The Bill for Wood Smoke

The Bill for Wood Smoke
Written by -- Victor Steblin Prince George, B.C.
Tuesday, 03 March 2009

A letter to the editor ended with: “The next time you want to complain about my wood-burning stove, I will hand you my gas bill so you can pay it.”

In response, I will keep complaining about the smoke from wood stoves until more stop burning wood. I also truly apologize if some burners intend on increasing their output just to make trouble. Consider the bill to taxpayers for the damage of wood smoke, some of which are listed in the following.

The health costs of wood smoke have been roughly calculated in the U.S. at about $2 per kilogram of wood burned. A study from Vancouver in 2007 further estimates the health effects of wood smoke as $20,000 per heater per year.

Currently this is ultimately covered by the taxpayer and goes for medical services. If wood burners were taxed this cost directly, they would quickly switch to natural gas as natural gas is much cheaper and less dangerous.

Some costs are very difficult to put numbers on. What is the cost of fresh air? What is the cost of relieving asthma in a child other than moving out of the Bowl? What is the cost of feeling good about the air quality of Prince George? What is the cost of good relations with neighbors?

Burning wood is very expensive when one considers all the hidden costs to society. The ones who burn wood just transfer the health cost to others, much like drunk drivers transfer injury to others. And by many accounts, the results of wood smoke are worse than the results of drunk drivers.

Victor Steblin Prince George, B.C.
BSc Honours Math
MA Math Education from UBC
Currently teaching math in a Secondary School in Prince George, B.C.