If the back yard burners were to, say, take up a "collection" that were at least equal to -----, would that not take the heat off?

Let's be honest, to make the smoke walk, the money's gotta talk....

I am no expert on pollution in anyway.Not many of us are, but I do know one thing for sure.When I go to into downtown Prince George or perhaps Quesnel some days,it stinks bigtime and it is not very pleasant.My eyes even burn on some days and no,it does not smell like wood smoke.I was raised on wood smoke and it really doesn't bother me much most times.My neigbours wood stove gets a bit strong smelling for a few minutes sometimes too in the winter, depending on the wind, but it never lasts long.Having said that,I am sure that all the woodstoves combined do cause a problem to some degree.I think we would all admit that.
What I AM smelling is the pulp mills.I worked in them and I know what is gagging me.What I am seeing in the air is the pulp mills.And there is not a politician local or provincial, who has the family jewels to stand up and tell the truth.Now once again it is back to beating on the little guy while the big corporations duck the issue when they in fact,are the biggest polluters.Nobody has the guts to tell it like it is because it is really about money and politics.Sure,these outfits provide jobs and a strong local economy.We all understand that.But that should not give them a free ride.It's about time they were made to act responsibly and be held accountable.I just don't think it will happen any time soon!The political pandering and butt kissing makes me just as sick as the pollution!

Lets get beyond the **Pulp Mills** and state its **Industry** What do we have:

(1) 3 Pulp Mills (Use Chemicals)
(2) Husky Oil Refinery (Gas and Diesel)
(3) FMC Corp (Hydrogen Peroxide)
(4) Chemtrade Industries (Sodium Chlorate)
(5) Marsulex (BCR Site) Produces Hydrochloric Acid, and Sulphuric Acid)
(6) Ashphalt Plants
(7) North Central Plywood (Use Chemicals)
(8) At least 6 Planer Mills
(9) CN Rail yard switchers. Burn Diesel
(10) Citys sewage disposal system along the Fraser River. (Im sure this contributes to the smell)

Its much bigger than just the Pulp Mills.

There are others pollutors but you get the point. To go after back yard weiner burners is about the best the City can do to make it look like their doing something, and of course they have the bylaw enforcement officers and City fireman to enforce this miniscule effort.

Its much like increasing your taxes because you complained about the bad roads.
Hopefully PACHA will not get side tracked by chasing weiner burners and completly overlook the big boys. If they do they will instantly lose their credibility.

don't forget gravel trucks running to and from the cement plants and logging trucks covered with dust.

And which of those 10 smell like POO? Oh I know!

One of the Major stinkers is Husky, although Chemtrade, and the Pulpmills are right up there with them.

I think no outside fires when the air is thick may not be such a bad idea. I don't beleive that this on its own will solve very much....
if other poluters did their share...but lets get real for a minute...
1)we live in a hollow in the ground.
2) we live with lumber and pulp mills and a oil refinery in this same hollow.
3) add other things like road cleaning, road paving, ourdoor fires, forest fires...
and then we don't get any wind....
I think it is fair to say that we are going to be pretty much socked in with crap......so maybe the answer is a few huge fans on the upper limits blowing into the valley.....not practical your say...probably right.... maybe if we moved the city to the upper reaches of the hills around us and leave all the polution in the valley....impractial as well your say...
well those were my ideas... and until someone comes up with a practical soulution of getting air movement in the valley nothing much is going to change short of shutting down all industry...also impractical and improbable.

Huge fans.that was Jed Clampett's idea to deal with the smog in Beverly Hills.
The fact is, our city is in a bowl. It is only natural that there will be occasional inversions that will inhibit air movement into or out of thae bowl. Can't change that. When you add in the refinery (probably what the average nose is smelling and blaming on the pulpmills) plus the effluent ponds at the pulpmills and the stack emissions, all the road dust especially this time of year, plus all of our vehicular traffic, you get a lot of c*@p in our air and in our lungs. It affects us all, but thaeir is not much we can do about it. Weinie roasts are'nt the problem, but I think the real point they are trying to make is that they do not want there to be any open burning of any kind. I guess this kind of problem solving has to start somewhere, at some level, fo rit to eventually lead to some real progress. The pain of a few for the benefit of many.
metalman.

In the past when this city was expanding with all the businesses and people moving into it, I think the Mayors and City Councils of the time really screwed up when they put all the residents and industry into the same area, expecially with Prince George being susceptible to "inversions"

I think our recent (and present) Mayors and City Councils are also screwing up with their wild spending schemes which are going to be a serious burden on taxpayers when our forest industry "hits the wall" due to aging mills, challenges from processing pine beetle wood, and eroding markets due to the collapsing housing market in the U.S.

To Dow7500. Have you considered changing your name to Dow5000?

The area surrounding Prince George has thousands of piles of wood/slash/etc; that has been piled up over the winter and is getting ready to be burned. Most of this burning will be okayed by the Provincial Government. I noticed some land clearing and burning last week along Highway 97 just short of Art Knapps. The alternative to burning this wood/slash is to grind it up and transport it to the Pulp Mills for hog fuel however that would be cost prohibitive, the other option is to leave it in piles for the next 100 years. I beleive that the Government compels logging companys to clean up the clear cuts, and burn the slash, if this is so then we have another another problem.

