Wholesale theft in the name of carbon
By Jo Nova
Imagine a third world nation was mired in corruption so deeply that the ruling class were able to stealthily steal the rights to vast acreage of private property from landowners without paying any compensation.
Imagine that one of the victims of this injustice had approached every court of the land and had not even had his case heard, even after more than 200 attempts. In desperation, and with no other avenue available, having officially “lost the farm”, he starts a hunger strike, which has now gone for 28 days unbroken, threatening to starve to death if he has to.
Welcome to Australia — right on track for Third World Status.
Get ready to be shocked. This is an moving example of why “policy by accident” is a dangerous way to govern. In this case, innocuous feel-good laws end up crushing upstanding citizens. Peter Spencer is still alive (though he may only have 12 – 20 days to go) but how many other farming men were put through the environmental-ringer, and drowned themselves in brandy, picked up a gun, or crashed the car into the only tree near the road? None of these deaths would be recorded as victims of bureaucracy.
Peter Spencer bought a farm south of Canberra in the early 1980’s. In the mid 1990’s new laws rolled into action that prevented land clearing. That meant, even though the land belonged to him, Peter could no longer clear the regrowth. Eighty percent of what he paid for was effectively confiscated. He received nothing in return and there was no way out. He couldn’t sell the property — who would buy a piece of land they have no right to use?
But Peter still had a mortgage to pay, and no way of earning the money to do it. Recently, his last legal avenue was exhausted, and the sherriff gained a warrant to take the farm off him. That was the final straw…
Peter Spencer has issued the Prime Minister of Australia with a letter of his demands. He wants a Royal Commission and compensation for all the farmers who have lost the right to use their land.
Compensation would cost billions. But Kevin Rudd’s “stimulus package” (spend-for-the-sake-of-spending), was 42 billion dollars big.
This is what happens when big government gets your money. It gives a “free” handout of $950 per tax-payer to randomly “stimulate the economy”, and uses the rest to build school halls, even in schools which already had a hall, or in schools which desperately needed a library.
…
Spencer points out that the land-grab by the Australian Government meant the nation met it’s Kyoto commitments, a target that would otherwise have been blown away. The carbon stored in confiscated land amounts to about $10.7 billion in carbon credits. Probably the total value lost (with interest) from the productive use of that land would be many times higher.
Read the rest of this tragic story here at Jo Nova’s website.
=============================
Here’s the most important question: How does the Australian Government account for sequestered carbon when much of this land is prone to bushfires? Do they reset their Kyoto carbon sequestration tally for that land back to zero when all that carbon goes back into the atmosphere?
I’m reminded of this story, also from Australia, where even clearing land to save your home from imminent fire is met with fines and legal issues by the government:
“We’ve lost two people in my family because you dickheads won’t cut trees down…”
The whole carbon scheme is insane.
NOTE: I’ve made a change to the title, based on some commenters objection to the use of the word “retarded”. While some saw it in the context of “mental retardation”, that was not my intent. I was thinking of the use of the word in the context of retarding enterprise and freedom. They have certainly “retarded” the ability of people to use their land. I’ve changed the word to “restrictive”. I apologize if this offended anyone. It was a poor word to use. – Anthony
UPDATE: News just in this evening via WUWT commenter “helvio”: ABC Australia says the Mr. Spencer has ended the hunger strike. Details here
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Apparently he’s now given in and ended his protest. Not sure how this will achieve anything, the state Govn’t has made their decision.
I have only quoted a segment, but thank you for this well balanced analysis of the situation.
I had no idea that Kyoto has already had so much effect on our laws and actions. The whole AGW scam is literally a pox on mankind.
While I feel tremendously for this gentleman’s predicament, I wish he would stop what he is doing, concentrate and utilize his efforts and passion towards fighting this issue instead of simply killing himself off. Killing himself does nothing to help the cause. Martyrdom is not as affective as a lot of people would like to believe. He will quickly be forgotten. The AGWer’s and his government will only applaud his demise and this will be just another problem that will be out of their way.
Start eating! Start fighting! We need you as much as we need anyone!
