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apodixis
 Posted:
Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:07 am |
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“Under Fire”
Another example of how government intervention, despite good intentions, can actually make problems worse. Excerpts are from an article in the July, 2008 issue of National Geographic:
“In 2006, wildfires burned 15,000 square miles across the country, a record nearly matched last year. ….. Annual federal spending on firefighting has leaped from $1 billion when the recent drought began in 1998 to more than $3 billion last year, with even greater costs forecast for the future….. “
"The more money we spend, the worse it gets," one fire scientist told me last summer. "If that's not a condemnation of our fire policies, I don't know what is."
“In the 1990s, eight million new homes sprouted along the borders of parks and forests, where fires regularly start…… Formally this is known as the wildland-urban interface. Some firefighters call it the stupid zone.”
“Americans in particular have been reluctant to acknowledge that no government or technical solution, no matter how well funded, or brilliant, can halt natural processes or remove their power to affect lives. For this reason, and with an eye toward the increasing costs, many experts believe it is time for a new era of American responsibility, perhaps with policies like those in Australia, another country facing massive wildfires. There the government does not attempt to protect all private property. Responsibility is placed largely on individuals.”
The last sentence is of course the libertarian approach. We have posted a link to the National Geographic article on our “Lookout Vistas” webpage for the Yosemite National Park Crane Flat lookout/Helitack base.
http://home.mchsi.com/~lookout_vistas/CraneFlat1.htm
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Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 3296
Location: State of Jefferson, Ecotopia
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| Isanah
Posted:
Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:36 pm |
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"..........Some firefighters call it the stupid zone.” 
Australia's approach has a similarity to also those that build on properties that are at greater risk when Hurricanes come through. Like the rebuilding of N.O., and presently Galveston.
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Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 8047
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