LETTERS

On Wood Burning

On the issue of burning wood, I hope the Decade will do an in-depth exploration of both the air pollution impacts (I no longer can go up North in Winter to ski because of the pollution, and evening walks in Madison in Winter have also had to be eliminated), as well as the loss of the decaying wood that provides habitat to many plants and animals.

- Phil Eide, Madison

I mentioned my personal satisfaction with wood heat in the last issue of The Defender. As Phil properly points out, no energy source is free of environmental impacts; wood burning can be particularly obnoxious in dense, urban areas and localized impacts are apparent in rural settings. New technology has made wood burning cleaner, although many people still use older stoves and furnaces that release too much particulate pollution.

Our limited staff resources have been focused on mercury fallout from coal burning and radioactive waste disposal problems at our state's nuke plants. I'm not sure if we will be looking at wood in the near future.

- WF

More to Do

We would like to thank Decade for its support of the 7th annual Renewable Energy Fair. We especially appreciated the coverage in the Defender. Thanks for helping us spread the word about our programs.

We are currently in the process of organizing our fall workshop schedule. Would it be possible to mention these workshops in the calendar of the next Defender?

- Tehri Parker, Amherst

Yes.