How green are wood-burning fires?

It is hardly a secret: heating our house gives each of us a stonking great carbon footprint, what with domestic homes accounting for a quarter of the UK's total energy use. So what have the finely tuned, technologically thrusting innovators of this generation come up with by way of a low-carbon, renewable solution? Er, burning stuff in a fire, pretty much in the manner of our Victorian forefathers.

What this idea may lack in futuristic ingenuity it makes up for in increasing popularity. Householders are embracing open fires (not literally, which would be dangerous) and wood-burning stoves as a means of being greener, cheaper and feeling more secure about their fuel supply. Sales for wood-burning stoves are reported to be up by 40% on last year in the UK.

From an ethical standpoint we can a) be thankful that there's no longer a child-labour issue involved with today's chimney sweeps and b) celebrate the fact that new wood-burning stoves operate at around 75% efficiency (a traditional fireplace is just 10-20% efficient). According to the industry group www.stovesandchimneys.co.uk, an open fire requires four logs for every one put in a wood burner.

However, bear in mind that when it comes to air pollution, a problem shared is still very much a problem. There is a distinct lack of consensus when it comes to air-quality management and domestic fires, but even the newest wood burners kick out particulate matter (tiny, easily absorbed particles, considered possible carcinogens and more readily associated with traffic pollution). Recently, Swedish researchers concluded that levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (chemical compounds, some of which have been identified as carcinogenic) were five times higher in homes with wood-burning appliances than those without. Proponents, meanwhile, argue that wood is cleaner than coal and oil, emitting no sulphur dioxide and destroying dioxins through heat.


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Thermostat on low? The pipes are calling

Insurers are counting the cost of some of the coldest winter weather in a decade, with claims for burst pipes and tanks running at double the levels of last year. Families who have turned the thermostat down too low while away on a Christmas break have returned to homes wrecked by mains-pressure water pouring through ceilings and floors for days.

Many households are unaware just how high thermostats need to be to prevent freezing pipes. Halifax  recommends central heating is set at a minimum of 10 degrees.

Some modern boilers have a frost protection thermostat which turns on automatically if the temperature drops to a level that causes pipes to freeze.

Paradoxically, homes with proper loft insulation may be more at risk, as the heat from downstairs fails to penetrate upwards. A Norwich Union spokeswoman says: "Remember to remove the hatch to your loft so that warm air can circulate. This may appear environmentally unfriendly, or a little extravagant but it might mean the difference between a ruined home or a dry one when you return after a break."

Sainsbury's home insurance estimates that since 22 December, the UK insurance industry has received more than 13,000 home insurance claims linked to water damage under the category of "forcible/violent bursting", and it says the freezing weather has contributed to this.

It estimates the value of these claims is already close to £30m. Neil Laird, Sainsbury's home insurance manager, says: "There have certainly been more claims linked to water damage in recent weeks than we'd expect to see when the weather is milder. Temperatures have dropped to as low as -10C, and, with more cold weather predicted, we expect to see more claims linked to water damage.

• Insulate your pipes with preformed insulation, and replace the washers on any dripping taps - if the taps freeze, the pipe will get blocked.

• Know where your water valves are, and learn how to shut them off in case a pipe does burst.

• In very cold weather the heating will need to be on low, or set to come on a couple of times a day, especially if you're going away.

• Open the loft trapdoor on cold days to let heat in.

And do check your level of buildings and contents cover. Note, if you are away from your property on an extended break - typically more than 45 to 60 days - there is the risk your policy may not pay out.

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Lights go out across Britain as recession hits home

Britain's days as the fastest growing economy in Europe were officially declared over yesterday as the deepest recession in a generation saw consumers turning off the lights and Poles returning home.

While official figures showed the economy contracting at its fastest since 1980, National Grid said demand for electricity had fallen over Christmas at homes and factories across the land, and Poland confirmed that thousands of its citizens were coming home from Britain and Ireland.

National Grid said it was cutting its forecast for electricity consumption this year because of the recession. The thousands of people being laid off each week and the hundreds of firms cutting production are reducing demand.

Industry has suffered most in this recession and made the biggest contribution to the slump in national output, which fell by a worse-than-expected 1.5% in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the third - or around 6% on an annualised basis.

As the economy had contracted by 0.6% in the July to September period, Britain now meets the most common definition of a recession - two consecutive quarters of shrinkage. But some analysts say the country fell into recession last April

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Climate shift 'killing US trees'

Old growth trees in western parts of the US are probably being killed as a result of regional changes to the climate, a study has suggested.

Analysis of undisturbed forests showed that the trees' mortality rate had doubled since 1955, researchers said.

They warned that the loss of old growth trees could have implications for the areas' ecology and for the amount of carbon that the forests could store.

The findings have been published in the journal Science.

"Data from unmanaged old forests in the western US showed that background mortality rates have increased rapidly in recent decades," the team of US and Canadian scientists wrote.

"Because mortality increased in small trees, the overall increase in mortality rates cannot be attributed to ageing of large trees," they added.

"Regional warming and consequent increases in water deficits are likely contributors to the increase in tree mortality rates."

Water woes

After ruling out a variety of other possible factors, including insect attacks and air pollution, the researchers concluded that regional warming was the dominant contributor.

"From the 1970s to 2006, the mean annual temperature of the western US increased at a rate of 0.3C to 0.4C per decade, even approached 0.5C," they observed.

"This regional warming has contributed to widespread hydrological changes, such as declining fraction of precipitation falling as snow, declining snowpack water content, earlier spring snowmelt and a consequent lengthening of summer drought."

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