Heating With Wood On The Rise

I read an article the other day that has kind of got my dander up.  What else is new right?  Anyway, I can't post a link to it as I actually read this one in a real live, local newspaper-verses the electronic kind I usually read.

The gist of this one was that the consumption of wood for heat and the use of wood stoves and furnaces are increasing dramatically throughout the country, which stands to reason as conventional energy sources continue to get more and more expensive.  The article highlighted a man in Maine that has added a wood stove to his house to supplement the heat bill, saying that wood is readily available and cheaper than the standard.  Good for him, I thought.  We heat with nothing but wood and enjoy it very much and doesn't cost us anything other than fuel and oil for my chainsaw.  We love it.

Then I get to the part of the article that had quotes from environmentalists and EPA people.  I will spare all the details, but suffice to say that the idea is being put forth that we "need more regulation" to meet the rising demand for wood heat.  The translation is that they are worried about all the "toxins and pollution" that is being put into the air from all those chimneys out there.  Then there is the risk to health through the "carcinogens and carbon monoxide" being spewed forth from the burning of trees.  Some states have even banned or severely limited the use of wood for fuel and heat.  So what's next?  You know that if the ideas are being put out there, it is only a matter of time before they start trying to pass new legislation, ultimately resulting in a dictation of how you use your land and heat your home.  This is concerning to me.

I remember reading an article a while back that stated new scientific reserch had indicated that the reason for droughts and lack of rain and the so called "warming up" of the earth were a result of a LACK of wood burning chimneys.  Supposedly, wood puts out smoke, which carries tiny particles into the atmosphere, which gets hung up in the air, which collect moisture, which form clouds, wich drop rain.  I believe it.  It makes sense to me.  Maybe the good people of Texas need to burn more wood.  Or maybe they should burn more wood in California so Texas can get some relief.  I'm just sayin'...

So what are your thoughts?  Do you heat with wood like we do?  Are you affraid of more possible regulation?