tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post117482488070227392..comments2023-04-07T05:19:44.951-04:00Comments on Yes Vermont Yankee: State of Vermont Sues in Favor of Federal Pre-Emptive RegulationsMeredith Angwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-34531459587119018282013-11-01T16:47:08.263-04:002013-11-01T16:47:08.263-04:00Merdith, something that might have worked: Back in...Merdith, something that might have worked: Back in the in our area in the 80s Duquesne Light just started up Beaver Valley 2. All of the sudden DL started to promote that people get heat pumps. My parents bought one and when the DL man came over to look at it so we could get discounts, he told me that since we did not have electric furnaces in steel mills as much, they wanted to create more demand for the electricity from Beaver Valley. He told me that one of the reasons they built BV was for steel mills that soon closed. Could some program like that have helped create demand for Vermont Yankee and thus keep the place? It might be different here though, as most summers we do need air conditioning. By the way, our heat pump often had a hard time "making up its mind" that is, when to turn on the heat pump or the gas furnace but with newer models that is not as much of a problem. By the way, when my dad retired, the not as hot heat did help with the dry skin, something that will help when Vermont has a lot of seniors.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17908138135691152544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-74259338113267401512013-10-30T20:33:06.782-04:002013-10-30T20:33:06.782-04:00I rarely post comments that include a link to a co...I rarely post comments that include a link to a commercial product, but I posted Lorraine Jacobs comment because it is important that wood boilers be regulated and used responsibly.<br /><br />Robert, very few places in Vermont have gas lines. There is one gas line into the state in the Burlington area and a little south. I live in a rather thickly settled area near White River Junction and across the river from Dartmouth College. No gas line and no near-term plans for getting such a thing. We have many local oil delivery businesses. I have a heating oil tank in my basement. Most people have heating oil or propane.<br /><br />Oddly for the legislature's plans for getting off of fossil fuels, to phase out fossil fuels, to phase them out you need MORE electricity (heat pumps, for example) not less. And, as you say, we won't have Vermont Yankee. Meredith Angwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-74089366589159706752013-10-28T22:11:51.641-04:002013-10-28T22:11:51.641-04:00I bring up burning oil because I know that in Main...I bring up burning oil because I know that in Maine, many communities do not have gas lines but all have electricity (people cook electrically). I thought maybe Vermont might be like that too, so that is why I mentioned oil on frigid days. Heat pumps are expensive, but actually they benefit seniors. Since they are not as hot as furnaces, they do not dry out sensitive skin that many seniors have. Some heat pumps have electric heaters for very cold days but that is not economical - especially since you soon will not have VY.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17908138135691152544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-66493074932286938972013-10-28T19:45:18.631-04:002013-10-28T19:45:18.631-04:00Oh my, that's a very thick smoke! It is really...Oh my, that's a very thick smoke! It is really essential that those who are using boilers should make sure that they are getting those that are qualified and approved by the EPA. We should take care of our environment as we are protecting ourselves from getting cold. If Vermont will be regulating the usage of these boiler, then that would be fine because they are just concerned of the welfare of the community and I also hope that the people will take their part on this. -<a href="http://www.portageandmainboilers.com/" rel="nofollow">www.portageandmainboilers.com</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04897345951132268673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-84335414065240515752013-10-27T15:12:34.590-04:002013-10-27T15:12:34.590-04:00Any campfire I have ever built made nowhere near t...Any campfire I have ever built made nowhere near the amount of smoke shown in that picture. Maybe I'm just smarter about how I make it, but I don't think so. But all this is small potatoes, in actual fact. I saw a study where if the generated energy from VY were to be replaced with even the most modern wood-fired boilers, you'd end up cutting down all the timber in Vermont in a couple of years. So much for that pipe dream.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-43681087285161336822013-10-22T12:52:17.644-04:002013-10-22T12:52:17.644-04:00Thank you for your comments. I agree with both of...Thank you for your comments. I agree with both of you! Heat pumps plus oil supplement would be far better.<br /><br />These boilers are basically loaded up and run for many hours. As you can see, they can make amazing quantities of smoke. Which is a health hazard. <br /><br />In fairness to boiler owners, however, it depends on their location. I have a friend who was born in his family's farmhouse, which was down by the road. When he inherited the farm (I think it is about 100 acres) he built his own house on the top of a hill. There is no other house on the property. He uses a wood boiler. When I was there, it looked like the smoke dispersed pretty fast on that hill. And there really is nobody nearby to bother (except his own house, and he was careful about the siting). On the other hand, if he was using the same boiler while still living in a farm house at the bottom of the hill, it could be a real pollution problem for the whole valley.<br /><br />I don't like wood boilers, but it is going to be hard to ban them in the Northeast. They can be used responsibly, if the legislature had the courage to make reasonable rules for them.<br />Meredith Angwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-49914487261773737292013-10-21T23:58:43.397-04:002013-10-21T23:58:43.397-04:00Oh, please after seeing that let the people burn o...Oh, please after seeing that let the people burn oil! And why is that much worse smoke than a campfire?<br /><br />But seriously, if VY had been allowed to stay open would it have been better for people in Vermont to have heat pumps for chilly days and then burn oil only when it is bitter cold? Even though you don't need AC up there, it might still benefit because fossil fuel would only be used on the coldest days.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17908138135691152544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-13643283428663199792013-10-16T22:11:59.283-04:002013-10-16T22:11:59.283-04:00Wood burning is probably the second-most damaging ...Wood burning is probably the second-most damaging process to the environment (after coal burning). Incomplete combustion of wood on a large scale produces huge amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which includes a broad swath of compounds, some of which are carcinogenic, teratogenic, and mutagenic. In terms of effects on human health, widespread use of wood as a fuel causes harm that dwarfs anything nuclear could ever cause. Those who advocate industrial-scale burning of wood products are no friend of the environment, and no friend of human health.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com