In October, the Gainesville City Commission gave initial approval to a massive development project that will significantly increase sprawl in the rural northern border of the city.

City officials voted 4-3 to approve land use changes that would bring thousands of homes to Weyerhaeuser-owned parcels north of 441 along Highway 121.

The Sierra Club strongly opposes this proposal. Now is the time to act and we ask that everyone email the City Commission to express their opposition - citycomm@gainesvillefl.gov.

A second vote is still required for the plans to be finalized. The City Commission meeting for that vote is currently scheduled for Jan. 19 (though city meeting dates often change so check our social media channels for updates). We encourage everyone to attend. Three of the four commissioners voting yes last year have been replaced by new commissioners. This offers us a fresh chance to convince the commission to reverse course and stop this egregious example of sprawl and unsustainable development.

If you’d like to be added to our low-traffic email list for updates on this issue, feel free to let me know at ftimothymartin@gmail.com. Thanks to your ongoing efforts we still have a real chance of winning this fight.

Tim Martin

 A friend recently expressed an interest in heating her home with wood. I tried my best to dissuade her. I have been heating my home with wood for many years and find that it is messy and hard to maintain.

Yet there is something almost poetic about the connection that forms with each piece of wood. Once cut, split, stacked, and hauled to the stove, these bits of tree chucks develop a time and space stamp;  a virtual tag of where and how the tree grew, the circumstances of its demise and its inclusion in 'the pile. The pile is in itself a work of art and engineering. The wood is stacked methodically to prevent firewood from touching the ground. There are specific ways to shore up the ends, and covers to keep it all dry.. I honestly think that much of the heating benefit of wood comes from all the physical work involved.

Bringing wood inside is usually done in the cold, sometimes wet, or in the dark. With hands wrapped in gloves, logs get shifted from the pile, placed in the wood carrier, hauled up steps, into the in-house stacking area. On super-cold nights you might wake every two or three hours to put on another log. Be careful to avoid any jumping embers and a floor covered in bits of bark. Yes, it is hot and effective once you have learned how to start, maintain, and baffle a good fire. Only then can the winter blues give way to a state of home-loving bliss.

I am conflicted that my wood-smoke is contributing to air pollution. There are EPA standards and new stoves designed to reduce emissions. One of my favorite low emission designs is the rocket-stove. The heat and smoke run through a horizontal pathway, banking the heat and dropping particles along the way, contributing a very small amount of moisture to the atmosphere. 

 In the end, I cannot encourage my friend to use a wood fire heating system. Yet with my existing home and fireplaces, I cannot imagine my own life without it.

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2023 SIERRA CLUB PLANNER SALE!
 

Sierra Club 2023 Engagement Planners are still available and on SALE at half price at just $8 each!

We will have them available for sale at the next General Meeting on January 5th.

You can now direct donations through Cash App to support the Sierra Club Suwannee-St. Johns Group by using our CashTag$: