<
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-11/air-pollution-launceston-quality-smoke-wood-heater-tasmania/105618922>
'The Great Smog of London spurred William Wood to action after arriving in
Tasmania.
He was only 10 years old when smoke from coal burning cloaked the English
capital and killed thousands in the winter of 1952.
But it left a strong impression on the young Dr Wood, who grew up on a farm in
Northamptonshire.
"You'd see these photographs where you couldn't actually see a power pole in
front of you. You couldn't drive a car," he said.
"I didn't want to go anywhere near London."
The crisis finally prompted the British government to ban coal use for home
heating, eventually leading to dramatic improvements in air quality.
Dr Wood contemplated this public policy success story after moving to Tasmania
in the early 1990s and learning of terrible air pollution from wood heaters
across its valley regions.
With concerns about air pollution surfacing once again, he believes more could
still be done to address the longstanding problem.'
Unfortunately wood heaters are still quite popular in Victoria as well,
including Melbourne.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
