning in March 2008 when she was EPA head for emitting 20% opacity wood smoke for 3 minutes in a 30 minute period. If WI Dept.of Natural Resouces laws were enforced, heat exchangers similar to Outdoor Wood Boilers would also be shut down for emitting 20% opacity wood smoke for 6 minutes in a 60 minute period. The WI DNR chooses not to enforce these existing laws and in 2005 wrote a model ordinance for Outdoor Wood Boilers which each municipality would have to pass. 74 ordinances have been passed in 37 of the 72 WI counties as of February 2009. Yesterday, Feb 4, 2009, an ordinance essentially banning Outdoor Wood Boilers passed in the City of Madison, WI. Now citizens of Madison are organizing to educate that wood smoke is hazardous to health, and wood burning is using a renewable, but contributes to fact that Dane County, WI was in Dec. 2008 judged in non-attainment of air particulate levels, and in Jan. 2009 had 4 days of Orange Level Particulate Air Pollution Alert days. Steering people to non-carbon sources of residential home heating by education or fines, and using natural gas furnaces as a bridge to the goal of geothermal, solar or wind residential heating will keep the U.S. from losing it's leadership role in fighting air pollution. Particulates also are the 2nd leading cause of global warming, and stopping particulate emissions is the fastest way to slow climate change.