I never realized how what I do affects other people until I put out a burn barrel where I used to live. Seems that my neighbor has a bad case of asthma. When ever I burned trash she would get ill and have to hide inside. Out of respect for her and to keep our good relations I decided not to use the burn barrel. Similar to my burn barrel I have a neighbor two houses down from where I live now that would start a small, smoldering trash fire every morning. Trust me, having that odor permeate everything in my house, my clothes and needing to keep the windows closed and AC on all spring is a hassle.
It seems to me that air pollution is a problem. As much as I enjoy the smell of a good slow smoke I'm not sure I would like to live next to a smokehouse. There would be no getting away from the watery eyes and congestion.
When I lived on the Bayou they built a crab processing plant just a couple of houses down the street. Between the increased noise, migrant workers and additional boat traffic it was difficult enjoying my dock and home. They would make three large dumpsters full of crab shell waste every morning. Leave it in there for a day or two in the hot sun and the smell and flies would knock you out. The health department made them have their garbage picked up twice a day when operating, including Sundays and holidays. You may whine about government regulation, the owner of the crab dock did, but he lives a couple of miles away and didn't have to live with his own waste.
