As a hearth professional in the Portland area, licensed, bonded, insured chimney sweep as required by the OR CCB, I have to take some time to point out some broad generalizations and stereotypes as well as incorrect statements in your article.
If you want complete information about proper maintenance of chimneys, fireplaces, wood stoves and the like, start with the National Chimney Sweep Guild site, www.ncsg.org, then check out the Chimney Safety Institute at www.csia.org.
If you are truly interested in using alterntative heat sources there is more to consider than pellet stoves. Your statement that wood stoves emit particle pollution is not accurate. Wood stoves built 20 or more years ago are polluters but wood stoves built in the last 20 years have to comply with EPA Clean Air Standards. In fact, the EPA is taking testimony and is in the process of reviewing the clean air standards that apply to wood stoves right now in the effort to revise and update those standards. Wood stoves sold in OR are required by the DEQ and EPA to meet clean air standards and have since 1988. If you check the OR DEQ web site, there is an entire section devoted to wood stoves that qualify. If you go to buy a wood stove, the dealer will show you the manufacturer plate showing compliance with the EPA standards. A wood stove without this plate cannot be legally sold and permitted for installation in OR. No wood stove manufacturer is simply going to manufacture wood stoves to meet EPA standards for Oregon. They instead meet the EPA standards and sell the same model in the entire country. Further, wood stoves today are extremely efficient, 70% plus, burn less wood, produce more heat, and produce little pollution. This is accomplished through new technologies that I will not take the time to explain here, but a local wood stove retailer would be happy to explain. If you want even more information, check out woodheat.org.
Pellet stoves can be an option and the pellets are not just made from wood and lumber byproducts and waste products, they can also be made from any biomass products. The pellets do not necessarily produce more heat than "normal wood" as you claim. It is dependent upon the type of material used and the manufacturing process. The moisture content of pellets vs. wood is also misleading. Burning wood with more than 20% moisture is a problem. However, properly split and stacked wood that is allowed age a minimum of 1 year has less than 20% moisture and will burn without problems and is quite similar to the moisture rate of pellets. In addition, creosote is a byproduct of incomplete combustion and is often due to the wood stove operater improperly setting the air intake on the wood stove. It can also be created by burning wet or green wood. If you want additional information about pellets then visit pelletheat.org. You should also visit the National Fireplace Institute or NFI.org for more information.
I am concerned over the lack of balanced information in your article and am disappointed that you did not take the time to fully investigate this area. Had you taken the time to check it out, perhaps you would have known that the HPBA was able to insert language into the Federal Stimulus Bill about alternative heating appliances such as wood stoves and pellet stoves. Currently there is a 30% tax credit for the purchase of wood stoves and pellet stoves. This tax credit is for 2009 and 2010. A local stove retailer can provide all the details.
In the future, it would be wise for you to contact an expert in the field of hearth technologies and consult them prior to writing in this area. Any local hearth appliance dealer would be happy to discuss trends, options and applications with you. Chimney sweeps such as myself can be found at CSIA.org or the Oregon Chimney Sweeps Association at ocsa.com.
Finally, all homeowners with fireplaces, wood stoves, pellet stoves and even gas fireplaces should have a properly certified, licensed, bonded, and insured chimney sweep inspect and clean these hearth products on an annual basis, regardless of the level of use.
If you want to contact me, I would look forward to talking with you about this area.
Kent Swanson
Mt. Tabor Chimney Co., LLC
OR CCB 180592
CSIA #6212
FIRE Inspector #FP-105
NFI Certified #153104
Proud member of NCSG and NFPA