Coal and oil are carbon neutral on the geologic time scale of course, and the whole carbon neutral thing is a bunch of bunk... however one is hard pressed to explain the difference between burning wood and fossil fuels to your average enviro-fraud without using the term.

I have a particular fervor for this topic as the enviro-frauds continue their assault against burning wood for home heat in favor of "clean" fuels like CNG... which is utter hypocracy when the same groups harp on reducing vehicle travel and transportation reform because of the carbon dioxide impact... If they are interested in PM levels then yes, burning wood causes some of that...modern stoves are extremely clean though... while CNG is a finite natural resource that will of course over time be exhausted, and add that CO2 back to the atmosphere that has been locked up so long.