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Comments:
YD - 2005-03-16 10:54:28 Second the motion. Runaway individualism is one reason we don't have mass transportation, among other things. Anyway, my understanding was that he wanted the ground to dry out so removing the trees would have a lesser impact, so it's really just a scheduling issue. If the bugs hatch before the ground dries out, then I say too bad for his land. It'll get over it, assuming it's just ruts.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-03-16 11:48:27 I agree... The needs of the individual don't always come before the needs of everyone else. Dutch Elm Disease could have been contained if infected trees had been identified and contained earlier. Instead there are no more Elm trees in the Elm City, a city that used to have songs written about the loveliness of its old, graceful elms.* * * * * * * * * * * * Dan Arbor - 2005-03-16 11:56:31 "Yew git off'n mah land! This here's the sovereign Republic of Me!" (waves shotgun around, anticipates impending headline-grabbing stand-ff with various police agencies)* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 12:13:39 YD: I see your point. However, he offered to cut the trees himself--some of them, anyways. I just think a property owner should have the right to keep people off his or her property.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 12:17:48 Michael: Dunno, I think that whole "ground unfrozen" bit might have been a bit of an excuse just to keep those guys off.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 12:20:48 Anna: I do wonder about the containment of tree diseases. The most strenuous efforts to date to contain this bug have failed thus far, just as they did with Dutch Elm disease. It's a foregone conclusion, probably, that those Canadian ashes are history, whether next year or in 5.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 12:24:13 Dan: I didn't get the impression he wanted a headline. Just a guy trying to protect his trees.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-03-16 14:22:30 Hard to know whether the efforts have failed or not -- we don't have the control condition in which none of the diseased trees were cut down. Certainly there still *are* American Elms still, which may not have been the case if Dutch Elm Disease hadn't been at least slowed.* * * * * * * * * * * * Stevo - 2005-03-16 14:29:09 What about Kircher? SHouldn't it be his right to let the Thompson building rot to ruins if it is indeed his private property?* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-03-16 16:02:00 I just heard the other day that after a few false positives over the years, a disease resistant elm strain has been discovered and is being grown to be distributed.* * * * * * * * * * * * YD - 2005-03-16 16:21:31 Until Walmart imports another 5 million rotten pallets filled with some new China bug.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 16:35:48 Stevo: no, an allegedly infested tree on private property is not a public eyesore and potential danger to public safety unlike the Thompson Bldg.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 16:36:48 I should clarify that I meant private as in on an island, away from public traffic.* * * * * * * * * * * * S - 2005-03-16 16:37:39 So what's worse: An eyesore or a diesease that could wipe out millions of trees.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 16:47:26 I just think this whole emerald ash borer "crisis" is so overblown as to be laughable. OK, lots of trees are affected. It happens. Trees are replaceable. If ash trees are inadequately suited to this environment--and I know the emerald a. b. is not native but it's here now--then I think it's less of a waste of energy to let the ashes die and replace them with a tree better suited to survive the reality of an environment that now contains this beetle. That's all. Seems reasonable to me.* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-03-16 16:51:49 Speaking of non-native species, I'm waiting for the day that I see a Snakehead fish stroll out of the Huron River.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 16:56:36 Stroll? This fish can stroll? Yikes, it's an ugly one, and apparently on the America's Most Wanted list of fish. Says it can survive for "days" outside of water (what's that heavy breathing under the porch?). What is this weird creature? It looks kinda coelacanthy.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 17:00:07 Looks like the one on the bottom of the page was nabbed for stealing money, too. So not only can it stroll under your porch and breathe heavily down there for "days," it can also clean out your wallet. No wonder they're after it.* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-03-16 17:05:25 Ultra-aggressive predator that will decimate local fish populations. It is also able to cross short expanses of land to increase it's territory. Not at all like the cartoonish Round Nose Goby which seems to have a hankering mainly for Zebra Mussels. Some conspiracy theorists claim that the Zebra Mussel was introduced purposely to clean up Lake Erie, and when they got out of control, the Round Nose Goby was introduced to take care of them.