What's in my firewood, and why should it matter?

By Martin Damus

This blog post was originally published to Cultivating Science on science.gc.ca.

Ah, a nice warm fire! Gathering around campfires in the summer or a hearth in the cold winter is classically Canadian. Firewood is plentiful and who doesn't like its cheery warm glow?

What we don't often think about is the wood itself. Where did it come from? We see signs saying "Don't move firewood" along the highways and at provincial park entrances. The park ranger might even ask us if we brought wood from home. What's that all about? It's just firewood, right?

Read the full blog post.