This story is interesting to me because it reflects arguments I recently heard for private property as a means of environmentalism. The argument goes that individual owners are better stewards of the environment than the government, and should be allowed to operate freely on their on property. In the event that they cause pollution, say, through contaminating ground water or polluting the air, it should be viewed as an infringement on other people’s liberties and handles as a tort.
More here: Free Market Environmentalism
“They were labelled law breakers, fined $50,000 and left emotionally and financially drained.
But seven years after the Sheahans bulldozed trees to make a fire break � an act that got them dragged before a magistrate and penalised � they feel vindicated. Their house is one of the few in Reedy Creek, Victoria, still standing.
The Sheahans’ 2004 court battle with the Mitchell Shire Council for illegally clearing trees to guard against fire, as well as their decision to stay at home and battle the weekend blaze, encapsulate two of the biggest issues arising from the bushfire tragedy.
Do Victoria’s native vegetation management policies need a major overhaul? And should families risk injury or death by staying home to fight the fire rather than fleeing?
Anger at government policies stopping residents from cutting down trees and clearing scrub to protect their properties is already apparent. ‘We’ve lost two people in my family because you dickheads won’t cut trees down,’ Warwick Spooner told Nillumbik Mayor Bo Bendtsen at a meeting on Tuesday night.” (Read more from smh.com.au)