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efficient wood stoves
in this section
The SCCAS is working to educate people about the serious health hazards of operating old wood stoves and fireplaces that do not meet the highest standards.
Health ConcernsThe most dangerous material in wood smoke may be the fine particles that make up the smoke and soot. Many of these particles are toxic. Most are so small that, when you breathe them, they get past your body's defences and go deep into your lungs. There, they can cause serious problems such as scarring of the lung tissue. Studies show that death rates in several U.S. cities increased when there were higher levels of fine particles in the air. Wood smoke is most dangerous to the health of infants and children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with lung or heart disease. Some of the reasons wood smoke is such a serious problem are:
- Almost all the wood smoke in BC is released during winter months. This means it is very concentrated. It takes just three months for wood smoke to become Washington's third leading source of air pollution.
- In the winter, we often have weather conditions that cause stagnant air. As a result, wood smoke is trapped close to the ground in neighbourhoods. At these times, air pollution in many neighbourhoods is unhealthy.
- Studies show that people who heat their homes with wood have more respiratory problems than those who don't. Smoke particles also invade neighbouring homes. Research shows that children in wood burning neighbourhoods are more likely to have lung and breathing problems.
Wood Burning TipsIf you use a wood stove or fireplace, now is the time to make sure your firewood is covered and out of the weather.
Wet firewood boils when it burns. With wet wood, it can be harder to get a fire going and keep it burning. Wet firewood also makes a smoky fire with little heat, and wastes wood. So, it just makes sense to burn dry firewood. Wood that has been split, dried and stored under cover for at least six months usually burns best. Here's how to make sure your wood is dry enough to burn:
If you buy wood from an independent firewood seller, ask them if the wood has been properly seasoned. It should have been dried under cover for at least six months. If not, you will need to dry it for several months before you can burn it. Use a moisture meter to check the moisture content of split firewood. The goal is less than 20 percent moisture content. And remember - burning small, hot fires gives you more heat and less smoke!
If you burn, burn clean
If you heat with wood, you can reduce smoke by burning properly:
- Burn only dry, seasoned wood. Be sure your firewood has been split and dried for at
- least one year. Store it under cover.
- Never burn wet, painted, stained or treated wood; colored newsprint; plastic; garbage; diapers; or magazines.
- Build small fires to help the wood burn completely. Adding too much wood at one time cuts down on the air to the fire and leaves you with unburned wood.
- Keep your fire hot. Dampering down your stove just cuts off the air, which wastes wood, creates a lot of smoke, and produces very little heat. You can tell if your fire has enough air by checking the smoke coming from your chimney. You should see only heat waves. If you see smoke, increase the air supply to your fire.
- Make sure your wood stove is the right size for its space. A stove that is too large for the space it is heating will have to be damped down, causing more smoke. Make sure your stove is properly installed.
Wood Stove Exchange ProgramThe Sunshine Coast Clean Air Society, in partnership with the BC Lung Association and the Ministry of Environment, is a participant in the province-wide Wood Stove Exchange Program. This program provides $250 rebates for exchanges of inefficient, older wood stoves for highly efficient appliances, including non-wood burning alternatives. The MoE has funded this program since 2009, facilitating over 6,000 exchanges to date. The SCCAS has been a continuous participant of the WSE program and is grateful to the Ministry for the funding it provides to the Sunshine Coast.
Check back on this website for announcements on the upcoming educational component of this program, Burn It Smart.
Check out our Home Heating Buyer's GuideVisit the Provincial Wood Stove Exchange Program Guidelines
For more information, contact:
Wood Stove Exchange Program Coordinator
From our blog
- BC MoE Announces 2016 Wood Stove Exchange Program Funding
As winter's cold embrace descends upon B.C., the Ministry of Environment is providing over $190,000 to 13 communities and regional districts as part of the Provincial Wood Stove Exchange Program.
Since 2008, the B.C. government, in partnership with the BC Lung Association, has helped British Columbians replace their older model stoves with new cleaner burning models. Last year over 600 stoves were exchanged across the province and the goal is to have another 600 stoves exchanged again this coming year.
Smoke from older higher-polluting wood stoves, in combination with the cold still nights of winter, has a significant impact on air quality. This is one of the leading reasons why some areas of B.C. see more air quality advisories at this time of year.
The Wood Stove Exchange Program helps homeowners by providing a $250 rebate when a new wood-burning, pellet or natural gas stove is purchased and an older model retired. New emissions-certified wood stoves burn one-third less wood; and reduce smoke and particulates entering the atmosphere by 70% or more.
The funding will also be put toward educational materials and workshops in communities to better inform residents on clean wood burning.
To date, the Province has put $2.5 million toward the program, resulting in the purchase of over 6,600 cleaner-burning models.
There are close to 70,000 older-model wood stoves still in use around the province. Older wood stoves can affect the health of homeowners, neighbours and overall airshed health. Exchanging these wherever possible is highly recommended.
Mary Polak, Minister of Environment –
"Wood smoke is a major contributor to air pollution and through the resounding success of our Wood Stove Exchange Program, we are making a positive change in the air British Columbians breathe.
"This provincial funding will motivate hundreds of homeowners to swap their old wood stoves with more efficient, cleaner burning models that will significantly reduce emissions in their communities."
Scott McDonald, CEO, BC Lung Association –
"The Wood Stove Exchange Program is an important partnership with the Province that has seen considerable success to date in improving air quality in participating communities.
"We look forward to the program continuing to help B.C. families swap out their older high-polluting stoves and burn smarter by using newer more environmentally-friendly options."
Quick Facts:
The Wood Stove Exchange Program has reduced particulate matter emissions by over 400 tonnes per year benefitting air quality in the 27 communities and regional districts that have participated.
In B.C., all new wood stoves and inserts sold must meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or Canadian Standards Association (CSA) emission standards.
More than 6,600 wood-burning stoves and inserts have been replaced by cleaner burning models since the Provincial Wood Stove Exchange Program began eight years ago – this equates to an estimated reduction of 410 tonnes of particulate matter pumped into the air each year.
Always use dry well-seasoned wood cut into pieces that are 10-15cm in diameter. Burning "green" or wet wood produces significantly more smoke.
Firewood should be seasoned for at least six months. Burning seasoned wood also saves money by reducing wood consumption by 25%.
The 13 communities/regional districts receiving grants for the 2016-2017 Wood Stove Exchange Program are:
Regional District of Central Okanagan and Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen – $23,500
Regional District of Central Kootenay – $18,500
Regional District of Kootenay Boundary – $7,800
Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable – $11,000
Bulkley Valley and Lakes District Airshed Management Society – $9,200
Metro Vancouver – $19,250
Sunshine Coast Clean Air Society – $10,650
Regional District of Nanaimo – $18,900
Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District – $10,450
Campbell River – $8,900
Comox Valley Regional District – $16,700
Cowichan Valley Regional District – $24,500
Golden and District Air Quality Committee – $10,900
Learn More:
BC Newsroom - Ministry of Environment: https://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/ministries/environment-1
Find out more about the Provincial Wood Stove Exchange Program, smoke management in the province and current air-quality conditions throughout the province: http://www.bcairquality.ca
BC Lung Association tips for wood burning and your health: http://www.bc.lung.ca/airquality/wood_burning.html
- Ministry of Environment announces BC's 2014-'15 Wood Stove Exchange Program
The Province is providing $190,000 to communities throughout British Columbia to encourage residents to replace their old wood stoves with cleaner burning models.
Together thirteen communities/regional districts are receiving funding from the Ministry of Environment through the Wood Stove Exchange Program. The goal is to have close to 630 stoves exchanged across the province this coming year.
Since 2008, the B.C. government has partnered with the BC Lung Association to run the wood stove exchange program. The program provides a $250 rebate on the purchase of a new wood-burning, pellet or natural gas stove. To-date, the Province has put over $2.3 million towards the program, resulting in the purchase of over 6,000 cleaner burning models.
There are approximately 70,000 older model wood stoves still in use throughout the province. Older higher-polluting wood stoves can affect the health of homeowners, neighbours and overall air shed health.
Mary Polak, Minister of Environment -
"Many families throughout B.C. heat their homes with a wood stove or fireplace. Our Wood Stove Exchange Program is helping to cut the number of old, inefficient wood stoves in B.C., replacing them with new cost-efficient, environmentally friendly models. Families can continue to enjoy a cozy, warm fire while cutting emissions and burning up to a third less wood."
Scott McDonald, president, BC Lung Association -
"This is a fantastic partnership with the Province that sees continued success year after year. Positive effects such as improved air quality are being seen in communities throughout British Columbia as a result of the Wood Stove Exchange Program."
Quick Facts:
The Wood Stove Exchange Program has reduced particulate matter emissions by over 300 tonnes per year benefitting air quality in the 27 communities that have participated.
New emissions-certified wood stoves burn one-third less wood; and reduce smoke and particulates entering the atmosphere by up to 90%.
More than 6,000 wood-burning stoves have been replaced by cleaner burning models since the Provincial Wood Stove Exchange Program began seven years ago - this equates to an estimated reduction of more than 370 tonnes of particulate matter pumped into the air.
Always use dry well-seasoned wood cut into pieces that are 10-15cm in diameter. Burning "green" or wet wood produces significantly more smoke.
Firewood should be seasoned for at least six months. Burning seasoned wood also saves money by reducing wood consumption by 25%.
The 13 communities/regional districts receiving grants for the 2014-15 wood exchange program are:
Cowichan Valley Regional District
Kootenay Boundary
Central Okanagan
Fraser Valley
Central Kootenay
Bella Coola Valley
Metro Vancouver
Prince George
Regional District of Nanaimo
Campbell River
Bulkley Valley
Sunshine Coast
Find out more about the Provincial Wood Stove Exchange Program, smoke management in the province and current air quality conditions throughout the province: http://www.bcairquality.ca
BC Lung Association tips for wood burning and your health: http://www.bc.lung.ca/airquality/wood_burning.html
- Air pollution 'still harming Europeans' health'
Air pollution is continuing to damage European citizens' health and the environment, latest figures show.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) listed tiny airborne particles and ozone as posing a "significant threat".
