Burning wood, as a serious source of energy, isn't practical at all. The amount of energy you get out of it that can be collected and used to power modern appliances is so minimal that you're better off just cranking a lever attached to a small manual generator. However, the whole "releases toxins, isn't renewable" part is completely bull****. Burning wood, compared to burning artificial coals, gasoline, or chemicals like nicotine, really is pretty harmless. It puts of smoke and carbon dioxide, but breathing puts off carbon dioxide, and smoke, without fun things like ammonia or sulfur in it, is pretty harmless. Wood fires contribute minimally to pollution. Why anyone would be making a big deal out of it when we're filling the environment with hundreds of megatons of other pollutants each year is beyond me.
As for how wood fires effect the environment, the dead carbon ash provides excellent fertilizer, and trees like oaks and firs, as well as shrubs like ocean spray, which have natural protections against fire, tend to flourish after forest fires. As a registered member of the Pacific Green Party, I assure you, that source is worthless when it comes to energy and sustainability, if this article you read is to be any representation of it.
