Leo Hickman’s guide to a good lifeThe effects of air pollution will be familiar to a generation of London residents who suffered the city’s debilitating smogs, particularly the Great Smog of early December 1952, which claimed at least 4,000 lives. Over the following decades, regulations such as the various Clean Air Acts greatly reduced the burning of coal in homes and coincided with the mass installation of central heating systems. As if to highlight the shift in pollutants in the air over this period, the last significant London smog, that of December 1991, was caused by traffic fumes, not domestic fires.Many homes, particularly older housing stock, still have fireplaces and the aesthetic, comforting allure of an open fire remains a strong one. Some homes, though, especially those in urban areas, are now located in smoke control areas (check your area at www.uksmokecontrolareas.co.uk). This means that the burning of regular house coal and logs, with some exceptions, is outlawed. “Smokeless” coal is allowed, but, like the gas or oil used to run most central heating systems, it is still a fossil fuel, with similar consequences for climate change. So, if you do live in an area where logs can be burnt, are they a better option? Continue reading…
Source : theguardian.com
Read more…Leo Hickman: Is it OK … to have an open fire?