However, the authors said nations had significantly cut emissions of a number of pollutants, including sulphur dioxide, lead and carbon monoxide.
In a separate study, research identified a link between low birth-weight and exposure to air pollution.
EEA executive director Hans Bruyninckx said that EU nations had made considerable progress over recent decades to reduce the visible signs of air pollution, with cities now no longer shrouded in blankets of smog.
Continue reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24493530
- Clean Air Society August 2013 Newsletter
The August 2013 CAS Newsletter is the link below:
Click here for the August 2013 Newsletter. In PDF format.
- 10 Easy Steps for Clean Air Day
Breathing polluted air affects your lung health now and in the future. Here are some simple actions you can take to reduce air pollution and to keep the air cleaner and healthier for everyone to breathe:
Walk, bike, carpool, or take public transit.
Reduce your heating needs by making your house more energy efficient. Find out about government programs that test your home's energy-efficiency and give grants to help pay for the cost of improving your home's energy efficiency.
Don't burn wood or trash. Instead of burning debris, start a compost pile in your backyard for organic materials.
Use hand-powered garden tools. Avoid using gasoline or diesel-powered equipment such as lawnmowers and leaf-blowers.
Know before you go. If you need to drive, plan the most fuel efficient route using free online tool such as Google maps, taking notice of areas of construction and high traffic. Avoiding these areas can help prevent needless idling.
Check your tire pressure. Properly inflated tires improve fuel efficiency. Each 5% of under-inflation translates into a 1% decrease in fuel efficiency.
Reduce, reuse and recycle.
Avoid idling. Turn off your car's engine while waiting for someone and try to avoid drive-through lines.
Garden without pesticides. There are many healthy and safe alternatives to harmful cosmetic pesticides.
Get involved. Support national and local efforts to clean up the air. Contact your provincial lung association and find out what is happening in your area and how to get involved.
For helpful links to these steps, please visit the original article here: http://www.sk.lung.ca/index.php/protect-your-lungs-mainmenu/air-quality/10-easy-steps#.UZrHXys-v21
- April Newsletter and update
2012 has been a year of steady progress for cleaner air on the Sunshine Coast. Another successful Wood Stove Exchange program is underway. This program, funded by the BC Ministry of the Environment and the BC Lung Association, supports replacement of old inefficient wood-burning appliances with new, efficient appliances that reduce pollution output dramatically. In 2010 SCCAS provided 93 residents on the Sunshine Coasts with rebates of $250 per appliance. In 2011 we facilitated rebates for 70 purchases and in 2012 we issued 61 rebates. We have received $101,000 in grants over the last three years to fund the program. This money has been spent on education, $250 rebates to purchasers of new stoves, advertising, and administration. I am extremely proud that we have been more successful with this program than any other community in BC. (link to numbers).
We had a highly successful Burn it Smart workshop in December 2012, with over 40 people attending this free community demonstration about how to burn wood fuel efficiently to both save money and minimize pollution. I would like to acknowledge the excellent work of Nadi Fleschutt, Jim Dorey, and Jools Andrés, who have administered this program over the last three years.
SCCAS worked with the District of Sechelt to have Bylaw #486, 2012 adopted; this bylaw will see a ban on all developer/construction burns effective January 1, 2014. Until then, we can all use non-burning alternatives by transporting slash piles to Salish Soils in Sechelt for chipping or taking green waste to the landfill for free. This makes for cleaner air and turns green waste into topsoil and mulch for local gardens. We are also working with Gary Nohr of the SCRD regarding a new backyard burning bylaw for Halfmoon Bay and Roberts Creek. The bylaw draft has been written.
Educational advertising has appeared in community publications this year highlighting the Wood Stove Exchange Program, the Burn It Smart Workshop, and the general health effects of smoke. We have a dynamic, well-visited website (cleanaironthecoast.com) that is regularly updated with new and pertinent information, news, and blogs. Our Facebook page is taking on a new life, too. Please 'like' us at http:/ /www.facebook.com/CleanAirSociety and get in on community discussions.
In addition to the support that we receive from the Province of British Columbia and the BC Lung Association, grants from the Sunshine Coast Regional District and the Sunshine Coast Community Foundation and help us immensely with our programs. Furthermore, the District of Sechelt is helping to fund an air quality monitoring station in East Porpoise Bay. See the article about this subject, Air quality monitoring a reality in District of Sechelt in this newsletter.
To close, I want to thank former SCCAS directors Heather Waddell and Vicki Tyndal for their past work and to welcome Peter Wooding as a new director. In addition, I want to acknowledge the amazing work of the SCCAS Board, including Louis Legal, Ryan Logtenberg, and Elizabeth McNeill. Their dedication and selfless work has precipitated much progress for the quality of the air we breathe on the Sunshine Coast.
It is our goal to make the Sunshine Coast a healthier place by reducing the pollutants that cause and affect lung disease and respiratory illness. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Jeff Hoag
An air quality monitor will measure particulate matter in East Porpoise Bay for the next nine months. Photo: Peter Wooding
An air quality monitor was installed in East Porpoise Bay in mid-December, 2012 and SCCAS began sampling soon after on December 17. Sampling will continue over a 12-month period at three-day intervals, giving representative findings for airborne particulate matter deposition (up to both 2.5 and 10 microns) throughout four seasons. Comparisons will be made with other monitoring sites, including an identical monitor on Sechelt's Trail Bay Mall operating on the same three-day monitoring cycle.
This monitoring is the result of collaborative efforts among citizens, the District of Sechelt (DOS), SCCAS, and the Province of British Columbia. Members of the East Porpoise Bay community expressed concerns to the DOS regarding the notably heavy and increasing deposition of "dust" in and on their homes and property. The DOS, in turn, referred their concerns to SCCAS, which led to communication with the Province. Representatives of the government showed interest in restarting a program in Sechelt by establishing the current sampling site in East Porpoise Bay.
Timely monitoring is proceeding as scheduled. It will be some time before the raw results become available and even longer before an analysis is done. However, there is undoubted benefit in implementing monitoring as it has already increased community awareness of and interest in air quality concerns. We will inform the community of the results as soon as they are known.
More than 40 people attended the Burn It Smart Workshop on Dec. 8, 2012 at the Sechelt Fire Hall. Those in attendance learned how to burn fires more efficiently from Zigi Gadomski, president of Wood Energy Technicians of British Columbia, through an outdoor demonstration of efficient wood burning. Participants had many questions and gave very positive feedback. Zigi commented that "he hadn't had such a big and enthusiastic group for a long time".
Jools Andrés and Mieke Bray organized this successful event for the SCCAS, in part by gathering door prizes from Cozy Homes Fireplaces, Sechelt Fireplace and Gas Centre, and Sechelt Home Hardware. (There were two chimney sweep services donated at a value of $120 each!) Smaller prizes were also awarded such as fireplace matches, Fishermen's Friend lozenges, chocolate, and tea.
Part of the enthusiasm was, no doubt, due to the refreshments. It was generous of IGA in Wilson Creek to support us by providing some of the treats.
We also thank the Sechelt Fire Department for offering the facility to us at no charge. Both the fire department and the SCCAS have the common goal of creating less air pollution and eliminating accidental fires.
In the past, many on the Sunshine Coast have suffered from the smoke and particulates that hang in the air after developers clear and burn their slash piles. For years the Sunshine Coast Clean Air Society has worked on banning those burns, as they pose known health risks, especially for children and the elderly.
In August 2012, the District of Sechelt Council passed Bylaw #486, 2012, which bans burning land clearing waste beginning January 1, 2014. Also prohibited from open air burning are: toxic materials (rubber tires, tar, asphalt, batteries, electrical wire insulation, plastic, fuel and lubricant containers, animal waste, and all similar substances that produce heavy black smoke), garbage, construction waste, and demolition waste.
No burning can take place within 100 metres (m) of any building, structure, fence, or hedge, or within 10 metres of any stream and cannot exceed 1.5 m in height or two metres in diameter. Burning cannot take place within 500 m of a school in session, hospital, or facilities used for continuing care, nor can it be within 30 m of a public roadway, airport, or within 10 m of any power pole or power line.
As far as campfires are concerned, the fire has to be in a fire pit or approved incinerator, clear of overhanging foliage, have access to a water hose and tended by someone 18 years of age or older. Campfires cannot exceed one metre in height or diameter, nor create a smoke or spark that could be a nuisance to neighbouring properties, or contravene any Federal, Provincial, or Fire Department regulations pertaining to open air burning.
Ceremonial fires are allowed and defined as an outdoor fire larger than three cubic feet as part of a scheduled public, religious, or private event, but excluding burning leaves, grass, shrubbery, clippings or cuttings.
The SCCAS supported all of the above. We hoped that the bylaw could have been enacted before Jan. 2014, but the votes in support of earlier enactment were not there.
We also did not want back yard burning to be opened during the last two weeks of October; however, Fire Chief Bill Higgs strongly recommended this. Therefore, we have a two-year pilot project to see what happens during the two weeks of back yard burning during October.
The SCCAS and others need to educate people about the alternatives to back yard burning such as composting, mulching, and taking garden wastes to the landfill or having them chipped. Perhaps we could get a total ban on back yard burning reinstated if many more residents understand and adopt alternatives to burning. Can you help?
Overall, we're satisfied with Bylaw #486, 2012; as you can see there's more educational work to be done to end back yard burning. Many people worked on this bylaw for years, so our thanks go to them.
- Clean Air - Smells Good to Me
By Jools Andrés
SCCAS Programs Coordinator
I recently worked on a two-month contract from an office downtown. It was exciting to be a city dweller again with so much to do and see. And smell. All around me, indoors and out…food, exhaust, people, garbage.
I stayed in a suite in East Vancouver. My commute was 20 minutes by bus and during breaks I often took a five-minute walk to the waterfront of Coal Harbour. There was great coffee on every corner and public transit meant I didn't drive my car at all.
