Jamie Oliver now pedling ovens...

[Mitchamus]

Well it took him long enough, but it looks as if Jamie Oliver is now selling/endorsing Wood fired ovens.

Some of them look familiar.

Jamie Oliver | Wood Fired Ovens - Home

[dmun]

Defra Clean Air Certified:
Our range of ovens has permission to operate within smokeless zones, such as London. They have been thoroughly tested and awarded a clean air exemption certificate by DEFRA due to their low emissions ratings. Used properly, the ovens are carbon neutral. Instructions regarding correct usage to ensure carbon neutrality are provided with each oven.

Smoke free? Carbon neutral? What's he been smoking?

[Mitchamus]

at the risk of turning this thread into a climate change debate...

I found this on a site about wood heating:

Although carbon makes up about half the weight of firewood and is released as carbon dioxide when the wood is burned, it is part of a natural cycle. A tree absorbs carbon dioxide from the air as it grows and uses this carbon to build its structure. When the tree falls and decays in the forest, or is processed into firewood and burned, the carbon is released again to the atmosphere. This cycle can be repeated forever without increasing atmospheric carbon. Heating with wood, therefore, does not contribute to the greenhouse effect. And there’s more good news: when the use of wood for energy displaces the use of fossil fuels, the result is a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

with enough spin - you can justify anything!

[acbova]

Although carbon makes up about half the weight of firewood and is released as carbon dioxide when the wood is burned, it is part of a natural cycle. A tree absorbs carbon dioxide from the air as it grows and uses this carbon to build its structure. When the tree falls and decays in the forest, or is processed into firewood and burned, the carbon is released again to the atmosphere. This cycle can be repeated forever without increasing atmospheric carbon. Heating with wood, therefore, does not contribute to the greenhouse effect. And there’s more good news: when the use of wood for energy displaces the use of fossil fuels, the result is a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Ha! That is so perfect. I now have a response if ever questioned!

[dmun]

Well, yes, wood rotting on the forest floor releases exactly the amount of carbon dioxide that you would (wood?) by burning it. That said, it's still not exactly a solar cooker.

[Grimaldi]

By the looks of the soot, he must be burning some carbon neutral pine in there

[dmun]

By the looks of the soot, he must be burning some carbon neutral pine in there

That must be how these are able to operate in smokeless zones like London, by depositing all the smoke on the inner surface of the dome.

[Alter ego]

Also when wood rots on the forest floor it produces methane as well as releasing the carbon. Methane as a green house gas is approx 20 time worse than CO2. When you burn the wood the methane is burnt.

It's not quite as simple as that but as Mitchamus suggested not only with enough spin can you justify anything but with a bit more spin you can even justify how environmentally friendly you are.

[kebwi]

However, burning wood produces carbon in the form of bucky-balls, which are carcinogenic. Decaying wood does not release that type of carbon. That isn't a greenhouse issue, it's a cancer issue, but whatever.

More to the point, while it may be true that burning wood doesn't produce more carbon then letting a tree die and rot, it does produce more carbon than converting a tree into lumber. Lumber is one of the best forms of carbon sequestration because the product is actually useful while at the same time confining carbon away for a very long time.

BTW, I found his orange/polenta video and now I'm dieing to try it!!!

[lwood]

Jamie actually inspired me to look into WFOs. I like the way he uses the oven for everything. I guess GREEN is the new buzz word. No matter how you spin it, slice it or dice it, burning wood is not GREEN.