EPA Strikes! Dangerous yeast in bread, Alaskans told no more burning wood

The little elves at the EPA have been working their little fingers to the bone as they realize their holiday season is quickly coming to an end no doubt on January 20. Here are the latest gifts given to us. The dangerous pollutants of yeast will be addressed no doubt bringing the cost of bread to “rise” and better yet, Alaskans are under the gun regarding wood burning. Here tis:

The Environmental Protection Agency is targeting a key ingredient for making pizza and bread in its latest last-minute regulation before President Obama steps down.

The proposed regulation published Wednesday would make the emissions standards for industrial yeast makers much more strict.

The proposed regulation published Wednesday would make the emissions standards for industrial yeast makers much more strict. …

The cost of complying with the upgraded standards could be passed down to consumers. The yeast manufacturers must install a number of new monitoring technologies under the proposal to track the amount of hazardous pollutants that are being emitted to significantly control them. …

The agency calculated that the total annualized costs for meeting the proposed emission rules would be $172,000 per year. The estimated per-year compliance costs range from $16,000 to $109,000 per facility, which EPA brushed off as minimal. More at Washington Examiner

Then we have the EPA thinking that Alaskans need to find a better way of staying warm:

EPA To Alaskans In Sub-Zero Temps: Stop Burning Wood To Keep Warm

In Alaska’s interior, where it can reach -50 degrees Fahrenheit in winter, the EPA wants people to stop burning wood. But it’s just about their only feasible way to stay warm….Snip…

That prompted state and local authorities to look for ways to cut down on pollution from wood-burning stoves, including the possibility of fining residents who burn wood. After all, a declaration of noncompliance from the EPA would have enormous economic implications for the region, like the loss of federal transportation funding.

The problem is, there’s no replacement for wood-burning stoves in Alaska’s interior. Heating oil is too expensive for a lot of people, and natural gas isn’t available. So they’ve got to burn something. The average low temperature in Fairbanks in December is 13 degrees below zero. In January, it’s 17 below. During the coldest days of winter, the high temperature averages -2 degrees, and it can get as cold as -60. This is not a place where you play games with the cold. If you don’t keep the fire lit, you die. For people of modest means, and especially for the poor, that means you burn wood in a stove—and you keep that fire lit around the clock.

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