[killJOY]

About the coal:

$35 for 3/4 ton of coal is dirt cheap. But if it's Wyoming coal it's probably crappy soft coal.

We burn Pennsylvania anthracite, which is hard and clean. It gives off almost no smoke.

A few years ago we decided we'd burn coal all winter instead of a combination of wood and coal. We went through nine tons from October through May, the cost astronomical. That's close to a ton a month.

Here in Maine, that pickup load of coal would last us about two weeks.

This year, we're back to wood and coal. The firewood is in the dooryard, and we've already ordered our pallets of coal. We're going to try to burn it sparingly because of cost, 300 a ton.

Here in Maine, if you ask for firewood now, people will laugh at you.

Someone put an ad in a local paper recently for firewood. They were willing to pay 200 over the cost to the first person to deliver dry firewood to his house.

This is going to be an interesting winter. If we get a cold snap, it will be fatal.

[countrymomma]

yet somehow starting a garden in your backyard will do the trick?

sorry, i just had to.

in all seriousness it really depends on where you live. for example, if you live in the middle of alaska, then yeah your gold as far as hunting goes, but i am not too sure how much gardening would help in that circumstance; now if you live on the outskirts of a major city in a temperate clime, well not so good, right? but then gardening might be a viable method.

You'd be surprised at the size of my "yard" and how many acres of garden it can hold.

I am one of those lucky enough to live far from suburbia. There is a great deal of wild game available for us & we manage to fill the freezer with the rewards of our hunting each year. That is, for now.

The vast majority of locations will have benefits that are balanced by some negatives. As you mention - Alaska. Low population density, healthy wildlife populations, lots of wood for the fire, but short growing season means getting fresh vegetables and fruit is going to be a stumbling block. Look at California - climate perfect for growing food, little to no need for winter heat, but high population density, water shortages, & wildfires are common. Here in the Midwest we have fertile soil for growing most anything, water for irrigation during dry years, wildlife & woods are doing OK, but some areas have a high population density, winters are brutal, livestock must be fed hay/grain all winter.

All these regions/states have positives and negatives, but for the most part it can be overlooked until a population wide grab for limited resources hits.

I've been trying to convince my husband to put in a wood stove, but not to serve as our sole source of heat. I think diversity, a small variety will be the best we can do. At the moment we have propane heat in the winter & we keep it low ($2.14/gal for our 500 gal summer fill, now its in the 2.20s). We're adding a couple of electric base board heaters this month. Then I'll finally get my wood stove. Coal is also a locally available possibility.

At any rate. It's all going to come down to lots of people paying through the nose for a resource they hoped would be an inexpensive, easily accessible solution.

[Heineken]

We're adding a couple of electric base board heaters this month.

I used to have a couple of those. I ripped them all out. Nothing on this earth makes the meter spin faster.

The only real solution to the heating problem is to own a bit of land, manage it sustainably (a word I hardly ever use except contemptuously, but applicable in this case) for firewood, and heat your place entirely with your own wood---very doable if your dwelling isn't too large. You might need a few small electric fans to help circulate the heat---much cheaper to run than electric baseboard heaters!

[MarkJ]

We've seen temporary shortages of various pellet stoves, pellet boilers, pellet fuel, BioBricks and Envi-Blocks due to demand, hoarding, commercial demand, sawdust shortages etc, but we've always had plenty of firewood in my region.

Many of our customers have pellet stoves, but most have moved away from traditional wood burning stoves, boilers and outdoor wood boilers due to time, labor, mess, safety, insurance, pollution and health issues. BioBricks and Envi-Blocks seem to be a decent solution for people that want a wood stove, but don't want the hassles, emissions and inconsistent type, quality and moisture content of various firewood.

Thankfully they've banned outdoor wood boilers in many areas. One problem with wood stoves and boilers is that many people burn all sorts of scraps and garbage in them as well.

[Heineken]

I've seen some of those outdoor burners in my area. They produce unbelievable amounts of smoke. It's like driving through a forest fire. I'd hate to have one of those in the vicinity.

