Fri Jan 10, 2014 7:06 PM

As the government fireplace “smoke patrol” cruises the streets of Phoenix, the residents of the White Mountains are choking on government-created smoke from “controlled burns.”

How is it politically correct for the U.S. Forest Service to generate year- round massive carbon emissions while the Environmental Protection Agency is concerned about your fireplace? When is the EPA going to regulate the Forest Service for its carbon emissions?

The EPA rigorously regulates coal- fired power plants in Arizona, yet I hear nothing from the EPA regarding the continuance and development of biomass plants that create carbon emissions.

The thick black smoke from the Snowflake biomass plant and controlled-burn smoke often winds its way down to Phoenix.

Clean air is vital to good health, and we need clean-air standards. So, if the EPA thinks clean air is important for the residents of Phoenix, then why isn’t it equally important for the residents of the White Mountains?

No amount of controlled burning is ever going to prevent forest fires. Responsible logging, thinning, animal grazing and air tankers are the healthier alternative. It’s time for the EPA to regulate one of Arizona’s biggest polluters: the U.S. Forest Service.

— Marsha Honn, Snowflake