How about the cut off of water in California’s Joaquin Valley.
http://thegreendragon.ning.com/profiles/blogs/joaquin-valleys-water-shut-off
and
http://www.sodahead.com/technology/water-shut-off-to-california-farms-because-of-endangered-fish/blog-129611/
Unemployment rates are now 40% because of the water being shut off to farmers. Hundreds of acres of crops are now dead. 1 million acres of fields and orchards also have no aboveground water supply. People have to go to food banks for food. Fruits and vegetable prices have skyrocketed in central California.
Federal water managers cut off water to thousands of California farms as a result of Water has been cut off since March.
Farmers in the nation’s No. 1 agriculture state predicted it would cause consumers to pay more for their fruits and vegetables, which would have to be grown using expensive well water.
Environmentalists are tripping over themselves to preserve every
species that crawls, squirms, swims or flys (sic) but they are content
to let humans die,” claimed Nunes. ” And now they have a government
that agrees with them. This Congress and our President have chosen
fish over people in my state.”
Okay… we’ve had about enough of this economic calamity BS. These stories propogate only becuase they are born in the perverse virtual state of simulated computer models. In the REAL world – this is complete and utter hokum. Take a look at the stats from a typical northern California community in wine country…
http://www.city-data.com/city/Ripon-California.html
Median household income 2000, $56.9k. Median in 2008, $75,750. The economic “crisis” in the United States is about as believable as the climate crisis. California is booming as it always has. Standards of living are growing as they have for 50 years. The world demands the agriculture and technology products California delivers more than ever before.
Tell me who loves ya Arnie.
Having re-read “M. Simons” post, let me be absolutely blunt. This is the post of an agent of the CCP or sympathizer meant only to diffract reality with outdated propaganda. It is OLD, outdated, and utterly pathetic.
Red Green (12:35:21) :
In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill.
You do us a service to reiterate the Club of Rome agenda. Where they have failed, and failed miserably – is to see that it is not pollution, global warming or famine that will unite us. It is the recognition of those who perpetrate such a fabrication – that will.
The world will unite, not against climate change, but those who would have us believe it to be real.
Mr Spencer’s problem is that he allowed his farm to go ‘fallow’. Now he is legally forbidden to clear the regrowth.
I see your point. It is like if I stopped driving my car for a year the government would forbid me from ever using it again.
I can see the justice in that. (/sarc)
“Water is our life – it’s our jobs and it’s our food,” said Ryan Jacobsen, executive director of the farm bureau in Fresno County. “Without a reliable water supply, Fresno County’s No. 1 employer – agriculture – is at great risk.”
The drought would cause an estimated $1.15 billion dollar loss in agriculture-related wages and eliminate as many as 40,000 jobs in farm-related industries in the San Joaquin Valley alone, where most of the nation’s produce and nut crops are grown, said Lester Snow, director of the Department of Water Resources.
Jeff Peracchi, a pomegranate and grape grower in Huron, said he was laying off employees because without water, there wouldn’t be much fruit to pick.
“I can’t just say I won’t farm this year – I have to do something. But I’m having to lay off guys who have been with us for years,” Peracchi said. “At this point, I’m planning to farm to keep the fruit as healthy as I can, but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to be profitable.”
http://www.sodahead.com/technology/water-shut-off-to-california-farms-because-of-endangered-fish/blog-129611/
He will likely be profitable due to the rise of food prices.
So who is suffering:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uSNpfk4dbL4/SrSuBvvXIaI/AAAAAAAAAUU/w9gU_5sTEFQ/s400/Farm+Water+people+more+important+than+fish.jpg
Hmm…. Make an underground home or a masonry home with metal roof and metal “storm shutters”. When you need to “clear the land”, allow nameless transient to BBQ snake over open fire on windy day… Then apply to government for:
1) Emergency payment for loss of income from natural disaster. (i.e. dole)
2) CO2 sequestration payments for “new carbon” about to be sequestered.
3) Global warming diaster payments / restitution (clearly more fires are due to global warming…)
4) Plant crop.
