If oil was .25, would you still use wood?

[logbutcher]

Originally Posted by acer saccharum
That dead wood does not necessarily go to waste. When a tree dies it might not have green leaves but its life cycle is only half over. Dead and rotting wood is essential to the cycle of life in the forest. Standing dead snags get some bugs on them, then a woodpecker makes a cavity, then some other animal nests in it.... The peeling bark provides cover for those dreaded bats to sleep under.... Rotting on the ground it can be a source of bugs for foraging animals... It returns nutrients to the soil... Tops from a logging operation provide cover for critters like rabbits... Tops from logging provide some protection to new trees growing under them, allowing them a chance to grow in places where the moose/deer population is putting a lot of pressure on the forest undergrowth... (Granted down tops might constitute an excessive fire danger in certain places.)

Get real

Acer S. has it nailed. +1 for the man.
Just basic Forestry 101, for those working the woods.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

I probably would burn oil again, but have wood backup as I always had. I used to do oil furnace service work for a local jobber, my "retainer" for keeping his customers at the top of the priority list was free oil for the house...did that for 7 yrs., got spoiled!:angry2:

 

[hoot gibson]

I'd bet she'd put some 'pounds' on you if she read this!!

she is my best friend , and i wouldn't say anything here i wouldn't say to her face , but she has pushed me down a time or two .

i just cant wait till the day the government drives down the road and if you burn wood in any way they will try to tax our wood use . h

 

[Zodiac45]

I will aways burn wood while I can. Some people have a membership too the gym/swimming pool up at our local college. I get my workout on the old woodpile and I don't have to pay, it pays me in proportion too what I put into it. (still wouldn't mine the pool though)

 

[YCSTEVE]

Free Natural Gas

There are places in South East Kansas that people have free Natural Gas. Colony, KS Welda, KS maybe Thayer, KS. The energy companies have been drilling coal bed methane gas wells there for years. In some cases the land owners get free natural gas and a royalty check every month. I've seen people with huge old homes that get all gas appliances and turn up the thermostat and let the furnace run. In some cases they even keep large shops and old out buildings 70+ degrees even in the dead of winter. It's been this way for a long time so the residence don't think a thing about it.

I'm not trying to say anything bad about these people but in some cases I think it's wasteful.

If you don't have to pay for it or you don't have to load the stove several times a day you don't realize how much energy your using.

 

[Hugenpoet]

If you don't have to pay for it or you don't have to load the stove several times a day you don't realize how much energy your using.

+1 Or have access to really cheap energy as we all have had until very recently. Remember it was as recently as 1998 that oil was $11.00 a BARREL, and NOBODY cared a lick about gas mileage or energy efficiency. Bring on the Hummers, the Ford Excusions, the 900HP twin engined fishing boats, etc.) The days of cheap energy are gone for good, and many of us will now be happy to follow Steve's lead and use the wood lot for our Health Club.