I figured while I had one environmental thread going, I’d ask another.
A couple of years ago, I began lighting my room with candles. I also use a paraffin-oil-burning lamp for about fifteen minutes at a stretch when writing my journal in the winter (it’s too dark out to rely on sunlight). This means that I go through about six inches cubed of wax every two months. I save the candle-stumps and use the wax to seal jars/letters and to make new candles.
The alternative would be a lamp, probably using a compact fluorescent bulb.
I really enjoy the ambiance of my candles, but is burning them really problematic, environmentally? I’m not sure how cleanly wax burns, or how dirty the wax-production process is.
Paraffin candles are made from petroleum byproducts, so they are not carbon neutral. Many non-paraffin candle proponents claim paraffin candles not only create toxic fumes, but they create more soot which can damage your house. But it is difficult to find unbiased information in this regard, as most of the sites comparing paraffin to beeswax or soy wax also sell the latter, so they are hardly objective. This site seems to at least offer some documentation for these claims:
Most ways of making light involve burning something at some point.
Paraffin, which originally derived from ‘low’ temperature distillation of coal, and now comes from a variety of sources, some of which are waste products from other processes, is not the most energy intensive way to light a room.
If you want to improve on the environmental friendlyness of your candles, you’ll have to go to collecting wild beeswax, or drying down your lawn-clippings and twisting little mini-torches out of the grass-blades.
Sure burning wax’ll put some vaporized hydrocarbons in the air, but anything you burn will emit some sort of waste, even if it’s only water from burning H[sub]2[/sub].
I knew it! I hate candles in restauants. They make me feel ill. And it’s hard to get waitresses to believe you when you say you don’t want the one she just ceremoniously lit for you.
Pretty much anytime something carbon based burns you are making small amounts of benzene. Admitedly somethings may burn cleaner than others, but if you see soot, that is a clear indication. You would not beleive how pervasive benzene is in the environment. Benzene is one of the most stable compounds in existence, so it doesn’t take much effort for it to form. In general, your cancer risk doesn’t go up significantly until several part per million years (That’s like pack years, 1 ppm exposure for one year = 1ppm-year) of exposure.
I had a bunch of references, but my computer crashed and I’m not getting paid for this.
Um… what part of global warming don’t you get? You should leave the refrigerator door open while you work to offset the additional warming (plus you’ll have even more light to work with).
BTW: ** Anne Neville**’s link shows an ostensible Rabbi lighting the first candle with a lighter — not the shamas. Isn’t that… wrong? Even if it’s just a photo-op, it still seems, well, wrong. Or is it me?
Global warming is not a big deal with a few candles. The real environmental problem is much more local, as in your room, as Christopher and others have pointed out. I wouldn’t worry much about the larger environment from your candles, but you should realize that it’s not doing you much good personally. If you’ve ever been in an old cathedral or other building that relied on candles for light, you’ll often notice the ceiling and maybe the upper walls are black, which is from the soot from the candles. You may not be able to see it, but it’s there, and it’s got lots of nasty organic compounds (like benzene) with it. Candles, campfires and fireplaces make nice ambience, but they also pollute your own microenvironment. They’ve pretty much take lead out of candles (which used to be present in some wicks to help them stand straight up - insert your own joke here), but it’s not certain that candles don’t also contain some compounds, including metals, in the paraffin.
If you’re using oil lamps for your menorah, as some people do, you can’t light the other lights with the shamash- can you? And you are allowed to use oil lamps for Hanukkah lights.
Bah… whoever heard of using oil in a menorah? It’s just inviting trouble – say the neighbors break in and smash up all but one night’s supply…
Using a lighter still makes no sense to me. Well, it makes things easier and all, but whoever heard of a Jewish custom that made things easier? I thought the Shamash had a job because you weren’t supposed to use a match/lighter/two rocks after you’ve said the blessings, so you lit the Shamas, said the blessings, then used it to pass the fire to the rest. Next thing you know they’ll be filling gold-foil coins with carob. Egad, won’t someone think of the children?!
I suppose you can interpret my post that way. Actually, my point was that benzene and such compounds are everywhere. There are sources in you car, in your house, just when you walk outside, it’s everywhere. If you see soot, you’ve got polyaromatic hydrocarbons and probably benzene. The amount of benzene you are producing by burning candles, is probably not significant enouhg to worry about unless it bothers you like it does Donna Gedde Mistarded. If you have ever smoked anything you can pretty much not ever worry about most environmental benzene because smoking is basically injecting it into your lungs.
I don’t mean to rant against smoking though, afterall I was an undergrad once and some things are just begging to be smoked.