Repeat as needed.
I think we have a new farming paradigm… 😉
More sides to the California water problem pro and con:
http://aquafornia.com/archives/category/regional-water-issues/westlands-water-district
and an interesting mp3 from kmj580
http://www.kmj580.com/common/global_audio/174/8370.mp3
the station’s www site:
http://www.kmj580.com/pages/main
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTgktfmtYjo&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Near the end of the video: “If you think foreign oil is expensive wait until you buy foreign food”
More videos:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=George+Miller+water&search_type=&aq=f
Good to see that Peter Spencer has ended his hunger strike. What it must be like to go over 50 days without food id beyond my imagination and I am so glad he has not died as a result. May you regain you health and fitness Peter and hopefully your battle will bring about a FAIR result.
Cong Nunes on Valley Water:
http://nunes.house.gov/
====
http://californiafarmer.com/story.aspx/judge/tosses/delta/water/plan/9/16836
http://aquafornia.com/archives/category/delta-issues/judge-wanger-salmon-ruling
===
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rodriguez
Rodriguez also has an interest in farming with operations in California’s Central Valley. He is the chairman of the California Latino Water Coalition, a group trying to draw attention to California’s dire water situation.
http://www.latinowater.com/
Indiana Bones (22:39:18) :
I’m a libertarian. And before that I was a card carrying Libertarian. Secty/Treas of our local club (Rockford, Illinois) for 3 years.
You can read my blog and figure out where my sympathies lie:
http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/
stumpy (10:43:02) :
The wild fire point is an excellent one!
Most trees in OZ and most of the native bush likes a good fire everynow and then to stimulate things, and its a common occurance.
There’s a small area in the New Jersey Pine Barrens called the Pygmy Forest — dwarf pine trees that grow no more than 5 feet tall. The enviroweenies got this unique species put on the endangered list and the state built an aerial fire-fighting facility on a nearby WWII emergency landing airstrip to protect these unique pines from being wiped out by wildfires.
After ten years, the enviroweenies were alarmed at what was happening in the Pygmy Forest. No seedlings. Beetle infestations in the northern half of the forest. Reduced growth in established trees.
Man was *obviously* the culprit, so the enviroweenies investigated — unfortunately for them, they enlisted the top botanist in the state. He discovered several things:
1. The pygmy pines evolved to use *fire* to their benefit. The seedcoating on their cones was thick and water-resistant and required the occasional wildfire to release the seeds. The fires also burned off the weeds in the area to reduce competition for the seedlings.
2. The pygmy pines weren’t a unique species. They were normal white pines, identical to their neighbors a mile away, but they had rooted in shallow sand atop bedrock.
3. The only thing in the region acting to break down plant debris and add nutrients to the sand was the occasional wildfire. And the forestry service had been extinguishing them for ten years.
Upon the botanist’s recommendation, the forestry folks initiated a controlled-burn program. The pygmy pines are now doing fine.
The enviroweenies claimed credit for saving yet another rare and unique species and proceeded to dump Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes into the Pine Barrens to “re-create the vanished ecosystem that the early settlers had destroyed.” They did it in October, and the snakes promptly scattered to seek shelter for the winter — I killed a six-footer that had crawled into my neighbor’s kitchen.
Anthony,
Rank speculation here.
It looks to me like the PTB are giving up on control of energy supplies and are using control of the food supplies as a backup plan.
And why do I think that? Holdren + events (Australia, CA central Valley)
Of course it could just be chance. Or a confluence of interest.
However, the Democrat’s strangulation of American energy resources is still on.
Any way it could just be my mild schizophrenia seeing patterns where none exist. Or it could be my mild schizophrenia seeing a pattern before others do. It has happened both ways before. So I like to do reality checks. To keep on the sane side.
to jerri;’m not sure this story can totally be put down to to climate change policy. There is a lot of back-story here that is not reflected in the post.
yeah there SURE IS!
theres a story of government CORRUPTION! that stinks to high heaven and KRUDD was in QLD paliament when the BRIGALOW Corp was going!
