By clicking “sign up” you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. For more information about how to do this, and how Immediate Media Company Limited (publisher of Science Focus) holds your personal information, please see our privacy policy. While advocates of wood burning argue that sustainably harvested wood is "carbon neutral," recent research suggests that many of the climate benefits of burning … The tree branches come from all over the Twin Cities metro area and are considered waste that is then burned for energy. Subscribe to BBC Focus magazine for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow @sciencefocusQA on Twitter for your daily dose of fun science facts. To wood-burn or not to wood-burn? “We'll have projects that are going on, [like] emerald ash borer removal. We’re answering these pressing questions on climate on the air and online. Still have questions about climate change? Water and carbon dioxide combine in the presence of sunlight, and in the leaves, the process of photosynthesis takes place," he said. Carbon is continually cycling through all living plants and animals. Trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, which is returned to the atmosphere when their wood is burned. Got a question you’re dying to ask? Climate Curious: Is burning wood for heat carbon neutral? "As a tree grows, it captures carbon dioxide from the air, water moves up the trunk. Wood burning stoves are cosy, efficient (often three times more so than an open fire) and burning wood can be relatively carbon neutral and sustainable compared to … Trucks dump tree trunks and limbs into a pile at Environmental Wood Supply in St. Paul Tuesday. And trees, he said, have a significant relationship with CO2, one of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. In urban areas, burning wood contributes other kinds of pollution that are harmful to people's health, especially the tiny particles in soot that can get into people's lungs. Now it’s our turn. "On the other hand, if someone's living in a rural area and they have a stand of trees on their land or close by and available, there's no environmental reason not to use that wood as a source of energy,” Bowyer said. Wood burning stoves are cosy, efficient (often three times more so than an open fire) and burning wood can be relatively carbon neutral and sustainable compared to fossil fuels like natural gas, propane, and coal. A worker scoops tree branches into a 1,000-horsepower tub grinder at Environmental Wood Supply in St. Paul on Tuesday. Jeff Guillemette, biomass fuel manager for Ever-Green Energy, said it’s been a busy fall, but trees are recycled all year round. Already have an account with us? Ask a climate expert, with MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner and reporter Elizabeth Dunbar. Wood Burning Stoves: Carbon Neutral . Pollutionwatch: wood burning is not climate friendly Burning wood releases more CO 2 than gas, oil and even coal for the same amount of heat, so to make it climate neutral … Why do I feel angsty and cabin fever-y if I’m inside for more than a few hours? Our readers and listeners have been sending us some terrific questions about climate change — and, in voting rounds, have let us know which questions they are most curious about. And under the right conditions, he said, cities can consider wood as a sustainable energy source, too. The theory was that nature would reabsorb the carbon dioxide released by burning, yielding a net balance of zero. How much carbon is released by burning firewood compared to letting the same tree decompose in the woods? These contribute to climate change but can also cause breathing problems or even cancer in humans. Can we filter greenhouse gases from the atmosphere? Carbon is continually cycling through all living plants and animals. But it wouldn’t be a good thing if all of us switched out our natural gas furnaces for wood furnaces. Some tree removal, such as for emerald ash borer, happens in the winter, providing fuel for the District Energy power plant that heats buildings in downtown St. Paul. Our daily newsletter arrives just in time for lunch, offering up the day's biggest science news, our latest features, amazing Q&As and insightful interviews. Are wood-burning stoves environmentally friendly? Is it more environmentally friendly to buy a fake Christmas tree, or a real one? How much would the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline increase the temperature of the Earth if it does what it is designed to do? The trees are ground into chips that are then trucked to the St. Paul District Energy plant and burned to supply heating and cooling to downtown buildings. But if a tree is left to die and decompose, Bowyer said, “the decay process is exactly the reverse of photosynthesis.”, He explains: “Water is used by decay fungi, and as the fungi works on the wood, the wood is then converted back to carbon dioxide.”. Burning that wood for heat speeds up the process, he said, but it's carbon neutral, as long as it's managed in a way that allows for new growth and new opportunities for carbon absorption. Trees, of course, don't live forever. “Those sugars move down the trunk of the tree. Those sugars are converted to wood," Bowyer said. Individual donations are behind the clarity in coverage from our reporters across the state, stories that connect us, and conversations that provide perspectives.