Hog Waste Spill Violates Rights of Residents
With news from places like Littleton and Kosovo commanding so much of
our attention, the serious local issues raised by the continuing
environmental damage being caused by the recent hog waste spill has not
received quite the attention that perhaps it should.
The waste spill story was only hours old when the Columbine story broke.
But the Libertarian Party of New Hanover County (LPNHC) doesn't want this
incident to slip between the cracks.
It is the position of Libertarians that most environmental catastrophes are
really matters of trespass, and that current law in many cases prevents the
victims of this violation from obtaining justice.
"Which do you think would be cheaper?" said Ann Cizek, Chairman of the
Libertarian Party of New Hanover County. "To spend the money to prevent these
spills, or to compensate people who are hurt by them?"
"And which do you suppose is cheaper? To actually pay for the human labor to
clean up your neighbor's property, or to pay your little fine, fund a few
political campaigns, and let the taxpayer pay for the cleanups?"
The State Libertarian Party is also quite stern in its environmental stance.
The recently ratified Platform of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina
(LPNC) contains two new environmental protection planks based on property
rights that would require polluters to fully and directly compensate anyone
who is harmed by their actions. They are short and to the point.
The first, entitled "Environment," is all of two sentences. It reads:
"The basis for effective environmental protection is found in upholding
property rights. The LPNC calls for the repeal of any laws which inhibit
owners from taking action to legally protect and defend their property."
The other directly addresses the issue of Pollution:
"Pollution is a violation of rights and should be treated as such. The LPNC
proposes that polluters, either public or private, must fully compensate
affected property owners for their losses. If the act of pollution is
deliberate or willfully negligent, criminal penalties should also apply."
Sean Haugh, the State Libertarian Chairman elaborates:
"More regulations and fines will not solve the problem of waste spills.
Polluters just consider the fines a cost of doing business. The only true
environmental protection comes from respect for property rights. We need a
system where polluters must fully and directly compensate those who are
harmed by their actions.
"Believe me, if polluters were liable for the full cost of cleaning up the
damage that they had caused, they'd clean up the problem overnight."
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