Environmental Anti-Intellectu alism and Urban Arrogance

Tom Shepstone wrote to these issues recently: "It started with a 1973 "Task Force Report Sponsored by The Rockefellers Brothers Fund.” That was back in the day when the family was less reticent to expose their undue influence and put their name on front covers. The formal title was "The Use of Land: A Citizen’s Guide to Urban Growth” but it was all about guiding citizens out of the way. Here are a few choice quotes (emphasis added):

* A changed attitude toward land—a separation of ownership of the land itself from urbanization rights—is essential.

* The courts should "presume” that any change in existing natural ecosystems is likely to have adverse consequences difficult to foresee.

* It is time that the U.S. Supreme Court re-examine its earlier precedents that seem to require a balancing of public benefit against land value loss in every case and declare that when the protection of natural, cultural or aesthetic resources or the assurance of orderly development are involved, a mere loss in land value will never be justification for invalidating the regulation of land use.

Put these together and you have a license to steal land (or mineral rights) using the excuse your neighbor’s plans offend your sense of culture....”

Posted by: Samy Mor at February 03, 2021 08:09 AM (e407W)

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