Gabriola Island Clean Air Society

Dr. Michael Brauer from UBC wrote the following piece in the Globe and Mail about air pollution and COVID-19. Certainly, there has been reduced vehicular traffic and economic activity due to physical distancing. But that doesn’t mean all drivers of pollution have been eliminated. In British Columbia, other major sources include open burning of agricultural and forestry waste, as well as residential wood heating and road dust. The wildfire season is also quickly approaching, bringing with it the potential for severe smoke. And in the past week alone, elevated levels of health-damaging particle air pollution have been measured on Vancouver Island and in Metro Vancouver with authorities poised to issue air-quality advisories. In our interior communities, spring has already brought about multiple air-quality advisories, prompted by the dust that’s unleashed when the snow melts and winter traction materials dry up. Dr. Brauer goes onto note that roughly 800,000 people in B.C. live with ...

The hyper-local nature of wood smoke pollution may make small communities like Gabriola Island BC hotspots for COVID-19. With COVID-19 spreading rapidly around the world, and awareness of how air pollution may increase the risk of contracting the virus and exacerbate lung conditions for those with the infection , it's clear that wood burning on Gabriola Island and nearby is a cultural malady. Nothing here has changed. Although there is now a ban on outdoor burning, wood stove use is rampant and it is perhaps worse given how many people are working from home, off school, etc. According to  Daniel Bings , with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. There is strong evidence that exposure to air pollution increases susceptibility to respiratory viral infections by decreasing immune function. In other words, poor air quality may increase the number of COVID-19 cases and make these cases more severe. In large cities like LA where air pollution is also a major...

There are so many contradictions and blindspots associated with burning wood for residential home heating. People stack large amounts of presumably dry and seasoned wood on their property, and often right beside their homes. If a wildfire started in a place like Gabriola Island, this could be the perfect storm for disaster. Here's an interesting example of a firewood seller who delivers to the island. He'll remove brush and debris while dropping off more fuel (wood).