31 Mar2014/i>
Our petition in
support of cleaner stoves and cleaner air has reached 500 signatures in just
five days. Please click here to sign if
you haven’t already signed.
The most frequent comments that we have received by far have
been “I want to do my part to help keep the air we breathe clean.“
There have been just a few objections to our petition. Several people suggested that we should be
wary of supporting anything that the federal government & EPA is doing. But Lisa
D says it best: “At times, governance is needed, and I firmly believe this is
one of those times.” (See full comment to the right)
A few people suggested that we were just supporting the NSPS
for our “economic advantage.” We think
that the new regulations may help the entire woodstove industry, and hence be
to everyone’s economic advantage.
In the larger scheme of things, Woodstock Soapstone Company is a very
small wood stove manufacturer (less than 30 employees) and yet we've
proven that the technology to make clean stoves is attainable,
affordable, and user friendly. If our company can innovate and meet
higher standards, then we believe other (much larger) wood stove
manufacturers can as well.
As companies are forced to meet tougher standards, they will
innovate and adopt new technologies that will make stoves both cleaner and more
efficient, as well as more affordable.
New products will be more attractive, and sales will go up, not
down. Economic interests are served well
by an industry that is more vibrant, innovative and attractive. These are expressed well in the final two
comments at the right.
There is considerable room between the view that new
regulations will force new technology and innovation, on the one hand, or on
the other hand, that new regulations are going to kill the industry. We are more
inclined to believe the former than the latter.
We are a country full of great minds. We sincerely believe that some of those great
minds can and should be put to use to benefit the wood stove industry, the
consumer, and the environment. It’s an
achievable win-win-win.
Click here to sign our petition
Click here to sign our petition