After one 11-day stint I ventured back to the Sunshine Coast. I took the 7:20 pm ferry from Horseshoe Bay, then drove to Upper Roberts Creek where I live. It was a clear night and stars twinkled above -- they became brighter as I got farther from the highway lights and above the marine air.
I opened my car door once I reached my home and … whoa! The air was fantastic. Clean and fresh. So different from the air I had become accustomed to in the city.
What is it about fresh air that is so…well, so refreshing? In a nutshell: less pollution and therefore fewer odours. Our sense of smell gives us necessary information, but it quickly adapts to most aromas, whether cinnamon buns or noxious fumes, or to absence of smells, in the case of fresh air.
Olfactory phenomenon aside, breathing fresh air makes us feel healthier, happier, and more energetic. One of the main pollutants on the Sunshine Coast is from wood fires. In December the SCCAS held a Burn It Smart workshop, where attendees learned how to reduce smoke and improve heat efficiency. A synopsis of this event is featured in the upcoming SCCAS newsletter, which will be distributed to members and added to this website.
Our Woodstove Exchange Program is now in full swing with over 25% of allotted funds paid out to participants who have replaced their old wood heating appliances with new, certified, efficient ones.
For more information on reducing pollution from burning, please see our Open Burning section.
Fresh air is a quality that we should protect and treasure. We can do this by making sensible lifestyle choices both outdoors and indoors. We welcome dialogue and feedback. Visit our Facebook page and 'Like' us and follow us on Twitter @CleanAirSociety.
Participating Woodstove Exchange Program Vendors
Cozy Homes - Colleen 4349 Sunshine Coast Hwy Wilson Ck, BC V0N 3A1 604-885-4884
Thomas Heating - Dana 1081 Seamount Way 604-886-7111
Home Hardward - Gibsons & Sechelt 921 Gibsons Way, P.O. Box 1039. Gibsons, BC V0N 1V0 - 5484 Trail Avenue Sechelt, BC V0N 3A0 (Dan) 604-886-2442 604-885-9828
Sechelt Fireplace - Tiffany 5654 Wharf Street Sechelt 604-885-7171
Steve Christian Contracting 604-885-7167
Clean Sweep 10116 Sunshine Coast Hwy Halfmoon Bay, BC V0N 1Y2 604-885-1938
- A proper burning wood stove will have little to no smoke coming out the chimney
It's a cold winter day, a smoking chimney makes you think:
"Oh what a nice cheery fire inside that house!'
"Oh, no, that fire is burning poorly, wasting money and polluting the air."
Most of us have been trained to think fires equal smoke. The truth is that, with proper burning techniques, no smoke should be visible from our chimneys.
In fact, visible smoke is caused by incomplete burning and is full of toxins that irritate airways, cause serious respiratory illnesses and even cause cancers, . This isn't only a problem for the outside air. This toxins include microfine particulates, smaller then bacteria, that easily penetrate our homes and pollute the inside air. Even "air tight" new homes are no match for these stealth particles, and many of us live in much breezier older homes.
So how can we protect ourselves from these toxic invaders?
Here is a list of quick tips to help clear our air:
The basics:
Use dry wood. Wood needs to be well seasoned, and cut into 10-15cm wide pieces.
Start a great fire by using generous amounts of paper (no glossy or coloured) and 5-10 pieces of kindling.
Add two or three pieces of additional wood.
Attend the fire closely while it gets going to ensure proper air flow. Starting a fire requires lots of air!
Open air fireplaces, remember that the amount of draw fireplaces require results in an overall heat LOSS. These fires are for beauty or "mood" only and should be kept small and very hot. Use small dry pieces of wood and burn them completely. Do not allow large smouldering logs to burn slowly and emit toxins into your home.
Wood stoves, as a primary source of heat, or added heat source, wood appliances are designed to burn wood efficiently.
If you can afford it, replacing an older stove with a new high efficiency stove will allow you to take advantage of new technology. New stoves increases secondary combustion of smoke within the stove, adding heat to your home and reducing smoke production.
No matter what stove you have these tips will help keep you safe from toxic smoke exhaust:
When starting a fire open the air intake completely and leave the door ajar to maximize air intake. The door may need to be open for up to 15 minutes to properly heat up the stove and chimney. Always attend closely during this time to keep watch for flying embers. For safety, remember to use a fire screen and ensure no combustibles are stored near the stove.
Once the stove is hot the door can be closed. If you have a glass front stove, check to ensure that the flames are bright orange/yellow/blue. Dull small flames indicate a lack of oxygen and incomplete combustion.
A thermostat on your chimney can also tell you if the fire is hot enough. A hot fire reduces polluting smoke and minimizes creosote build-up.
Minimize dampening down your fire. Limit air intake only to the point where the flame is still burning brightly and actively.
Allow the fire to burn down to large embers before building it up again. This will maximize efficiency and reduce that annoying "puff" of smoke that escapes when you open the door to reload.
When rebuilding the fire add a few pieces of kindling and a couple of pieces of wood. Open air intake completely and leave the door ajar for a few minutes to return the fire to a high temperature as soon as possible.
Never leave a smouldering fire, even overnight. While it may seem like a good idea or a time saver to have some embers in the stove when you go to relight, the damage to your health is simply not worth it.
If in doubt have a look at your chimney, if there is smoke coming out your fire is burning poorly.
These tips are just a starting point. To learn more about wood burning look for a Burn It Smart workshop in your neighbourhood.
SAFTY TIP: Always insure your home has functioning smoke and carbon monoxide detectors!
- Burn It Smart workshop is sure to bring a breath of fresh air
With the chill of winter deepening, many of us are stoking our stoves or fireplaces to heat up our homes. The act involves more than a need for physical comfort; we have a primal and romantic attraction to the warming glow of fire.
But when you see smoke curling from the chimney tops you can be sure that there's more to it than meets the eye. Where there's smoke, there's…the opportunity to improve both fuel efficiency and air quality.
On December 8 from 1 – 3 pm at the Sechelt Fire Hall, the Sunshine Coast Clean Air Society is hosting a free, informative Burn It Smart workshop. Facilitator Zigi Gadomski will present his in-depth knowledge – starting from his days as a chimney sweep, on through his role as president of WETBC (Wood Energy Technicians of British Columbia) – with facts, fun, and eye-opening demonstrations.
Zigi is known as an entertaining educator who is committed to delivering high quality programs on wood burning technologies. You'll see his mobile demonstration unit, learn about moisture testing your wood, and more. You'll have a greatlearn a lot, and then return to your wood pile with a fresh take on wood heating. You'll use less fuel, emit fewer particulates, and continue to enjoy the warmth and beauty of your wood stove or fireplace.
The Sunshine Coast Clean Air Society has been awarded a grant of $15,000 from the Ministry of Environment to facilitate provincial wood stove exchange goals for 2013. The program enables close to 700 householders across the province to receive rebates of $250 when they replace inefficient, old wood-burning stoves with new, efficient models.
Since 2008, the B.C. government has partnered with the BC Lung Association to run the wood stove exchange program. To-date, the B.C. government has put over $1.8 million toward the program, which has resulted in over 5,000 old wood stoves being successfully replaced. In total, 14 communities across the province will receive $192,00 from MOE to aid in these efforts in 2013.
The Clean Air Society is grateful for the financial support of the Province of British Columbia and the BC Lung Association, who enable them to bring the Burn It Smart workshop and Wood Stove Exchange program to Sunshine Coast residents. Together we help improve air quality for everyone.
There's no need to register for the Burn It Smart workshop – just come. Bring a friend. Enter for an exciting door prize and partake of a yummy snack or two. You'll be glad you did.
- The 2011 Wood Stove Exchange program promoted with a Billboard!
This year, the society tried a new form of marketing for the Wood stove exchange program: A road billboard on the highway in Sechelt! Here's a photo of it.
- 'Black carbon' key to tackling climate threat: UN report
Curbing sooty particles emitted by burning biomass and smog caused by traffic fumes would slow the onslaught of climate change and deliver many health benefits, a UN report said here on Wednesday.
Removing these sources of pollution by 2030 would clip 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) off the expected 1.0 C (1.8 F) rise in global warming by mid-century, it said.
The biggest beneficiaries would be the Arctic, the Himalayas and other glaciated regions that are highly vulnerable to warming.
Health benefits would be almost immediate, by ending a major source of respiratory illness, it said.
The report, authored by specialists for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), has been submitted to environment ministers from around the globe.
They are meeting in Nairobi until Thursday for talks on how to overhaul governance of the world's environment ahead of a gathering next year to mark the 20th anniversary of the famous 1992 Rio Summit.
The 32-page report touches on two major pollutants: "black carbon," or soot-like particles that are emitted by burning wood or biomass, and ground-level ozone, a gas that results from a chemical reaction between traffic exhaust fumes and sunlight.
Clouds of black carbon become charged with heat by absorbing sunlight,and can alter weather patterns such as the monsoon.
Black carbon is a respiratory hazard, as is ozone, a triple-atom molecule of oxygen that in the stratosphere plays an important role in shielding Earth from ultraviolet radiation.
Man-made ozone in the lower levels of the atmosphere is a major component of smog and the third biggest greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide -- the direct byproduct of burning fossil fuels -- and methane, which comes from forests and land use. It is also damaging to plants.
Pam Pearson of the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, said that in glaciated regions, temperatures are rising at double the rate of increase elsewhere.
The Arctic was especially hit because it was close to the industrialised countries of the northern hemisphere.
"Some scientists estimate the impact of just black carbon that lands on ice and snow may be as much as (the impact of) CO2 in the Arctic," she said on the sidelines of a presentation of the report in Nairobi.
UN-led efforts to tackle global warming gases have been stymied by national differences over how to apportion the cost of weaning the world off dependence on oil, gas and coal and improving energy efficiency.
The new report said that addressing black carbon and ozone through pollution controls offered early benefits in addressing the warming problem, although this did not exclude the urgency of tackling fossil-fuel CO2.
It did not make any estimate of the cost, saying further work on this was needed.