[darwinsdog]

I've posted on this topic elsewhere, either in a different thread here or on TOD, but the solution to firewood availability in most parts of the US is the Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila). This ubiquitous "weed" tree grows in perfuse abundance on vacant lots and other "waste" places, it grows fast (perhaps not as fast as hybrid poplars but the wood is denser & offers more heat per cord), and it readily resprouts from the stump when cut. The perceived vices of this tree are really its virtues. I have planted "better" quality trees but they grow so slowly that I doubt I'll live to ever harvest them. A Siberian elm, on the other hand, that my son & I cut down only four years ago, is now 30 feet high and if we let it get any bigger we will need to split its trunk rounds for firewood. Elm wood is hard to split, which I consider its major drawback. Cutting elm when the trunk is still small enuf to not need split eliminates this problem. Probably 70% of the wood we burn is Siberian elm. The remainder is Russian olive, Tamarix & fallen cottonwood limbs (I don't fell cottonwoods). Despite cutting elm on my property every winter for the past 13 years, and heating exclusively with wood, woody biomass on the property has increased over this time period. In fact, it's increased so much that it shades my garden excessively & we really need to log heavily this approaching fall & winter, if we want to grow anything next year.

[DomusAlbion]

I've posted on this topic elsewhere, either in a different thread here or on TOD, but the solution to firewood availability in most parts of the US is the Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila).

I second that DarwinsDog. We bought about 20 Siberian Elm 3 years ago. They were less than the width of a pencil and 2 feet long. Some are now over 15 feet high. We got these to grow as a screen/hedge so we planted them 5 feet apart and we're now loping off the tops to encourage denser growth, however we're so pleaseed with their growth that we've decided to buy about 100 more to place in various places around the pond and along the creek. They do indeed grow like weeds and require almost no watering. A truly hardy tree.

One of the criteria when choosing our small farm was that there be a woodland and we have that. Probably half the acreage is in woods; from Poplars to Black Walnut and Red Alder. We harvest about 1.5 cords just from fallen wood every spring. We are also fortunate to be close to both state and national forests and can harvest from those areas.

[countrymomma]

Thank you for the advice on the Siberian elm!

This spring we planted for the deer & turkeys. 100 elderberry & 25 crabapple. In years prior we've planted hazelnut, oak & wild cherry.

Also, I appreciate you posting your experience with the bb heaters, Heineken. Husband is an electrician & seems to think they are the way to go, but I've had reservations for the very reason you state. I'll be showing this thread to him today.

[gnm]

Take care with Siberian Elm. They are incredibly invasive and can survive pretty much anything. They will overwhelm drainages and shade out native trees and fruit/nut trees. They also will invade plumbing and foundations. The profusion of seeds they create will ensure that all your surrounding countryside gets invaded as well. The county here even sprays them with herbicide. I have seen one go brown from roundup and be green and half again as high the next year.

-G

[darwinsdog]

Yes, Roundup will kill Siberian elm foliage but not the roots. They will resprout with a vengeance if sprayed or cut. The "organic rain" of seeds in the spring can be a pain but rock squirrels eat the seeds & my son shoots squirrels with his pellet gun & we eat the squirrels. Elm seedlings can be a bad garden weed, also. The second organic rain of elm beetles is also a pain but as someone in here pointed out, chickens eat the beetles. The third organic elm rain of leaves in the fall is an unmitigated good, in that the leaves can be raked up & composted, or just be left to rot on the ground. When I bought my property I had it in my head to eliminate the elms. Not only is doing so virtually impossible but I have come to appreciate the Siberian elm. I heat my home in winter primarily with it so I am willing to live with what many might consider its drawbacks.

[dunewalker]

Thanks for the tip, dd. I'm definitely going to get some of these, as my property is lacking a woodlot, being in the desert. I planted a few Ponderosa pines, for aesthetics, but would never cut them down. With a woodlot of elms I'll be able to make firewood with my off-grid electric chainsaw--perfect!

