Vital heat

 LISTEN. Thoreau, like all stolid New Englanders, was much concerned with the efficient and reliable generation of personal warmth, in the literal (not emotional) sense. 

...man’s body is a stove, and food the fuel which keeps up the internal combustion in the lungs. In cold weather we eat more, in warm less. The animal heat is the result of a slow combustion, and disease and death take place when this is too rapid; or for want of fuel, or from some defect in the draught, the fire goes out. Of course the vital heat is not to be confounded with fire...

The grand necessity, then, for our bodies, is to keep warm, to keep the vital heat in us...

How can a man be a philosopher and not maintain his vital heat by better methods than other men? Walden

It's a philosophical, environmental, aesthetic, and practical matter that comes up every year about this time, at this latitude. I have a propane space heater out in the barn where I like to hang with the dogs, a wood-burning Earth Stove out in my Little House, and a round and glowing radiant electric space heater I like to position in front of my La-Z-boy. I have a fireplace in the library too, but my wife doesn't like smoke so it tends to lie sadly dormant through the winter, except on rare holiday occasions. 

What is the climatically-correct view on the use of any and all of these warming contrivances?

If you get your electricity from renewable sources, an electric patio heater is probably your most environmentally friendly choice...But if your electricity is generated by fossil fuels, a propane heater is likely a better solution...“If you’re concerned about the climate, this isn’t the largest source of impact, even within your control,” he said. “The car you drive is going to make a bigger difference over the car’s lifetime than whether you burn wood or propane in the backyard for one or two nights a week for the winter.”

...using a radiant space heater might allow you to maintain a similar comfort level at a lower setting, thereby reducing your electricity usage...having “perceived control” over the temperature, through, say, a nearby space heater, can increase your “thermal acceptability,” or the range of temperatures in which you feel comfortable. nyt

Keeping my "thermal acceptability" within our range of climate sustainability is the goal here, but retaining vital heat is also a happiness issue. Once again, we should look to our Nordic friends for guiding light. The Danes are happy, and the Fins and Norwegians and Swedes. 
Danish Hygge Is So Last Year. Say Hello to Swedish Mys-"the essence of mys is the feeling of warmth." Alright then. I'm going to fetch that radiant heater from the shed, and I'm going to be remorselessly thankful for it. 

I'll continue to fire up the Earth Stove too.

  

And then there's this.