Daniel Reifsnyder, US deputy assistant secretary for the environment and sustainable development, told the experts gathered that a two-pronged attack was needed.
"We all need to recognise that slowing the near-term rate of warming by acting on short-lived forces does not buy us time to act on carbon dioxide," he said.
"We need to act now on CO2 because today's emissions will affect the earth's climate for centuries to come," he said.
"What agreeing on near-term warming can do for us is to slow down the alarming rate of change we've seen in the Arctic and elsewhere, and in the process delay the onset of some feedbacks that further accelerate warming."
- FREE Burn It Smart Workshop
January 15th, 1 – 4 pm
Roberts Creek Community Hall
You're invited to a free workshop on what you can do to heat your home with a safe,
clean and efficient wood stove fire.
Join WETT professional Zigi Gadomski as we learn about: wood heating system options
and the benefits of EPA-approved technologies; smart burning techniques to reduce
air pollution and increase fire efficiency; and how to season and properly prepare
Bring along a piece of your firewood & we'll put it to the moisture test!
Prizes, refreshments and fun hands-on learning – we hope to see you there.
- The Great Sunshine Coast Wood Stove Exchange Program is back!
Is that old wood stove still eating up your time and money, and sending it "up in
You can make a difference for clean air, and your pocket book by exchanging your old,
inefficient wood stove for an EPA-approved, low emissions heating appliance.
$250 rebates and other incentives are available for eligible Sunshine Coast residents.
Want to know more? Visit one of our participating home heating retailers near you:
Clean Sweep Chimney Service
Cozy Homes Fireplaces
Home Hardware - Sechelt
Paul's Chimney Service
Sechelt Fireplace & Gas
Thomas Heating & Electric
Or contact our program coordinator at 604.741.9859 or
FREE Burn It Smart Workshop
January 15th, 1 - 4 pm
Roberts Creek Community Hall
You're invited to a free workshop on what you can do to heat your home with a safe,
clean and efficient wood stove fire.
Join WETT professional Zigi Gadomski as we learn about: wood heating system options
and the benefits of EPA-approved technologies; smart burning techniques to reduce
air pollution and increase fire efficiency; and how to season and properly prepare
Bring along a piece of your firewood & we'll put it to the moisture test!
Prizes, refreshments and fun hands-on learning – we hope to see you there.
- The Wood Stove Exchange Program Update:
The Clean Air Society's Wood Stove Exchange Program" of 2009/2010 was just that, a great success. Thanks to a grant from the Ministry of the Environment, distributed through BC Lung, we were able to distribute 78 rebates of $250 each to local citizens who choose to get rid of their 'old belchers' in favour of a new, low or no emission appliance.
The District of Sechelt provided matched funding of $100 per participant who resides within the District - a total of 26 additional rebates were distributed.
Three "Burn It Smart" workshops were offered in February to educate local residents on the many ways they can make a difference for local air quality by being conscientious wood stove users. WETT certified instructor, Zigi Gadomski gave excellent presentations including a demonstration of old and new wood stove technology ~ and the billowing smoke from the non-EPA certified stove was ample evidence of the unhealthy impact from these stoves.
- The Clean Air Society is again applying for this provincial wood stove exchange program funding, and we are confident that our success in catalyzing change-outs and partnering with local stakeholders (government and home heating businesses) will provide a strong proposal with good chances of being supported again. We will be hearing back from the Ministry in the month of October, and hope to begin the program just in time for 'burn season'.
- Guidelines for Efficient use of Wood-Burning Appliances
A properly installed, correctly used wood-burning appliance should be smoke free. If you see or smell smoke that means you may have a problem. Practice the following guidelines to for an efficient fire, and reduce smoke inside and outside your home.
Upgrade to an efficient, CSA/EPA-approved wood-burning appliance.
* Today's wood-burning appliances burn cleaner and produce less smoke inside and outside your home
* Look for EPA labeling on your wood-burning appliance
* Efficient wood-burning appliances burn less wood, saving you time and money
Burn only dry, well-seasoned wood.
* Properly seasoned wood is darker, has cracks in the end grain, and sounds hollow when smacked against another piece of wood.
* Season wood outdoors through the summer for at least 6 months before burning it.
* Stack wood off the ground, with the top covered.
* Wood burns best when the moisture content is less than 20%. Test wood with a moisture meter before burning to ensure it is dry enough to give a clean, hot fire.
Items You Should Never Burn in Your Appliance
* Never burn household garbage or cardboard. Plastics, foam and the colored ink on magazines, boxes, and wrappers produce harmful chemicals when burned. They may also damage your wood-burning appliance.
* Never burn coated, painted, or pressure-treated wood because it releases toxic chemicals when burned.
* Never burn ocean driftwood, plywood, particle board, or any wood with glue on or in it. They all release toxic chemicals when burned.
* Never burn wet, rotted, diseased, or moldy wood.
* Never burn logs made from wax and sawdust in your wood stove or fireplace insert – they are made for open hearth fireplaces.
Have a certified technician annually inspect and service your appliance.
* A properly installed and maintained wood-burning appliance burns more efficiently, saving you money.
* If you smell smoke in your home then something is wrong. Shut down the appliance and call a certified chimney sweep to inspect the unit.
* Nearly 7 percent of home fires are caused by creosote build up in the chimney. Have your chimney annually cleaned by a WETT certified chimney sweep.
Follow safe wood-burning practices
* Keep all flammable household items—drapes, furniture, newspapers, and books—far away from the appliance.
* Start fires only with newspaper and dry kindling. Never start a fire with gasoline, kerosene, charcoal starter, or a propane torch.
* Build hot fires. A smoldering fire is not a safe or efficient fire.
* Keep the doors of your wood-burning appliance closed unless loading or stoking the live fire. Harmful chemicals, like carbon monoxide, can be released into your home.
* To maintain proper airflow, regularly remove ashes from your wood-burning appliance into a metal container with a cover and store outdoors on a cement or brick slab. You can use the cold ashes in your garden to add minerals and reduce soil acidity.
* Keep a fire extinguisher handy.
* Install and maintain a smoke alarm. Most people lose their lives in house fires due to inhalation of smoke and toxic gases, rather than from burns. Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms in the home are considered one of the best and least expensive means of providing an early warning of a potentially deadly fire.
* Install and maintain a carbon monoxide detector. When wood is not burned completely, the resulting smoke contains a number of chemicals, one of which is carbon monoxide (CO). CO is odorless and colorless. Exposure to CO reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen. A digital CO detector is recommended for any home using a wood-burning appliance. The detector displays the concentration of CO parts per million (ppm) and makes a warning sound that gets louder as the concentration increases.
- Removing one ton of black carbon will have the same effect as removing 2,000 to 3,000 tons of CO2
How bad is wood burning on climate change?
"removing one ton of black carbon will have the same [climate] effect as removing 2,000 to 3,000 tons of CO2," says climatologist Veerabhadran Ramanathan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
This is one reason why the Clean Air Society is strongly opposed to any unnecessary wood burning.
- Clean Air Day Success!
We would like to thank all our volunteers who made it possible for us to have 2 tables available on Clean Air Day, June 3, 2009. One in Gibsons at Sunnybrook Mall and the other at Sechelt at Claytons Mall. The day was a huge success. We now have 30 new members. Way to go team!
- Montreal moves to snuff out wood stoves
Here's a new story worth reading:
Montreal is poised to pass one of the strictest laws in the country regarding wood stoves midway through a winter marked by record high levels of winter smog.
The City of Montreal wants to ban citizens from installing a wood stove in new and existing residential homes. Stoves that burn wood pellets will still be permitted.
Winter smog is becoming a major public health problem for Montreal, said Alan DeSousa, the city's executive committee member in charge of sustainable development.
So far this winter, the smog has been so bad that Environment Canada has issued 25 smog warnings, the most of any year on record. Public health authorities say chimney smoke makes up half of the air pollution during the winter in Montreal.
"The health of Montrealers is our priority," said DeSousa in a statement Wednesday.
"With more than 50,000 stoves on our territory, the city is taking action by adopting a law that will contribute to the reduction of the number of premature deaths … [caused by] the quality of air that we breathe."
The Montreal public health department estimates burning a wood stove for nine hours is the equivalent of driving a midsize car for a year, or about 18,000 kilometres of driving.
- Drop in U.S. air pollution linked to longer lifespans
Here's one reason why the Clean Air Society exists - to extend the length and quality of lives.
Americans are living longer because the air they breathe is getting cleaner, a new study suggests. The average drop in pollution seen across 51 metropolitan areas between 1980 and 2000 appears to have added nearly five more months to people's lives, according to a study published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Residents of cities that did the best job cleaning up air pollution showed the biggest jump in life span; for example, Pittsburgh's clearer air meant people there could expect to live nearly 10 months longer.
"Here's a situation where we say, 'We think that improving our air quality should improve health and life expectancy,' and so we did it, in many cities more so than others," says lead researcher C. Arden Pope III, Ph.D., of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. "We wait a couple of decades and see if it really helps, and the answer is that it did, and that's good news."
Long-term exposure to dirty air -- specifically, the tiny specks known as fine-particulate air pollution -- shortens lives and contributes to cardiovascular and lung disease. Particulate matter is inhaled almost like a gas and is thought to hike blood pressure, heart attack risk, and the chance of heart disease-related death.
The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology recommends that heart patients avoid driving for two to three weeks after leaving the hospital to avoid pollution (and stress). Other research has suggested that a nonsmoker living in a polluted city has about the same risk of dying of heart disease as a former smoker. Health.com: 5 ways to keep pollution from harming your heart
Gas and diesel engines, coal-fired plants, steel mills, smelters, refineries, and other industrial processes involving burning at high temperatures produce these particles, which are no bigger than 2.5 microns across -- or about one-fortieth the diameter of a human hair. "Those are the ones that can penetrate deeply into the lungs and cause most of the health problems," says Pope.