[darwinsdog]

I also planted ponderosa, preferring it over the nonnative Austrian or black pine (Pinus negra). Unfortunately, ever other or every third year, pine tip moths (Rhyaciona spp.) distort & devastate the ponderosa. The moth larvae don't kill the trees, only kill the current year's growth & distort the shape of the tree. Black pine doesn't seem nearly as susceptible to tip moth damage & I now wish I'd planted P. negra rather than P. ponderosa.

Gambel's oak & pinyon I planted a dozen years ago hasn't grown much, despite at least intermittent irrigation. Utah & Rocky Mountain juniper I planted has done better but none is yet anywhere near harvestable size, after a decade or more. The Siberian elm I never would have planted. It grows ferally all over the property & all over town. Like I said, I didn't initially like it but have come to appreciate it. If not for Siberian elm I would have been freezing (or paying high gas bills, rather) the past decade, while waiting for the native trees to grow.

[Heineken]

I have a few Austrian pines. They are very slow growing, even under our favorable conditions, so I'd question their value as a firewood tree in the dry West. Tough as nails, though, and attractive in a wild way.

[darwinsdog]

Yeah, most things grow slow where it doesn't rain much & the soil pH is high. Pine isn't much good as firewood anyway, unless it's pitchy, & then there's other problems with it. The only decent endemic fuelwoods: juniper & Gambel's oak, grows so slowly maybe my great grandkids will get some benefit from the trees I planted. 'Cept, they'll most likely no longer/ never did exist.. by then. Hence: my praise of Ulmus pumila. The weed ape lauds the weed tree!

[Heineken]

Maybe weeds could be harvested, compacted under enormous pressure into dense cubes, desiccated in the sun, and burned in stoves for heat. Nah . . . lousy EROEI.

[darwinsdog]

"... harvested, compacted under enormous pressure into dense cubes, desiccated in the sun, and burned in stoves for heat."

LoL Nice description of fossil fuels there!

[kpeavey]

Ethanol and biodiesel production has already caused a spike in grain/food prices. The Holy Grail of ethanol production, cellulosic alcohol, will do the same for firewood, as fuel for vehicles would compete with fuel for home heating. A rise in prices would result in a mass movement into tree harvesting for fuels. While this may alleviate high prices and supply a sharp increase in demand, it will cause a great disturbance to natural ecosystems. Forest replenishment and ecological sustainability must be a part of equation. If it is not, it will be Easter Island all over again, but on a much grander scale. Are the masses wise enough to see this?

[darwinsdog]

Spot on post, kpeavey. Grant $$$ is currently abundant for lignocellulosic biomass conversion research. Once "they" "perfect" the process of hydrolysing cellulose, the forests & in fact all "waste" biomass are doomed. Now we see just how fucked we truly are.

[dunewalker]

While this may alleviate high prices and supply a sharp increase in demand, it will cause a great disturbance to natural ecosystems. Forest replenishment and ecological sustainability must be a part of equation. If it is not, it will be Easter Island all over again, but on a much grander scale. Are the masses wise enough to see this?

Not only are the masses not wise enough to see this, but virtually nobody is. The key to ecosystem replenishment is "deplenishment" of the human species. Period. 6.6 billion minus 5 billion is the needed equation. In the process of reduction, the forests indeed will suffer. In my area, it's only legal to cut dead & down trees, generally. Even with a sparse population, it is quite an expedition finding a load of wood each trip out into the forest. Plenty of old stumps, lots of healthy green trees. Already some folks are resorting to illegally cutting the green trees, as there is little supervision or enforcement.

[patience]

I think a lot of wood stove owners will experience the same frustration as those who bought corn stoves a few years ago around here. Indiana grows a lot of corn, and a few years baack it was under $2/ bushel at harvest time. With corn at $5 to $7/bushel, due to ethanol, dollar erosion, whatever, those corn stoves are for sale everywhere now, and no takers.

The bottom line is to secure your own supply of whatever you use for heat, if possible, since simple availability will become more important than price in many cases. Thankfully, my daughter and son in law own 32 acres of trees, so if I can manage to get it home from 10 miles away, we're good for a while. They need to thin some to clear for solar projects anyway.