The absurdity of Europe burning wood for energy

Re:The absurdity of Europe burning wood for energy by swid on Saturday September 17, 2022 @01:42PM (#32879482)

I won’t fact check this, but the Bay Area Spare the Air page says the following, which seems pretty reasonable. It’s easier to find science on the danger of the particulate smoke, which you don’t seem to object to.

> During the cooler winter months, more than one-third of particulate pollution comes from wood smoke. On some days, in certain areas, wood smoke can account for up to 90 percent of particulate pollution.

> On cold, calm days, wood smoke can become trapped close to the ground by an inversion layer, typically formed when a layer of warm air acts as a lid over a layer of cooler air. Inversions prevent the air below from rising, which causes pollutants to build up.

https://www.sparetheair.org/about/what-is-spare-the-air

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Re:The absurdity of Europe burning wood for energy by tpmx on Saturday September 17, 2022 @01:44PM (#32879504)

So naturally it depends a lot on the local environment, weather patterns, population density etc.

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Re:The absurdity of Europe burning wood for energy by swid on Saturday September 17, 2022 @01:55PM (#32879633)

Yes it depends on those things, but inversion layers can happen anywhere and cover large areas. I think population density is a good consideration, but there will probably be days in the year almost everywhere where the dispersion is limited due to weather.

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