The Clean Air Act of 1970 set nationwide air quality standards and motor-vehicle emissions standards for the first time, and the federal government and some states have continued to take steps to tackle air pollution. Health.com: Both indoor and outdoor pollutants linked to heart problems
Thanks to these efforts, U.S. air quality has improved. Pope and his team decided to use U.S. data on fine-particulate matter concentrations and life expectancy from the late 1970s and the late 1990s as a "natural experiment" to determine whether cleaner air had any effect on health.
They plotted pollution data for 1979-1983 against 1978-1982 life expectancies for 217 counties within 51 metropolitan areas around the country. Then they compared 1999-2000 pollution data with 1997-2001 life expectancies. Finally, they looked at how changes in life expectancy related to changes in air pollution for both time periods. Health.com: 10 risk factors for heart disease
Many other factors can boost life expectancy, such as increases in income and education and reductions in smoking prevalence, so the researchers used statistical techniques to control for these and other relevant factors. After this adjustment, they found that the effect of air pollution reduction remained; for every 10 microgram per cubic meter decrease in fine-particulate air pollution, life expectancies rose by about seven months. Pollution levels averaged about 21 micrograms per cubic meter in 1979-1983 and had fallen to an average of 14 micrograms per cubic meter by 1999-2000.
Life expectancy for the corresponding time periods rose from 74 years to 77 years. Pope and his team calculate that reductions in air pollution accounted for as much as 15 percent of the increase in life expectancy. Heath.com: Heart Quiz: What's your real risk?
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/21/healthmag.airpollution.lifespan/index.html
- Black Carbon Pollution Emerges As Major Player In Global Warming
Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates, according to scientists in an upcoming review article in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Soot in the higher latitudes of the Earth, where ice is more common, absorbs more of the sun's energy and warmth than an icy, white background. Black carbon, or soot, absorbs sunlight, while lighter colored ice reflects sunlight.
Soot in areas with snow and ice may play an important role in climate change. Also, if snow and ice-covered areas begin melting, the warming effect increases, as the soot becomes more concentrated on the snow surface. "This provides a positive feedback (i.e. warming); as glaciers and ice sheets melt, they tend to get even dirtier," said Dr James Hansen.
Elimination of black carbon, a contributor to global warming and a public health hazard, offers a nearly instant return on investment, the researchers said. Black carbon particles only remain airborne for weeks at most compared to carbon dioxide, which remains in the atmosphere for more than a century. In addition, technology that could substantially reduce black carbon emissions already exists in the form of commercially available products.
Here's some articles on this topic:
Black Carbon Pollution Emerges As Major Player In Global Warming
Black soot and snow:
A warmer combination
Educational videos on woodstoves
Other resources on wood stoves
News on this topic from around North America
- Montreal to ban open fireplaces by October 2016
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:25:56 -0700 Montreal's Environmental Commission has adopted recommendations that would allow wood-burning stoves as long as the pollution they produce is limited to 2.5 grams/hour of fine particulate matter. These stoves would need to be installed by October 2016.
- Turn on the gas fireplace, lower the thermostat
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 01:24:50 -0700 Gas fireplaces aren't just for atmosphere any more. Thanks to design changes in recent years, many gas fireplaces are energy-efficient enough to qualify for state tax credits and Energy Trust of Oregon incentives. That's a recognition that, if you buy right and use it properly, a gas fireplace can save ...


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Play these jazzy holiday tunes with Music on a Stick's interactive sheet music.
Sheet Music on a Stick allows you to play along with the music at your own tempo through your computer. It comes with electronic copies of sheet music covering a large selection of the most popular songs in a unique digital format-Solero.
Solero allows musicians of all ages the opportunity to see the music, hear it, transpose it, and print it as needed. Sheet music and guitar tablature are available here in these money-saving collections covering a wide array of works.
Our product catalog varies by country due to manufacturer restrictions. If you change the Ship-To country, some or all of the items in your cart may not ship to the new destination.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
My bicycles
Folding bicycle
Vintage Road Mixed
Touring bicycle
Engagement bicycle
Formerly owned bicycles:
Locked to my Brooklyn stoop.
Hip Single Speed!
-Raleigh SC7 (Not attractive enough for photos, then stolen)
-Grey trek mountain bicycle (My neglected bicycle as a teenager)
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1 comment:
Richard C. Lambert
March 15, 2016 at 1:17 PM
I went by Linus Bikes in Venice a couple weeks ago to take a bike for a spin
Folding Bikes UK
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Collection on Alyene Porter
A Guide to the Collection
Biographical Note
Alyene Porter was born in 1903 in Texas to the Rev. Robert Edwin Porter (1871-1969) and his wife Pearl (d.1938); the second-youngest of nine surviving children. She is best known for her book, Papa Was a Preacher (1944), which was adapted into a play in 1954 and a film in 1985. The book tells the story of her father's "truly typical career as an itinerant" minister in the North Texas Conference of the Methodist Church. Among his pastoral charges were Greenville, Garland, Bonham, Frisco, Valley View, Bogota, Plano, and Dallas.
The Porter family had close ties to Southern Methodist University (SMU). As one of the founders of SMU, Rev. Robert Edwin Porter placed pictures of Alyene and his other children into the cornerstone of Dallas Hall. Alyene Porter attended the Cocke School of Expression, Northwestern University in Evanston, and the Irvine School of the Theater in New York. She led drama and writing workshops at SMU and wrote her second novel, the loosely autobiographical Consider Miss Lily, at Bridwell Library in 1962.
Porter was a teacher as well as a writer. She had a flair for the dramatic even as a child (a fact she admits in Papa); as an adult she taught drama and writing classes in Montreal, New York, Boston, Chicago, and Dallas. She was head of the drama department at the Cocke School of Expression and of the Southwestern School of the Theater; she also directed the Oak Cliff Children's Theater in Dallas. She married Marion C. Storm of Boston in 1935.
Alyene Porter spent most of her later years in Dallas. In the early 1950s, she and her father appeared on a television quiz, answering questions on Texas history, and won enough money for him to purchase a house in Plano. Porter died in Dallas on October 25, 1997, at the age of 94.
"Massachusetts Man and Dallas Girl Wed at New York Church." Dallas Morning News 03-17-1935.
"Methodist Leader, Rev. Porter, Dies." Dallas Morning News 01-07-1969.
"Services Held for Best-Selling Author Alyene Porter." Dallas Morning News 10-29-1997.
Imm, Val. "Consider Miss Porter Might Well Be Title." Dallas Times Herald 04-24-1962.
Palmer, J. B. "Reverend Robert Edwin Porter." Journal of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church (1969): 157.
Porter, Alyene. Papa Was a Preacher. New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1944. [Call number: 253 P844p]
Vernon, Walter N. Methodism Moves across North Texas. Dallas: The Historical Society, North Texas Conference, The Methodist Church, 1967. [Call number: 287.6764 T3554Z V]
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Collection on Alyene Porter documents the life and literary works of a twentieth century author who drew on her life experiences as the daughter of a Methodist minister in Texas to produce two popular novels: Papa was a Preacher (published in 1944) and Consider Miss Lily (published in 1962.) The collection features Ms. Porter's hand-written manuscript for Papa was a Preacher, which she gave to Bridwell Library; an inscribed copy of each of her books given to Bridwell Library by the recipients; and copies of newspaper articles about Alyene Porter and her family. All items are from between 1934 and 1997, the year of Ms. Porter's death.
Access to Collection:
The collection is open for research use. Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
Publication Rights:
Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Head of Special Collections of the Bridwell Library.
Copyright Statement:
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.
Sensitive Materials Statement:
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications for which Bridwell Library assumes no responsibility.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Collection on Alyene Porter, Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University.
Acquisition Information
Manuscript acquired through Decherd Turner; book Papa Was a Preacher given to Bridwell Library by Ann Collier King in May 1976; book Consider Miss Lily and a newspaper clipping given to Bridwell Library by Dan Ferguson; other newspaper articles printed in 2010 from digital newspaper repositories.
Processing Information
This collection was arranged and described in 2010 by Timothy Binkley with assistance from Heather M. Oglevie.
Encoded by
Lara Corazalla, 2011.
Detailed Description of the Collection


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|Home > After Saddam > Article
|Saturday July 26, 2003
It's 10am and already it's so hot at a road-stop on the drive in from Jordan that dogs lying in the shade quiver like jelly. A little further on, you know that this corner of Iraq remains in total darkness because the pylons that used to deliver electricity are bent and buckled, staggering like drunks.
Highway robbery is so prevalent that travellers sit bolt upright, scanning the horizon because every vehicle may be an attacker. UN drivers have been warned not to drive over even a Coke can because it might contain an explosive.
When you arrive in Baghdad, the city is a military-run pigsty. The charred hulks of looted government buildings, some stripped to shells, are a memorial to the lack of US planning for after the attack. Rubbish burns in the streets and by 6pm the exotic old heart of the city around Rashid Street, which used to be home to some of Baghdad's most colourful teahouses, is surrendered to the gangs. Drive through and you can smell the danger.
There were some postwar improvements in water and power supplies. But, according to a UN background briefing, they have been set back by sabotage attacks from the anti-American resistance. Hospitals are functioning "more or less" but are hampered for supplies because there are no communications.
Now there is a new child health crisis. It is estimated that there has been a doubling in the number of children dying from diarrhoea-related diseases. In Basra, in the south, last year's 29 cases of cholera is already 100, reflecting an estimated doubling in the amount of sewage flowing into the country's waterways.
Baghdad has become a city of queues - former Iraqi soldiers queuing in the broiling sun to get paid; others in a separate line, hoping to sign up for the new American-run army; people wanting jobs; housewives wanting cooking gas; motorists needing petrol or waiting to snake through another US checkpoint; and the US military on patrol - because it's too dangerous for lone vehicles.
Communications and media are so bad that the Americans have great difficulty getting their story across or putting down rumours, like the one that the US troops use their wraparound sunglasses to look through the clothing of Iraqi women to see their naked bodies.
The American bombs so pulverised the local telephone system that the best way to contact someone 10 blocks away is to make a satellite phone call to London to be automatically patched back to Baghdad through another sat-phone line. You could drive uptown, but traffic becomes so gridlocked that it can take 75 minutes to crawl 100 metres.
