“Environmental and health concerns are falling by the wayside as people grapple with soaring energy bills.”

From Reuters’ Stephanie van den Berg:

VEENENDAAL, Netherlands, Sept 30 (Reuters) – The budget-conscious Dutch, who enjoyed abundant cheap gas for half a century to heat their homes, are turning to more traditional heating methods as cold weather reaches the Netherlands.

Sales of coal, wood and pellets for heating stoves have jumped as consumers seek cheaper energy alternatives to counter sky-rocketing gas bills in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

Customers visiting the warehouse of coal merchant Wim van Beek in the central Dutch town of Veenendaal this week were primarily looking to trim spending on heating, the merchant told Reuters…

A 2019 report by Dutch scientists for the Flanders Environment Agency (VMM) in neighbouring Belgium found that an open fireplace leads to environmental costs 250 times higher than those for modern gas-fired central heating. Even new wood-burning systems have five to 12 times greater environmental costs than gas-fired units, it found.

However, environmental and health concerns are falling by the wayside as people grapple with soaring energy bills.

The complete Reuters article, originally published September 30, 2022, can be accessed here.