PGAQ #80 by Vic Steblin, Jan 25, 2009

2570 Laurier Crescent, Prince George, BC, 250-564-1123

Thanks to Hilary Crowley for her many articles about the outdoors in the Citizen. One recent article mentioned the following. “We have been enjoying beautiful sunny days with clear starlit nights, while the Bowl area of Prince George has been submerged in fog. It’s an unfortunate situation, which could be remedied by cleaning up the air-shed, but is also due to the geography of the city, being situated in a bowl intersected by two major rivers. On bad air days, citizens are reminded to take precautions but the animals just move to cleaner air deeper into the forest. This is why it is so important to maintain and regenerate the forests in order to clean our air.”

In my opinion we do not have to regenerate the forests in order to clean the air. We just have to stop burning wood in Prince George. Burning is OK if you live away from others. I live right in the bowl area of Prince George and I am surrounded and suffocated by natural types who burn wood.

Hilary probably lives out in the clean air far away from the smog of Prince George. She probably burns wood for heat since smoke in rural areas has little effect on sparse populations. Many environmentalists burn wood because it is our natural heritage and wood is natural and convenient.

It is easy to say from a distance that Prince George should clean up the air. Environment Minister Barry Penner says, “Improving air quality in communities across the province is one of our greatest priorities.” Deputy Premier Shirley Bond says, “Having clean air is important to all of us. As a province, we are committed to working in partnership to ensure improved air quality for northern residents.”

It does not make sense to want clean air and then allow burning wood. Many defiant burners say, “Just try and stop me!” It is also easy to preach from a distance when one does not live with neighbours who burn wood. It is tough to get clean air when so many use wood stoves and then blame the mills. In this case two wrongs do not make a right. City dwellers should stop burning wood.