How many of you still burn coal for heat during the winter?
It used to be quite common. Of course, pulmonary problems were very common too. As was death from carbon monoxide poisoning. Or simply early death.
In yet another thread about the collapse of the coal industry, I noted in passing the great disaster that happened to London in the 1950s.
Back then, most London homes still burned coal for heat. Indeed, even back in Charles Dicken's time it was common: so much so that it was the basis for most of the 'fog' that so often enveloped London in the winter. The first few paragraphs of Bleak House are very descriptive of such a London Fog.
In December 1952, during a particularly cold stretch, a very thick, and poisonous, 'fog' developed over London, due to the coal being burned in homes. People began getting sick. It was only afterwards did Londoners realize that a catastrophe had occurred, with some 4,000 people dying during the fog or very soon afterwards, and by the next summer it was estimated that up to 12,000 people died as a result of the fog.
The English government began to pass legislation to get people to stop burning coal and move to other sources of heat. Another such fog developed in 1962, with an additional 750 people dying, but that was a marked improvement, of course, over 1952. It took a while for the people to convert.
The Killer Fog That Blanketed London - History in the Headlines
I got a glimpse of such when I visited China in 2008 (soon after the Olympics). In Beijing we visited one of the fast-disappearing neighborhoods (I forget what they are called), where many people continue to use coal for their cooking and heating needs. You could easily detect the difference in air quality.
Anyway, one may still, if they desire, burn coal in their fireplace (although city codes may prohibit). Of course, I do not recommend that you do so in the 'wood' fireplace that you may have (although that is what people used to use). They do have special coal-burning fireplaces that one may use. If you set it up right, with the right ventilation, you may well survive the first night you use it!
Imagine. A small coal fire in a home may actually kill the occupants. However, many seem to think that burning lots and lots of coal for energy is somehow safer for our air quality. Rather like those bad mortgages companies were buying: buying one bad mortgage is foolish and will lose you money, but buy thousands of such and you will be rich!
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