With colder weather taking hold and the official start of winter less than a week away, the Department of Environmental Protection is urging New Jersey's residents to be thoughtful of their neighbors when burning wood for heat. More

At today's fuel prices, burning wood remains a wise and viable option to reduce home-heating bills, according to a forest resources expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "Burning firewood for heat is environmentally friendly and economically smart," said Michael Jacobson, extension specialist and associate professor of forest resources, who focuses on socio-economic and policy issues related to forest land. "Unlike coal, oil and gas, which are nonrenewable fossil fuels that contribute greenhouse gas emissions, wood, if sustainably harvested, is a local and renewable energy resource." More

printing company in Pittsfield, Mass., has agreed to pay a penalty of $80,000 and to spend $305,000 to replace old, polluting wood stoves in western Massachusetts with new, cleaner models to settle claims by the US Environmental Protection Agency that it violated the federal Clean Air Act. More

Now that all the leaves are changing colors and winter is nipping at our doorsteps many people are turning on the heaters. To save money in the winter many people have turned to wood-burning stoves or burning in their fireplaces to help cut costs. There are many things to consider when choosing firewood such as safety and the amount of heat desired. More

By now everyone who heats with wood should have their wood bin full. The wood you burn this year should have been cut last year or in early spring at the latest. Seasoned wood is a must for optimum heat. If the wood still is green it takes more heat to get the water out and will heat your home less. Also the water in the wood makes for creosote build up in the chimney. Speaking of chimneys, by this time you also should have cleaned your chimney or had a professional do it. More

With winter comes the comfort and smells of hot chocolate, apple cider, delectable holiday treats -- and wood fires. This winter also may mean the chance for Silverthorne residents to install or upgrade wood stoves. From the mid-1990s until two years ago, solid fuel burning devices were banned in Silverthorne because of pollution problems in the valley. But since 2008, there has been a steady reintroduction of permissible devices each year -- first masonry heaters, then pellet stoves. Now, wood stoves are being brought to the town council table for consideration. More

Heating your home with a wood stove this winter? Now is a good time to ensure your wood stove will generate as much heat as possible while protecting your family's health. Wood smoke is a mixture of gases and particles, also called particle pollution, that isn't healthy to breathe indoors or out, especially for children, older adults and people with heart disease, asthma and other lung diseases. Particle pollution can irritate your respiratory system, and is linked to health problems such as bronchitis and asthma attacks. Replacing your wood stove with a model certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can make a big difference. About 75 percent of the 12 million wood stoves used in the U.S. were built before 1990. These stoves put out about 70 percent more wood smoke than the EPA-certified stoves on the market today. These older stoves are also about half as efficient as today's models, meaning you have to burn a lot more wood in your old stove to get the same amount of heat. More

The town of Libby, Mont., is emerging as a model for how to clean the air by replacing old stoves with new ones. Like Chico, Calif., the town is in a valley where wood smoke can get trapped close to the ground during the winter. So, starting in 2005, the local health department replaced nearly 1,200 older stoves with new wood stoves, pellet stoves or gas or electric heat. They used money from the Environmental Protection Agency, the state of Montana, stove industry and other sources. More

More Attleboro, Mass., area residents will be heating their homes with wood pellets, coal and fireplaces next winter than anytime in the recent past, as they seek alternatives to skyrocketing fuel oil and natural gas costs. More

Burning green wood in inefficient stoves can lead to a lot of problems according to the Lung Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada). Greg Noel, the association's director of environmental initiatives set up a booth in a mall recently, promoting the safe and responsible burning of wood. More