READ THIS!
http://www.nickmaine.info/Documents/update_re_brigalow_corp.htm
and the mongrels managed to do it and not be outed till now?
well, Aussies don’t like being sh*t on by the people we elect and we will sure be taking remedial action when this news gets more widespread.
to the folks who say use the amendments. sorry Aus has little to no contstitution FOR the people, its mainly Govt biased as we were an English Penal colony to begin and they didn’t really care much about rights of the individual then..(or now)
the sham of a constitution offered by Howard was so worded we all said No thanks!
and go to http://www.agmates.ning.com
for a lot more info on Peters story
or
http://www.climatesceptics.com.au for info too.
I went to the Pine Barrens on a field trip for a botany class. The Pine Barrens are, well, umm… rather barren. But if there were no Pine Barrens where else would the Botany class go for a field trip?
Watch, now they will change the name to the Distressed White Pine Conservation Area, because the old name allows for “incorrect thinking.” Thought crime.
Peter Spencer will be the first of many in Australia, I own a small block of land on the beach in Victoria, the government is planning to stop development on that land due to “sea level rises caused by Global warming”. The land has never even flooded and has a population of about 200, the town next to (2km away) it has a population of 2000 and floods every 10 – 15 years – but you can build what you like there.
The Australian Government is picking off the smaller communitys one by one, not causing too big a stir, get rid of the small land owners and work your way up. This could possibly effect millions of land owners in Australia and you hardly here a thing about it in the MSM, you just feel helpless in this situation. You go to local council meetings, ring lawyers, set up action groups and no one cares. Did I mention there is also a large deposit of oil under the town, and apperantly in Australia we only own to 6m underground, government owns the rest.
Yes, the greenies want you to keep your land undeveloped so that they can enjoy it as a wilderness park while you pay the taxes on it.
Why don’t the greenies buy land that is for sale on the open market and then put it into conservation? Oh, because then they would have to pay for it instead of you.
This is not just happening to farmers. Our school, situated on about 100 acres but using only about 25 currently, is finding it almost impossible to build a new building because the government won’t let them cut down a handful of trees. Land worth millions of dollars is locked up for the government to say that it is being “green”. Yet Energex just came in and bulldozed down truckloads of trees to put power lines across some of that land, without asking and paying just pittance in compensation ($90,000 instead of the estimated $1.2m). Maybe our whole school should be up power poles fasting.
DogB particularly took issue with the fact that I said that these state laws were enacted and enforced because of Australia’s Kyoto commitment. And Simon from Sydney questioned the link between “the State’s [i.e. NSW’s] native vegetation laws and Kyoto”
I just want to add a few words of clarification. They should be read in addition to my earlier comments as I don’t want to cover old ground.
In Peter Spencer’s case we are talking about New South Wales laws and, yes, in the case of NSW the native vegetation laws were enacted before Kyoto. But I actually stated that the point I was discussing was not Peter Spencer’s individual case (as sad as that may be) under NSW laws but the more general point about the way the Federal Government and the states agreed to use native vegetation laws in order to meet Australia’s Kyoto targets. I was talking about the states collectively and not specifically about any one state individually (such as New South Wales in Peter Spencer’s case).
DogB correctly points out that NSW already had such laws on the statute book before Kyoto. Other states (eg Queensland), however, did not, and only introduced them after Kyoto and the agreement with the Federal Government about using reductions in land clearing to meet the country’s Kyoto target. Now, in the case of NSW specifically, although the state’s native vegetation laws were already enacted before Kyoto that doesn’t mean that Kyoto didn’t have an effect on the way these laws would subsequently be enforced. Most people at the time would probably have thought that these laws were directed against the felling of native forests. But post-Kyoto (as we saw in Peter Spencer’s case) they have been used to stop farmers cutting back regrowth on previously cleared land. Pre-Kyoto, very few people would seriously have imagined native vegetation laws being used to prevent a farmer keeping his already cleared and in working order, or indeed placing a virtually absolute ban on new clearing of scrub or trees of little value from an environmental heritage point of view. Again, I admit that Spencer’s case is somewhat unique in that he had left the land fallow while he was doing other things and that if he’d been continually working the land before the legislative change then he wouldn’t have had nearly as much difficulty as he’s now having. But again, I’m not really talking about Spencer’s case in particular.