The Al Rasheed Hotel, once the home of visiting journalists and diplomats, and all the other government buildings commandeered by the Americans, hunker behind a maze of earthen barriers and tangles of razor wire.
Abdul Jabbouri, a 36-year-old teacher, said: "The Americans have robbed us of our nights. I love the freedom of the day - walking down the street and not being pestered by a government stooge demanding to know my name and whether I'm up to date on my national service. But the security crisis forces all business to close at 3pm and after 6pm it's just too dangerous to be out."
When Faras al-Hadi criticised Saddam - obliquely - in an interview with the Herald late last year, he was rebuked by the regime. And when we went looking for him this week a banner stretched across the front of his consumer-goods business, in the teeming Al Bab Al-Sharqi district, apologising because the looters had cleaned him out and now he was operating from temporary premises on a quieter stretch of Sadoun Street.
Dressed immaculately in Western attire - neat buttoned-down collar, smart dark tie and a silk jacket nearby - he perched on the edge of a sofa in his makeshift office, saying: "We were living a tragedy before the war and now we are living a different tragedy.
"In a way we were happy before. But now we are unhappy and it's going to get worse. Communications are improving but power and security will take a long time.
"But it's the political situation. There are so many parties and some of them are getting violent. The fundamentalists use violence and it's frightening. They threaten cinemas, CD shops and alcohol outlets that they will be attacked if they do not close down.
"There is no sense that the US is in control of the political process - or anything else.
"Most people - I say about 90 per cent - are against them being here. But now we don't want them to leave because we do not have a police or military force. So people are saying that life under Saddam was better - we didn't expect this.
"Most Iraqis lived for the day [when Saddam would be overthrown] and now they are getting nothing. Probably the resistance will pay them and that will preoccupy the Americans even more - it's getting worse already and we are going to get caught in the middle for a long time".
Would he become involved in the political process? "I have been asked, but I don't want to get involved ...
" I don't feel that I can do anything because my voice will not be heard. And whatever the US is planning is what will happen; and on the other side the fundamentalists will react to it and there will be violence. I can't be a part of that ...
"My friends and associates, all were against the Saddam way of ruling the country and now they are against the US occupation of the country. Normal Iraqis will be looking at what they have lost and gained - the result is negative.
"What we have gained is a lot of newspapers and political parties and satellite receivers, but it's not really freedom - it's chaos. I know I can say what I like to whomever I like now, but what does that mean if I can't earn the minimum I need?"
Wamidh Nadhmi, a political scientist who was game to criticise Saddam before the war, also believes that the Iraqi Governing Council is doomed to failure. Claiming that he declined to become a member, he said:
"In the Saddam years we had no public opinion. We learnt nothing about the operation of government ministries. Now there are more than 100 newspapers from which we still learn nothing. There is no public discussion of the American plans."
Ali Abdullah, who helped set up the Freed Prisoners' Association, echoed a general wariness about those who have gone feet first into this US experiment in democracy: "The parties think only of their own interests - each thinks of its own gangs, its fortunes and a lunge at authority.
"The Americans are forgetting about most of the people. Most of us have been here all our lives and we are poor, and hungry. But they deal only with the rich, the powerful and the exiles who have returned."
Much of the local criticism is echoed in a Centre for Strategic and International Studies report commissioned by the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, which was released last week.
Warning that the next year would be decisive - and that the next three months were crucial - in the battle to win the support of the Iraqi people, it called for a huge boost in resources so that a civilian-led rebuilding, rather than military-led, might be executed while big US troop numbers remained in Iraq.
Local political councils established by the US needed direction and an ability to respond to local demands. Job creation was urgently needed to soak up the unemployed and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), Washington's administrative arm in Baghdad, needed a much bigger and more autonomous staff to get beyond Baghdad.
It urged Washington to seek the involvement of other countries and bodies, like the UN, and warned: 'The potential for chaos is becoming more real every day. Iraqis uniformly [told us] that the window for opportunity for the CPA to turn things around in Iraq is closing rapidly."
Being a little leery of Washington's decision to entrust the Iraq experiment to the relatively untested Defence Department, it said that the CPA lacked the personnel, money and flexibility to be fully effective. The military presence was big, but not big enough to be visible at street level, especially in Baghdad.
It warned that the natural desire to draw anger away from the coalition by putting an Iraqi face on the most difficult decisions had to be balanced by a realistic assessment of what the newly appointed Iraqi Governing Council could manage.
It urged the continued operation of rickety state-owned enterprises for the sake of the jobs they offered rather than any short-term privatisation options.
Mustafa Abdul Hamid, the technician who laments that he can't go out at night, was not consulted by the CSIS team that visited Iraq, but he thought for a while about what a senior US military officer described to the Herald as its carrot and stick approach to stabilising Iraq.
Then he asked this question: "Do you accept a coffee from the hand of a man who has a gun in his other hand? We are beholden to the US for ridding us of Saddam - but they just don't understand us."
Printer friendly version Email to a friend
Soldier killed as Iraq war of attrition grinds on
US soldiers missed Saddam's security chief by hours: military
Troops given another cross to bear
Grenade attack leaves four more US dead
Four more US soldiers killed: toll now 48
Three US soldiers killed in fresh Baghdad attack
Identity of US informer remains $45 million question
Troops bulldoze Saddam sons' hideout
US 'close to tracking down Saddam'
Secrets of Saddam: insider tells
The devils they knew
Back to business in Baghdad
Curse of a fatal friendship
West still shies away from violent images of war
Pictures of dictator's sons stir the sceptics
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Free 5-Minute Massages Dec. 10 & Dec. 12
Posted by Peter Bremer on Monday, Dec. 2, 2013
Stressed out? Briggs Library will once again be offering free 5-minute massages!
On Tuesday, December 10th from 4:00-5:00pm and on Thursday, December 12th from 4:00pm-5:00pm Connie Evink from Back to Basics Massage will offer free 5-minute massages in the library McGinnis Room.
Massages will be given on a first-come first-serve basis.
In addition, there will be aromatic oils and a Buddha Board in the McGinnis Room from December 3-December 19.


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Z-Star Manual Juicer
If you don't have a local juice bar, but still want all of the super healthy vitamins and nutrients in wheatgrass, you're going to need to get yourself a juicer. The Z-Star Manual Juicer ($90) is our favorite. Its single-auger design "uses an extremely gentle and efficient process to extract more high-quality juice from each blade of wheatgrass" without electric power. Despite its color green trim, it also juices more than just wheatgrass — the Z-Star works with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. And it's lightweight and portable, so you can do some juicing while on the road for a business trip or vacation.


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Home > Industry Analysis > Research & Analysis > FYI: An Update on Emerging Issues in Banking
FYI: An Update on Emerging Issues in Banking
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Bridging the Information Gap: How Bankers Can Help the Hispanic Population Realize the American Dream of Homeownership
Most bankers know that the Hispanic population in the United States is growing rapidly and that, like many other Americans, those in the Hispanic community dream of homeownership. In fact, many Hispanic renters characterize themselves as "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to buy a home within the next three years.1 What most bankers may not realize, however, is the extent of inaccurate or incomplete information that Hispanic households have about the home-buying process. Despite this "information gap," prospective Hispanic homebuyers indicate that they are willing to attend free classes on the home-buying process.2 These aspirations afford bankers the opportunity to help both their community and their banks. Bankers who work to close the information gap and increase successful Hispanic homeownership may also gain bank customers and expand their mortgage portfolios.
This article examines the information gap the Hispanic population faces regarding homeownership.3 First, it summarizes the specific types of misinformation identified by various surveys that limit Hispanic homeownership growth. Second, it explains why closing the information gap is good business for both bankers and the Hispanic population. Finally, it lists several resources available through government agencies and private organizations that can help bankers reach out to prospective Hispanic homeowners and close the information gap.
Understanding the Information Gap That Limits Hispanic Homeownership Growth
Further, the home-buying process itself is often very different in other countries from that in the United States. For example, "immigrants from high-down-payment countries such as Korea, India, or those in Central and South America often greatly overestimate the minimum down payment needed in the United States."5 Similarly, differing cultural influences can be a hindrance for prospective Hispanic homeowners.
The process may be even more daunting for Americans who do not speak English or speak it only as a second language. A recent study of Hispanic renters and recent first-time buyers found that "prospective home buyers either have no information, or even worse, misinformation" about the home-buying process.6 The 2003 Fannie Mae Housing Survey found sizable differences in the information gap between the general population and various minority communities (see Table 1). The survey defines the "Spanish Hispanic" population as those in the Hispanic population who both speak and read Spanish more frequently than English at home and defines the "English Hispanic" population as those in the Hispanic population who either speak or read English more frequently than Spanish at home. The survey found that the home-buying information gap is the most pronounced in the Spanish Hispanic population.Table 1
The first misconception identified in Table 1 is that information on home buying is only available in English. Eighty-nine percent of the general population know that the statement "Information on buying a home is only available in English" is false. Larger percentages of the African American and English Hispanic populations know the statement is false (92 percent and 93 percent, respectively), whereas only 60 percent of the Spanish Hispanic population know the statement is false. Correcting this misconception is important. Recent research has identified language limitations as one of the greatest barriers to immigrant homeownership.7 Therefore, banks hiring bilingual employees to assist Hispanic customers and providing home-buying information materials in Spanish are keys to reaching out to Hispanic homeowners.8 Others have noted that even Hispanic immigrants with good English language skills often find that it is easier to discuss problems about a house or a contract with someone who speaks Spanish.9 Over 55 percent of the Hispanic respondents to a Virginia multicultural home-buying study preferred that home-buying information be in Spanish.10 Therefore, informing the Hispanic population that such information is available in Spanish is an important step in closing this information gap.
