There aren’t many things more comforting than the feeling of warmth that comes from a wood fire. But in order to experience that warmth someone had to cut up a tree to make the firewood. Is burning wood damaging to the environment or could it actually be good for the environment?

It all depends on whether or not the trees are responsibly harvested. If forests are being cleared to produce firewood and not being properly reforested then burning firewood can be damaging to the environment.

In most cases forests are not being destroyed to make firewood. A lot of the time when trees are cut into firewood they are replaced by new trees or existing trees that were once too crowded. When responsibly harvested firewood can be a renewable source of energy. With modern forestry practices firewood often comes from poorly formed, dead or unhealthy trees that are removed to allow the remaining trees to grow better.

When harvested responsibly burning firewood can be a natural part of the carbon cycle and does not create a net increase in greenhouse gases the way fossil fuels do. When a tree is burned the trees that replace it absorb the CO2 from the atmosphere.

Firewood is also often produced as a byproduct from producing other forest products. When harvesting trees for making lumber there is typically a lot of wood in the forest that is not suitable for making lumber. This wood would be left in the forest to rot and go to waste. But when used for firewood this material can be burned to produce heat instead of using fossil fuels or some other non renewable source of energy.

If you want to use firewood to heat your home and are concerned about the environmental impacts, just make sure your wood comes from a responsibly harvested and sustainable source. You can then enjoy your fire and the peace of mind from knowing you are doing good things for the environment.

Author: Michael A Wilson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news