Maryland Considers Dangerous Wood Burn Bill: HB 829

[Blue-Green]

Under the misleading banner of "Renewable Energy for All," a Maryland wood burning advocacy group has packaged urban self-sufficiency in a green wrapper. This dangerous bill creates incentives for biomass burning including EPA-approved wood stoves in the same category as wood pellet and corn stoves. However, only when the most stringent wood storage, aging and other quality control standards are met do the decreased emissions statistics apply. US federal government rebates for investment in wood stoves has caused a proliferation of smoke emissions in my densely-populated suburban neighborhood outside of Washington, DC. My children have refused to go outside complaining "it's too smoky" and on a cold morning when walking to the metro, I use my scarf to filter the air because of the amount of smoke in the air.

Sorry so long but here is the url for the bill:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... l188vwQp0Q

[Wilberforce]

The link led to an account sign-in page. Thanks for alerting us to this. It looks like the State of Maryland
sees fit to give out taxpayer funds for people to pollute the air with "non-pellet biomass furnaces."
This means one thing folks: Government-approved-and-subsidised Outdoor Wood Boilers for all.
What a quantum-leap back into the 19th century! (And here we thought, back in the 1960s, we would be
flying around like the Jetsons by 2011, for sure! Just goes to show how backward Amerika still really is...)

Anyway here is the link
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/billfile/hb0829.htm

HOUSE BILL 829
Entitled:
Renewable Energy for All Act

Synopsis:

Establishing the Residential Biomass Heating System Grant Program in the Maryland Energy Administration
to provide grants to individuals for a portion of the costs of acquiring and installing eligible biomass heating
systems; establishing the Residential Biomass Heating System Special Fund as a special, nonlapsing fund;
requiring the Comptroller to distribute into the Fund the sales and use tax collected on the sale of packaged
firewood; repealing the sales and use tax exemption for sales of packaged firewood; etc.

[silsby]

It's really a Bad decision. I'm more angry with the Slogan:"Renewable Energy for All"! But we don't such energy which will do Harm rather being helpful. There are plenty of methods for renewable energy. So, if they really want to use implement them, then they can choose a Non-Smoking way easily. I think the decision should be reviewed.

[mikhelee]

. If our concerns about air contaminants are not articulated concurrently, and in sufficient numbers, it will be difficult for the environmental board not to capitulate to political pressures. As it stands now there are two legislators from rural communities speaking out loudly against state regulations.