Several of the other commonly held misconceptions revolve around credit and qualifying for a mortgage. As seen in statements two through four in Table 1, Hispanics often think their credit and job histories have to be perfect in order to qualify for a mortgage. Focus groups made up of Hispanics in Mobile, Alabama, and Las Vegas, Nevada, found that most participants did not know how to establish a credit history.11 Another study identified unfamiliarity with the U.S. credit system and lack of a credit history as two of the greatest barriers to immigrant homeownership.12 An ethnographic homeownership study found that correcting "the lack of home-purchasing knowledge, credit knowledge, and credit judgment" might enable more minorities and immigrants to become homeowners.13 Many families in the study did not understand how credit is evaluated. Additionally, some Hispanics may not know that they might be able to use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number in place of a social security number to apply for a mortgage.14 Lack of information and misconceptions involving credit and mortgage qualifications are a significant part of the overall homeownership information gap.
The other misconceptions documented in Table 1, statements five through eight, regard the actual home-buying process. Many members of the Hispanic population, particularly members of the Spanish Hispanic population, believe that they need a lawyer to start the home-buying process and think they have no choice but to accept a 30-year mortgage. Even more members of the Hispanic population believe that homeowners pay the commission of the real estate professional rather than the seller and do not know the law stating that housing lenders must give prospective borrowers the best possible rate on a loan. An ethnographic study found that some families did not know that first-time homeowner programs existed or that there were subsidized programs to make financing easier.15 A 2001 study cited "lack of information, confusion or even fear about the home-buying process" as obstacles to homeownership for lower-income, minority, and immigrant families.16 Another study reported that 64 percent of the Hispanic population who are planning to buy homes in the next five years saw their unfamiliarity with the mortgage process as one of their biggest challenges.17 In addition, Hispanic consumers who do not know where to go for assistance may fear or distrust mainstream institutions and can be vulnerable to predatory realtors and lenders; they need to know and understand their options regarding whether to use federally insured depository institutions or unregulated mortgage providers.18 The lack of clear, understandable information about the home-buying process is another significant part of the overall homeownership information gap.
The information gap, especially when combined with a possible affordability gap and perceived credit gaps, has reduced the home-buying confidence of some members of the Spanish Hispanic population. While the English Hispanic population is nearly as confident as the general population that they can complete the various home-buying steps, the Spanish Hispanic population is less confident; for example, more members of the Spanish Hispanic population are less confident about obtaining a mortgage and finding a real estate professional.19
This lack of confidence, fed in large part by the information gap, is a likely contributor to an actual gap in homeownership statistics. In 2003, 68.3 percent of the total U.S. population owned homes versus 47.4 percent of the Hispanic population, which shows that there is an appreciable homeownership gap in the United States.20 Therefore, it seems likely that bankers could use financial education to dispel commonly held misconceptions, help bridge the information gap, and increase Hispanic homeownership.
Raising Hispanic Homeownership Rates and Increasing Bank Business
Henry Cisneros, president and CEO of American CityVista, projects that the Hispanic population could buy some 3 million homes by 2010.22 This potentially large market offers an opportunity for bankers to increase their mortgage portfolios.
Given the situation outlined above, what exactly should banks do? Some prospective homeowners face wealth, income, and supply gaps as well as an information gap in terms of homeownership. There are strategies that bankers can use to address each of these gaps (see Table 2). It is interesting to note that the strategies with the lowest risks and program costs—outreach, group training, and individual counseling—are those that address the information gap. Bankers can use these strategies to reach out to the many prospective Hispanic homeowners who do not face the other gaps because of either rising affluence or the pooling of family resources.Table 2
Studies have found evidence that consumer behavior can be positively influenced by these lower risk strategies. Measuring the effects of specific education and information delivery methods is difficult, however, and many organizations do not assess their efforts.23 And because financial literacy programs that are specifically targeted to prospective Hispanic homeowners (and typically conducted through outreach, group training, and individual counseling) have been implemented rather recently, to date there have been no formal studies of their effectiveness. Nevertheless, there is ample anecdotal evidence of their benefits, and an increasing number of organizations are reaching out to prospective Hispanic homeowners.
Bankers that offer liberalized loan underwriting standards or down payment assistance in tandem with financial literacy programs may have opportunities to tap into a higher percentage of the Hispanic market. As indicated in Table 2, these strategies typically have more risks and higher costs. Some recent literature suggests, however, that beyond the obvious Community Reinvestment Act benefits, there are other offsetting benefits to the higher risks and costs. For example, Order and Zorn analyzed the performance of a large sample of fixed-rate low-income and minority mortgages purchased by Freddie Mac in the 1990s.24 They found that these types of mortgages are generally prepaid more slowly than other loans when rates fall. (Loans that prepay less rapidly when rates fall are more valuable to the holder of those loans.) The positive effect of the lower rate of prepayment for these types of loans was found to offset the negative effect caused by the higher default rates for the same types of loans.
Realtors, brokerages, and builders are some of the organizations that have concluded that the benefits of closing the information gap outweigh the costs. In 2002, Coldwell Banker Success Realty in Arizona purchased a brokerage that worked with Hispanic customers and named the new division Coldwell Exito Realty.25 Other brokerages and builders have Spanish-speaking agents or are teaching employees Spanish. A joint venture between American CityVista and Los Angeles-based homebuilder KB Home hopes to bring the economies of scale of a large homebuilder to urban, often Hispanic, markets where they expect housing demand to surge.26
A number of large banks and mortgage companies have also concluded that the benefits of closing the information gap outweigh the costs. Merrill Lynch & Company's 350-person Hispanic unit generated $1 billion-worth of new business nationwide in 2003, double its goal. Merrill planned to hire another 100 financial advisers (mostly bilingual) in 2004.27 Wells Fargo's Los Angeles regional office reported that its efforts to reach out to the Hispanic community have resulted in the opening of 22,000 new accounts per month. One way Wells Fargo reaches out is by holding in-home seminars. A host invites 15 or so friends and family to his or her home, and a Wells Fargo branch employee joins them to talk about topics such as buying a house and establishing good credit.28 Washington Mutual has a national manager who is in charge of emerging markets and is reaching out to the growing Hispanic market with free business checking and flexible home-loan products.29 In 2003, Bank of America launched two ads in Spanish about mortgages with less paperwork as part of a campaign to acquire 7,000 new mortgages in its largest Hispanic markets.30
Some community bankers are also reaching out to prospective Hispanic homeowners to close the information gap and to get ahead of their competitors. Home Federal in Nampa, Idaho, has 30 bilingual staff members. As it expands, it plans to staff each branch and each department with at least one bilingual representative.31 Home Federal has established a branch at the Idaho Hispanic Cultural Center in Nampa and started teaching financial literacy classes there in January 2004. The president and CEO of UniBank in Florida conducted his first presentation in English and Spanish in 2003 to 70 parents of high school students, covering basics such as checking, mortgages, loans, and credit reports.
Bankers that seek partnerships with organizations within their community to provide homeownership education can achieve encouraging results. In the mid-1990s, Arvest Bank in Rogers, Arkansas, decided to reach out to the Mexican community by partnering with the local poultry plants.32 The poultry plants were facing a high turnover rate and were considering relocation. The bank created special loans to help immigrants build their credit history, and the poultry plants offered classroom space at the work site. The plants also paid their workers to take the bank's classes on banking and homeownership. The bank made 586 home loans and generated an estimated $80 million in business. Moreover, Arvest has had zero defaults over the last eight years. Once the workers planted roots in the community through their home purchases, the poultry plants saw the turnover rates drop. One plant went from a turnover rate of 200 percent in 1992 to a turnover rate of 15 percent in 1999. The poultry plants stayed in Rogers and the town was able to keeps millions of dollars in business and taxes in the region.
An increasing number of organizations, including financial services institutions, have concluded that the net effect of reaching out to prospective Hispanic homeowners is positive. A chief operating officer of a North Carolina mortgage broker, a strong proponent of having bilingual employees, says that "some companies will commit to [having bilingual operations] with foresight, some folks will do it because that's the only way they can get back lost market share. But those who have the foresight will do better."33 Clearly, many organizations see that bridging the prospective Hispanic homeownership gap is good for business.
Finding Resources to Help Banks Close the Gap
Numerous organizations can help bankers close the larger information gap that prospective Hispanic homeowners face. The organizations include government and independent agencies, government sponsored enterprises (such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), nonprofit organizations, partnerships between private and public organizations, trade organizations, realtors, builders, and contractors. Many of the materials and programs that these organizations provide are free and available in Spanish. The following are some of the resources available and a short description of what they provide:
Bankers that want to tap into more of the growing Hispanic market can also offer other services, such as liberalized loan underwriting standards, down-payment assistance, and mortgage rate subsidies. These services have somewhat higher costs and risks; however, there is recent evidence that shows that lower prepayment risk tends to offset the higher default risk. Individual bankers should assess what will work best for them. Either way, bankers who successfully tap into this growing market will have an opportunity to gain new customers, expand their mortgage portfolios, and over the long-term, make a positive impact on their communities and the nation's economy.
1 Fannie Mae, Understanding Americas Homeownership Gaps: 2003 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, http://www.fanniemae.com/global/pdf/media/survey/survey2003.pdf - PDF 4.8mb (PDF Help). The survey found that 57 percent of all Americans in rental housing are "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to buy a home in the next three years. Minority groups scored higher than the national average: African American population, 63 percent; English Hispanic population (those who use English more than Spanish at home), 64 percent; and Spanish Hispanic population (those who use Spanish more than English at home), 59 percent.
2 Southeastern Institute of Research, Inc., Multicultural Home Buying Study (prepared for the Virginia Association of Realtors), April 6, 2001, http://www.varealtor.com/Research/Documents/Multi.ppt - PowerPoint 222k (PPT Help). The study found that more than 60 percent of the Hispanic population is "somewhat likely" or "very likely" to attend a free class.
3 Although it is acknowledged that consumers, financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, and the financial industry in general need better information on the Hispanic market as well as the federal banking laws and regulations that impact that market, this paper focuses on the need for better information and education for Hispanic consumers regarding homeownership.