Some of this smoke will of course effect the air in Prince George, some won't as it will go South to Quesnel. In any event we have a much bigger burning problem than back yard burning, however thats what will get the attention, because to challenge the big boys, and big Government is just to much trouble for our local politicians.
Its much easier to kick the hell out of local Citizens.

Same as beehive burners. There are not supposed to be any, however I see them burning everytime I go by Bear Lake, Isle Pierre, Clear Lake, and Dunkley.

Unless someone wants to get out and see what is actually taking place around Prince George, nothing will get done.

The Provincial Enviroment people know exactly whats going on and who is doing the pollution in this Province, and have known for many years.

Maybe the City should compare the burning and venting from all the restaurants in Prince George to the pollution from back yard burning to see who pollutes the most.

If the restaurants pollute the same or more than the back yard barby then the restaurants should all be closed. Whats the chance of that happening???

I will continue to roast my winner. I like the grill em's the best. I propose next city council build more outdoor BBQ pits in our local parks so we can all roast winners and have great summer out'ings.

I have alot to say on this subject, but pretty much all of it is already covered in the above posts.
Palpou - your first post wasn't very well researched, I'm disappointed.
If you don't like the air move out of the bowl. (Too bad if that option isn't withen your means, but thats the way the cookie crumbles).

Seems everyone is missing the point here. Wiener roasts aren't the problem but wood burning is a BIG problem. Go to Glenview school any winter morning (today would be good) and smell the air inside the school. I don't know if any of you are smart enough to read a scientific report on wood burning but I would hope you are. So do it! It ruins kids health,causes pneumonia and has the same toxins as tobacco smoke. burningissues.org

Wood burning in this city will be banned totally--get used to it--it's gonna happen. I will be a driving force pushing that agenda and if any of you want to trade houses for two weeks, you will see my point. I have a neighbor who is a total retard and burns wood 24/7/365. There was 2 weeks last summer he did not burn and I suspect he was on holidays. Due to the physical location of our houses the smoke comes straight down from his roof an into my yard and engulfs my house all day. The wind is pretty well ALWAYS that direction where we live. He will do nothing even though I have talked to him several times. The city will do nothing even though I have given them written instuctions to enforce the bylaw.

Bylaw 7721,2005

2.1.2
No person shall operate a wood burning appliance in such a manner as to discharge air contaminants that are likely to cause or significantly contribute to the cause of injury or damage to human health, plant or animal life or property, or so as to unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of life or property.

A class action they may understand. This guy next door to me is the guy who will make it illegal for you to burn anything. Enjoyment of life or property? --You want to talk to him?

supertech: "I have a neighbor who is a total retard and burns wood 24/7/365. There was 2 weeks last summer he did not burn and I suspect he was on holidays."

I have one too! He does not burn wood in the summertime. But as soon as it gets a little colder the pipe starts to emit smoke. It is really bad overnight and in the morning. I called the city, was told that it is o.k. as long as there is no air advisory in effect. When I mentioned my sinusitis and breathing problems I got no sympathy whatsoever (or a solution) from the city.

It's a bad scene since he is not the only one; I know of three more just on the same block.

Kitkat. My first post merely pointed out where the pollutors are located and what they either produce, or consume. My second post was regarding the piles of slash burning that is done every year. The third was an attempt at humour.

**NOW**

Prince George used to have at least 20 beehive burners located along first avenue, and between 1st Avenue and the Nechako River. These burners would be operating continuosly 24/7 this was during the late 40's 50's and 60's.

In addition every household burned wood, or coal or both. The only electricity available was from diesel generators, and two expensive to use for heat. No natural gas at that time.

In addition most people in the City smoked Cigarettes, and all households had a least one smoker and usually more. A large number of the schools were heated by wood burning furnaces, or coal. Every restaurant, lounge, beer parlour, bowling alley, pool room, and any other gathering place, except churches, and theatres, allowed smoking. These places had a continous blue haze hanging over them all day and night.

My point??? Most of the people who were young and living under these conditions are still around and healthy to-day,if you go by all the BS about pollution they should have been dead years ago.

It was sometime during the sixties, and beyond, that chemicals were added to food, chemicals in your fertilizers, chemicals added to cigarettes, booze, chemicals in every piece of furniture in your house. Chemicals in you car. The arrival of chemical producing industry in Prince George and all the chemicals used in the production of plywood, pulp, lumber, etc. That where you want to look for the culprit.

To suggest that woodsmoke is the killer is pure BS, every Native and Eskimo from here to the Bering Sea would be dead if that was the case, along with millions of others across Canada that were raised on woodsmoke. Find another **fall guy**.

In addition. If we ever have a complete power failure like we did this winter for an extended period and it was during a period when it was -20 or -30 and we lost both power and gas, I would suggest that you would see one hell of a lot of people who are dead against woodsmoke cuddled up to a woodstove and hugging it like a long lost relative. Most people to-day couldnt last 3 days in minus 20 by using their wits. They would just roll over and die. Thats what happens when your main contribution to society is bitching and complaining.