Montreal moves to snuff out wood stoves

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Here's a new story worth reading:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/02/04/mtl-wood-stove-ban-0204.html

Montreal is poised to pass one of the strictest laws in the country regarding wood stoves midway through a winter marked by record high levels of winter smog.

The City of Montreal wants to ban citizens from installing a wood stove in new and existing residential homes. Stoves that burn wood pellets will still be permitted.

Winter smog is becoming a major public health problem for Montreal, said Alan DeSousa, the city's executive committee member in charge of sustainable development.

So far this winter, the smog has been so bad that Environment Canada has issued 25 smog warnings, the most of any year on record. Public health authorities say chimney smoke makes up half of the air pollution during the winter in Montreal.

"The health of Montrealers is our priority," said DeSousa in a statement Wednesday.

"With more than 50,000 stoves on our territory, the city is taking action by adopting a law that will contribute to the reduction of the number of premature deaths … [caused by] the quality of air that we breathe."

The Montreal public health department estimates burning a wood stove for nine hours is the equivalent of driving a midsize car for a year, or about 18,000 kilometres of driving.