4 Siegel & Gale, "Perplexity Poll Summary of Results," Brand Voice, August 2004, http://www.siegelgale.com/newsletter4/PerplexityPollSummary.pdf - PDF 1.57mb (PDF Help). The other two types of documents identified as the most perplexing were instruction manuals and computer documents.
5 Mitchell S. Ratner, "Many Routes to Homeownership: A Four-Site Ethnographic Study of Minority and Immigrant Experiences," Housing Policy Debate 7, no. 1 (1996), Fannie Mae Foundation, http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/programs/hpd/v7i1-ratner.shtml.
6 Lew Sichelman, "Study Urges Help for Hispanic Home Buyers," St. Petersburg Times, August 28, 2004.7 Andrew I. Schoenholtz and Kristin Stanton Jones, "Reaching Emerging & Underserved Home Ownership Markets," Home Ownership Summit 2001 Research Series, Center for Home Ownership of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, http://www.lisc.org/resources/assets/asset_upload_file145_2421.pdf - PDF 227k (PDF Help).
8 Christopher Palmeri, "Online Extra: Here Come the Latino Home Buyers," interview with former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, Business Week Online, March 15, 2004, http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/04_11/b3874009_mz001.htm.
9 See note 5.
10 See note 2.
11 Bendixen & Associates, "The Barriers to Banking and Building Credit History for Latin Americans: A Focus Group Study of Un-Banked Hispanics in Mobile, Alabama and Las Vegas, Nevada," a study done for Homeownership Alliance, June 16, 2004, http://www.homeownershipalliance.com/documents/BarriersToBanking.pdf - PDF 224k (PDF Help).
12 See note 7.
13 See note 5.
14 For more information on alternative forms of identification that can be used to obtain a mortgage, see "Linking International Remittance Flows to Financial Services: Tapping the Latino Immigrant Market," by Michael A. Frias, Supervisory Insights, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Winter 2004, http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/examinations/supervisory/insights/siwin04/latino_mkt.html.
15 See note 5.
16 J. Michael Collins and Doug Dylla, "Mind the Gap: Issues in Overcoming the Information, Income, Wealth, and Supply Gaps Facing Potential Buyers of Affordable Homes," Home Ownership Summit 2000 Research Series, LISC Center for Home Ownership, October 2001, http://www.lisc.org/resources/assets/asset_upload_file63_537.pdf - PDF 324k (PDF Help).
17 John Cox, "Boosting Access," Hispanic Business Magazine, October 2004, http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=18336.
18 Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute National Housing Initiative, Focus Group Findings: Cross-Site Report, June 2004, http://www.chci.org/nhi/cross_site.pdf - PDF 4.15mb (PDF Help).
19 See note 1.
20 Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, "The State of the Nation's Housing: 2004," table A-6 entitled "Homeownership Rates by Age and Race/Ethnicity: 19932003," http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004_appendix_tables.xls - Excel 367k (Excel Help) (text of report available at http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004.pdf - PDF 2.95mb (PDF Help)).
21 See "Banks Are Still Sizing Up Opportunities in the Growing Hispanic Market," by Jeffrey A. Ayres, Stephen L. Kiser, and Adrian R. Sanchez, FDIC Outlook, Winter 2004, http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/regional/ro20044q/na/2004winter_05.html. This article provides information on the growth and socioeconomic status of the Hispanic population across the United States.
22 See note 8.
23 For more information, see "Delivery Systems for Financial Education in Theory and Practice," by Susan Burhouse, Donna Gambrell, and Angelisa Harris, FYI, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, September 22, 2004, http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/fyi/2004/092204fyi.html.
24 Robert Van Order and Peter Zorn, "Performance of Low-Income and Minority Mortgages," Low-Income Homeownership Working Paper Series, LIHO-01.10, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, September 2001.
25 Catherine Burrough, "Agents, Lenders, Builders Catering to Hispanic Buyers," The Arizona Republic, March 2, 2003, http://www.azcentral.com/class/marketplace/homevalues03/0228value-hispanicbuyers02.html.
26 See note 8.
27 Brian Grow, "Hispanic Nation," Business Week Online, March 15, 2004, http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/04_11/b3874001_mz001.htm.
28 According to a report published by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute National Housing Initiative (see note 18), "word of mouth" between friends, family members, or co-workers is the most frequent way homeownership information is communicated in the Hispanic community.
29 See note 17.
30 Bank of America, "Bank of America Launches New Spanish Television Ads to Attract New Checking Accounts, Mortgages," news release, August 11, 2003, www.bankofamerica.com/newsroom/press/press.cfm?PressID=press.20030811.02.htm&LOBID-3.
31 Charles Keenan, "Financial Literacy: How It Adds Up to Good Business," Community Banker, March 2004.
32 David Lawson, "Financial Literacy and Homeownership Education: Building Assets for Minority and Immigrant Communities," National Conference of State Legislatures, March 2003, http://www.ncsl.org/programs/immig/index.htm.
33 Amilda Dymi, "Loan Officials Go Bilingual," Outreach 6, no. 3, June 2004/July 2004, Texas Credit Union League, http://www.tcul.coop/7Jun20042.html.
34 The other modules are: "Bank On It: An Introduction to Bank Services"; "Keep it Safe: Your Rights as a Consumer"; "Borrowing Basics: An Introduction to Credit"; "To Your Credit: How Your Credit History Will Affect Your Credit Future"; "Check It Out: How to Choose and Keep a Checking Account"; "Charge It Right: How to Make a Credit Card Work for You"; "Money Matters: How to Keep Track of Your Money"; "Loan to Own: Know What You're Borrowing before You Buy"; and "Pay Yourself First: Why You Should Save, Save, Save."
35 The other modules are: "Your Credit and Why It Is Important," "Managing Your Money," "Goal Setting," "Banking Services: An Important Step," "Establishing and Maintaining Credit," "Understanding Credit Scoring," "Thinking Like a Lender," "Avoiding Credit Traps," "Restoring Your Credit," and "Planning for Your Future."
36 See note 8.
About the Author
Heather Gratton is a Senior Financial Analyst in the Corporate Consulting Services Section of the Division of Insurance and Research, FDIC.Comments and Inquiries
Send comments or questions on this FYI to: Heather Gratton firstname.lastname@example.com.
Send feedback and technical questions about the FYI series to:
About FYI
FYI is an electronic bulletin summarizing current information about the trends that are driving change in the banking industry, plus links to the wide array of other FDIC publications and data tools.
The views expressed in FYI are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Some of the information used in the preparation of this publication was obtained from publicly available sources that are considered reliable. However, the use of this information does not constitute an endorsement of its accuracy by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
|Last Updated 03/22/2005


text:
visual basic
posted by Matrixschool .
(1) state the condition under which a FOR-TO-NEXT loop will not be executed.
(2) With the aid of illustrative example, describe how a subroutine is implemented in BASIC.
You have not specified whether it is Visual Basic 6 or VB.net. In this case, the answers don't make a difference, but the versions will help to give a better context.
1. The format of the for-next loop statement is:
FOR i = start TO finish, [STEP s]
... statements to be executed
On entering the loop, if the initial value of finish is greater than start, the statements inside the loop will not be executed at all.
However, if s is specified and is negative, the loop content will not be executed if start is less than finish.
Examples where the loop will not execute are:
FOR i=10 TO -1.... next
FOR k=1 TO 10 STEP -5... next
2. Example:
Here is an actual example from VB.net
Sub keypressed(ByVal o As [Object], ByVal e As KeyPressEventArgs)
If e.KeyChar = Microsoft.VisualBasic.ChrW(13) Or Char.IsDigit(e.KeyChar) Or e.KeyChar = Microsoft.VisualBasic.ChrW(7) Then
e.Handled = True
End If
End Sub 'keypressed
You can modify it according to your requirements for describing how subroutines are implemented.
For a VB6 tutorial:
For a VB.net tutorial:
CIT201: Programming
Assignment 2
Entering Code in Visual Basic
In this assignment, you will finish the project you began last week. Open the Smith Repair Parts Specials program interface.
Code the Project
The description and price of a repair part or service should display to the two TextBox controls with the ReadOnly property = True because the TextBox controls on this form are used for output, not input.
Three Display Buttons: when a button is clicked, the relevant information should display on the form.
The data to be displayed for each of these three buttons are given in the table shown below.
Repair Specials Information
New Brakes and Calipers
Heavy Duty Tires
Annual Inspections
Include the following:
1. When designing the form, select control names that follow the naming convention specified in the lecture.
2. Include comments before the Public Class declaration that include the PROJECT, PROGRAMMER NAME, and DATE.
3. Include remarks statements inside of each sub procedure to identify what the sub procedure does.
Zip the files and upload into the appropriate dropbox.
This activity will be graded using the Technology Application Grading Rubric - Programming.
Learning Outcome(s): 4
4. Design a program interface and determine the appropriate controls and code.


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Fighter Information
Sebastian Romanowski
Record: 7-2-0 (W-L-D)
Cage Warriors Record: 0-1-0 (W-L-D)
Fighter Info
- Team Name: Berserker's Team
- Nationality: Polish
- Age: 23
- Height: 5'7"
- Weight: 145lbs
- Total Fights: 9
- Record: 7-2-0 (W-L-D)
- Cage Warriors Record: 0-1-0 (W-L-D)
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Results: Cage Warriors 58
Cage Warriors' first ever visit to Chechnya featured big wins for Beslan Isaev, James Brum, Ivan Buchinger and Pavel Kusch.
Cage Warriors 58: Grozny
Cage Warriors 58 takes place this evening - Saturday, August 24 - at Olympisk Arena in Grozny, Chechnya.
Weigh-in results: Cage Warriors 58
All fighters are on weight and ready for action at Cage Warriors 58 tomorrow at Olympisk Arena in Grozny, Chechnya.
Preview: Cage Warriors 58
Set for the Russian republic of Chechnya this Saturday, Cage Warriors 58 is to be headlined by the meeting of Beslan Isaev and Viktor Halmi.
Cage Warriors 58: Fight card update
Four bouts, including the first CWFC heavyweight fight of 2013, have been set for Cage Warriors 58 in Chechnya.


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