My Burning Shame

Recently, the Guardian Newspaper published a column by respected activist and journalist, George Monbiot, titled “My burning shame: I fitted […]

Ultrafines: Counting particles by number highlights risk

Ultrafine particles (diameter of 0.1 microns or less) are considered more harmful to human health than larger particles. Their microscopic […]

How is this legal?

For the last six years, Breathe Clean Air has been asking for change that will clean up our air and […]

Court denies industry challenge to audits for wood stoves

If you are confident in your product, why would you fight so hard to ensure no other testing of your […]

Australia: regulatory failure and lack of stove replacements costing lives and money

An article from Australia, “Wood heaters: lung cancer risk equivalent to passive smoking” highlights the failure of programs that emphasize […]

Industry proposal promotes wood burning for long-term

In June and July, the wood stove industry, the Hearth, Patio and Barbeque Association (HPBA), presented a “three pillar proposal” […]

Australian city votes to work on ban of wood heating!

The City council for Nedlands in Western Australia (WA), recently passed a motion aimed at banning wood stoves within their […]

How successful was Libby wood stove exchange? Not very.

Libby, Montana is often showcased by the wood stove industry as a successful example how replacing old stoves with new […]

REPORT: Certified wood stoves may not be better than stoves they replace

A brand new report from state air agencies in the US Northeast concludes “…the existing [EPA] program provides no confidence […]

Who is supposed to pay for education & enforcement?

When people defend the use of wood stoves, they often say things like: “people just need to learn to burn […]

Wood stoves triple PM2.5 inside homes

According to a recent article in the Guardian “Wood burners triple the level of harmful pollution particles inside homes and […]

Take action this National Non-smoking Week

This week is “National Non-smoking Week” (January 15-21, 2021). While the focus is on cigarette smoking, it is a good […]

$3200 rebates in Cumberland & West Courtenay

The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) is offering a rebates to eligible residents who remove their 5+ year old wood-burning appliance […]

High healthcare costs of a single wood stove

A new study from the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research highlights the high healthcare impacts and costs of […]

Clean Air Day 2020

Today is Clean Air Day in Canada. Fortunately, we have clean air in the Comox Valley right now as people […]

Courtenay bans new installations

This week Courtenay Council passed a new bylaw banning the installation of wood stoves in new construction or in homes […]

Record: Breathing always hard for some Comox Valley residents

The Comox Valley Record published a great story (March 30, 2020) on burning restrictions during COVID-19 and the impact of […]

Lungs don’t care it is “just start-up smoke”

When industry rates wood stove emissions, the tests are not required to include the start-up smoke. And any bylaws that […]

Students walk through smoke

Imagine the concern if this much cigarette smoke was part of the daily walk to and from school? These photos […]

Wood heat is a massive source of PAHs

Although we often focus on the high amounts of harmful fine particulate matter in wood smoke, it is important to […]

CVRD: Say no to wood stove rebates (UPDATE: They did!)

In February, Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) Director Ken Grant brought forward a resolution to significantly increase rebates for all […]

Comox says no to new stove installations

On March 5th, the Comox Council voted to disallow any new installations of wood burning appliances in new homes and […]

Wood not always the cheapest heat

Many say they use wood heat is because it is cheaper to operate than other sources of heat. But is […]

FILM: Cost of Wood Heating

Breathe Clean Air is happy to launch a new film we had made about the cost of wood heating. The […]

Improved rebate program – 5 year old stoves eligible!

CVRD has improved its wood stove exchange program! If you have a stove that is manufactured before 2014, you can […]

Worse than at least 18 diesel cars

Reducing fine particulate pollution from diesel vehicles has been the focus of many efforts to clean up our air. Emissions […]

36% of homes produce 73 times more pollution

In the Comox Valley, wood heat generates 73 times more harmful fine particulate matter (PM2.5) than all other sources of […]

Decafnation: Comox Valley has a wood stove problem

Decafnation, wrote an article on wood smoke pollution in the Comox Valley after attending a recent talk by Jennell Ellis […]

Risk of dementia 70% higher in homes with wood stoves

Researchers at the Umea University in northern Sweden have studied air quality in homes where wood-fire stoves are used and […]

The Affordability Challenge

One of the most common arguments in favour of wood heat is that it is affordable. Concerns are often raised […]

Videos from Public Forum on Air Quality

On March 14th, Breathe Clean Air hosted a public forum on air quality. Over 80 people attended, including a number […]

Your input needed: CVRD survey on home heating and air quality

The Comox Valley Regional District has launched a new survey aimed at understanding how Comox Valley residents heat their homes […]

Wood smoke negates other efforts to reduce pollution

Wood burning–once thought of by many as a people and earth-friendly source of heat–is worsening pollution in cities in Europe. […]

Cumberland to look into no new installations of wood stoves

Last December, Cumberland staff introduced for first reading some new bylaws to regulate wood stoves in the town. Unfortunately, the bylaws […]

Was $2.5 million on wood stove exchange worth it?

Does focusing on getting people to switch to newer stoves work? Did it work after one town spent $2.5 million […]

New study on Air Quality & Meteorology for Courtenay

The BC government has released a new report on Air Quality in Courtenay “Patterns of Air Quality and Meteorology in […]

New summary report of mobile monitoring in the Comox Valley

Last February, a researcher did extensive mobile monitoring in parts of the Comox Valley (see our write-up about the study). […]

Rebates for new wood stoves: Not effective solution to pollution

BC’s wood stove exchange program provides rebates for the removal of highly polluting, uncertified wood stoves. In a positive step, […]

Air Quality Forum April 4th

There is an important AIR QUALITY FORUM in the Comox Valley on Tuesday, April 4th. This is an “Elected Officials […]

‘Eco’ wood stove pollutes 25 times more than truck

“It does not seem logical that an eco-labelled stove is allowed to pollute 25 times more than a 10 year […]

NEWS RELEASE on heart attacks and wood smoke study

Breathe Clean Air issued the following news release today about a health study done in Courtenay/Comox and two other communities […]

On the Island interview: health impacts of air pollution

The following is a transcript of an interview by radio host Gregor Craigie with guest Dr. Paul Hasselback, a Medical […]

The air we share

The photos below were taken in Courtenay, Cumberland, Comox and CVRD in November 2016.These are not being shared to target specific homes. […]

Wood smoke puts children at risk

The American Lung Association in California issued a news release on Nov. 1st which highlights the dangers of wood smoke to […]

Lack of action continues in the Valley

“Health concerns about wood smoke are driving some B.C. municipalities to ban old, inefficient stoves starting as early as next […]

Local air quality featured on Shaw TV

Air quality was featured in Shaw TV’s September’s broadcast of “Judi’s Comox Valley Stories”. The 12 minute piece by Judi […]