DES Commissioner Tom Burack

I am concerned about the continuing use of Outdoor Wood Burning Furnaces (OWF'S). Although they use a renewable energy source, the amount of dangerous particulates and toxins they spew far outweighs any benefits they may have. States, countys and towns in New England and all over the U.S. and Canada have completely banned these OWF'S, but NH is doing nothing. These outdoor furnaces have zero EPA regulations. The average indoor woodstove (all are EPA regulated) emits an average of 3 to 5 grams particulates/hr, while the average OWF emits an average of 75 to 120 grams of particulates/hr. If you lived within a half a mile of an OWF yourself, and experienced the constant creosote smell and foul air at ground level, I promise you would be concerned. Thank you, Martin Caney

Greetings from Jackson NH. I am concerned about light pollution. Even here in the North Country it is harder to enjoy the night sky. North Conways recent road renovations included huge globe type street lights that shine more light up than down on the street. What can the DES do to champion change in this issue, to protect our night skies?

Paul from Jackson

My comment and question is related to the caller's issue on OWF's (Outdoor Wood-Burning Furnaces). I have a wood stove outfitted with
a Catalytic Converter, which seems to be "lost technology" for
wood stoves that should be brought back into wider use. It both
increases the efficiency of the stove itself (it generates more heat,
i.e. enabling me to use less wood), and it significantly lowers visible
pollutants.

Can this technology (Catalytic Converters) be retrofitted, and/or
at least required on new such OWF units to accomplish the reduced
emissions goals *and* enable consumers to continue their use ?

I totally agree with Commissioner Burack's assessment of our idling problem. Though he mentioned school busses and Heavy Duty Trucks, a very serious problem can be small cars idling at the Grocery Store, the Pharmacy, and at the DUMP! Many New Hampshire residents do not take advantage (or are not privileged to) curb-side trash pick-up. Those of us who use the dump on a regular basis should realize that leaving our cars or trucks running while we dump our recycling and trash can be a LARGE contribution to greenhouse gasses. He touched on the urban legend suggesting that it may be more efficient to leave an engine running instead of turning off and restarting the engine. While The Commissioner emphasized this is no longer true for diesel engines, it is important to emphasize that those of us driving gasoline engines should also turn off our vehicles when stopped for more than 15 seconds. Not only do we benefit from fuel conservation ($$), but we are also helping the environment. Thank you for all you do!!
Alyssa Greenish, Conway

Greetings.

This was a very interesting show, and touched on many of the environmental issues of concern to New Hampshire residents. One issue raised was proper disposal of hazardous waste, such as computers, batteries compact flourescent lightbulbs and other such material. If it's possible, please inform your listeners that solutions to some disposal problems can be found on the web. For instance, Radio Shack disposes of all used household batteries free of charge. After I found out I dropped off a sack of them at a seacoast store and received a smile and a thank you. PSNH has advertised in its catalog of energy saving devices that True Value Hardware recycles burned out compact flourescents. And Apple recycles all its old computers, monitors, printers and other electronic equipment. Perhaps Commissioner Burack could add links on the DES website to recycling information online.

Thanks