To the Editor,
Re: Old stoves a health hazard, Letters, Dec. 6.
Flo Dolega is lucky if she only smells Harmac pulp mill six times a year.
But even when she doesn’t smell it, she’s still breathing in its pollutants every minute of every day that she’s in Nanaimo.
Why people passively accept a pulp mill, whose plume of smoke and foul smell is an unattractive Nanaimo trademark, and complain about seasonal wood smoke is beyond me.
I have yet to see a house whose chimney pours out choking smoke throughout the day, every day of the year. Thick smoke is usually fairly brief, when a fire is started.
Of course some people are thoughtless and burn wet wood or garbage or just aren’t any good at making fires.
If this bothers you, try talking to your neighbour, as you would about a barking dog or any other problem.
The answer isn’t to ban wood stoves or make everyone buy a new one.
Gregory Roscow
Nanaimo