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 17:08:10 Yikes. Then there's that giant (100 lbs.) jumping carp that's heading up the Mississippi; the one they made the electric barrier fence for near Chicago. Is the snakehead edible at all LF? * * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2005-03-16 18:25:37 Letter to the Editor: We are almost out of firewood. Brrrrrrrrr! Please bring some over.* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-03-16 18:34:47 I think some Chinese folks eat them and that may explain why they were imported/smuggled into the US from China in the first place.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 19:39:52 Raymond, may I ask just out of curiosity: what is a typical winter's supply of firewood? I would guess maybe 5 or 6 cords, less if there's a furnace. Just curious.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-16 19:56:35 Here's a good rundown on the whole snakehead story.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-03-16 23:15:56 my attention really must have been somewhere else during that summer; I barely remember the snakehead fish saga. But what a great recap of it, thanks Laura! * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-03-17 01:02:36 Thank you Addiann, but thanks are due only to allegedly expert fisherman LF who alerted me to this alarming story.* * * * * * * * * * * * Murph. - 2005-03-18 11:26:59 Laura, I identify with a pretty left-libertarian/anarchistic viewpoint - and yet I'm going into urban planning, which is generally perceived as way up there at the top of the list of "professions that interfere with people's right to do what they will." My big interest here is in finding least-invasive means of reconciling "my rights" with "the rights of those people harmed by the exercise of my rights." While I'm sympathetic to this landowner's concerns for his land (and the first story I read about it stated his concern for the soil, not for the trees), I don't think that should prevent any action from being taken. If I'm standing on my property breeding emerald ash borers, or free-range rattlesnakes, or firing AK-47 rounds in the air to celebrate various events, or storing large amounts of fireworks (or small amounts of Sarin?) in a shed up against my neighbor's property line - well, there are situations in which "my land, my rights," needs some footnoting. Not content with the existing level of reductio ad absurdum that I've introduced here, I'll extend it one step further. You can say, "Well, maybe people just need to look for trees that can exist in an environment where emerald ash borers exist," and you can also say, "Well, maybe everybody needs to invest heavy-duty cowboy boots, military-grade helmets, and Israeli surplus gas masks, in order to deal with an environment in which free-range rattlesnakes, stray rifle rounds, and Sarin gas exist."* * * * * * * * * * * * Murph. - 2005-03-18 11:35:39 So that's my general statement that "my land, my rights" has bounds to it. In this situation, that leads to some specific recommendations. The trees need to come down - that's for certain. The river is a natural point to try to stop the infestation (or slow it in hopes of finding a way to stop it before it goes too far), and refusing to take down the trees in such a firebreak zone is not a valid exercise of personal rights, due to the negative externalities involved. However, there is a valid concern for the owner's other rights, and this should be addressed. If he's concerned with the State's treecutters compacting his land and destroying its value, that should be addressed. Some options I can think of: if the ash trees can be cut down once the soil can handle machinery without the borer getting loose first, then that should be done. If not, then put the treecutting equipment and crews under the command of the landowner - let him determine the routes the equipment should take through his land and the disposal of the trees: should the State be responsible for disposal? Would he prefer a big pile of mulch and the opportunity to set up a mulch-selling business? If the borer can't be contained without harm to his land, then have a re-assessment of his land happen along with the cutting, to reduce his property taxes commensurate with the loss of value he's experiencing. He's wrong to prevent the containment, but the State is also wrong to be inflexible in the way in which containment occurs.* * * * * * * * * * * * Murph. - 2005-03-18 11:39:33 Oh, and I also have a minor issue with "it happens. trees are replaceable." Try telling that to the southern property owners whose land has been destroyed by kudzu, or to farmers and ranchers in Montana and Wyoming whose land has been rendered completely worthless by Spotted Knapweed. I'm sure they'll appreciate the input. (I'm a little prickly about invasives; please pardon me for the snippy tone.)* * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: |