Clive Stott Grindelwald
TONY STONJEK needs to do a refresher course if he believes fuel reduction in our forests has to be done through controlled burning (Examiner newspaper 29/2/09). This is a harmful outdated practice.
As a ‘dedicated forester’ he must know planned clearing does not mean planned burning. If our forest and land managers were made to clean up their rubbish by modern smokeless means such as pyrolisis, bushfire risk would be reduced, but Mr. Stonjek’s own industry have not embraced this practice. Why?
I am sure the Commissioner will want to know why these methods were not being used before Black Saturday on the mainland, when the benefits are widely publicised.
Planned burning pollutes the atmosphere with deliberate pernicious smoke. The toxic substances enter our blood stream and are scientifically linked to cancer, diabetes, asthma, COPD and other lung conditions, heart attacks, blood clots and DVT; the list goes on. It causes distress to a great many people in our communities, but Mr. Stonjek chooses not to mention the harmful effects of planned burning. This is totally irresponsible, and any open burning is the last thing we should be subjecting our people to when we don’t have to.
