I don't know if traditional fireplaces are carbon-efficient (note to self: research), but they're cost-efficient if the fuel is free.



After last month's big storm, two large pine trees were down in the complex's common area, and to my surprise (I'm from New England) the cleanup crews just threw the cut logs into the underbrush. So I've been carrying them up, one at a time, and in the fall I'll cut and split them.

It's not sustainable -- all the trees in that narrow strip of woods would only provide heat for a few houses for a single winter -- but it does feel self-sufficient.