I also referred to earlier ABC reports on this issue. Here are a few I’ve managed to find if anyone is interested. I’m sure there are many more.
* http://www.abc.net.au/landline/stories/s101450.htm (ABC Landline 20 February 2000)
* http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s1820879.htm (ABC Radio 1 January 2007)
* http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200309/s948774.htm (18 Sep 2003 — Then Federal Environment minister admitting that the reduction in land clearing has significantly contributed to Australia’s “emissions” being lower than a decade beforehand)
* http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2005/s1371225.htm (22 May 2005 — includes a bit on Peter Spencer’s case, but deals more generally with state laws against land clearing (chiefly directed against farmers) as the main way Australia was meeting its Kyoto “emissions” target.
* http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2006/s2226885.htm (27 April 2008 — a report on the Emissions Trading Scheme but which also has the remark “But the [states’] ban on land clearing has had the biggest impact on why the [agricultural] sector has been able to reduce its CO2 equivalents by 40 per cent and help Australia meet its first Kyoto Protocol target.”
DogB-Every farmer in NSW is subject to the same laws and while they may not be fair they are hardly ruining the industry. There are 39000 farms in NSW employing 82000 people. They produce more than 40 billion in revenue including 10 billion in export dollars each year.
{amazing thats just a smidge more than 2 persons on some farms, and our Farms are often thousands of acres, and in recent years many wifes work off farm and on farm too, unpaid and off the paybook, called love and commitment}
dividing 82,000 people into an output ofproduction of 40 billion, ? HMM? that may be the endprice , but sorry the farmers are NOT seeing that…
so? we feed ourselves
and have 1/4( 10billion) of unsubsidised product to compete against subsidised slave labour wages product? tariffs and restrictions. while imports from O/S come in and take our existing trade and profit
hell we have it made , don’t we?}
DogB-Mr Spencer’s problem is that he allowed his farm to go ‘fallow’. Now he is legally forbidden to clear the regrowth. It is a problem that all farmers face but most are able to ‘work around’ the situation by keeping regrowth from happening in the first place (usually by regular slashing). Mr Spencer’s unique problem is he pursued alternative business interests elsewhere and the regrowth (and legislation) occurred in his absence. It’s sad but is it sadder than (for example) a farmer going out of business because of drought – because that happens all the time in Australia and has done since Europeans settled this country.
{ok, and in times of drought, and low returns making even running sheep a no go,and for the actual protection of the fragile soils a Fallow period is what is best practice!and buying in food in a drought of many years is NORMAL in Aus, not AGW related! however less cropping done due to land losses- Thanks to AGW excuses….and even bought food is rare.
however its NOT affordable for many- how many sheep per acre? 1 sheep to 3 acres or maybe 4. slashing is costly and deferring it may have reasons like that too. 200K+ for some machines.land loan,fuel and seed , now an ongoing yearly cost thanks to PVR and GM. add chem and pesticides , your,e carrying massive loans…
Maybe “alternative , off farmbusiness was the only way to bring ANY income in? many many men go to the mines or drive trucks while the wife- and kids, maybe? cope.
At any given time at least1/4 and maybe 1/3 of our countries land is under drought/water stress.
there IS a reason kids dont stay on-farm, ever worked in 40 degree heat, dust and flies or cold mud and cow poop etc}
and HOW? does the government have any right to tell a land owner he cannot use the land he owns, nor sell it for any use and be forced to sell to ONE purchaser?
would you? accept that on the residence You own..really?
BTW if? its a chunk in the middle of your property, how can you sell or work around it, try and plant a crop, with 120 acres( for eg) of forest and roos bounding around in the crop, and you cant slash, burn,shoot to remove them?
see the DogB (18:17:21) :
Joh4Canberra @ur momisugly 16:28:17
So you’re suggesting that the native vegetation conservation act 1997 (enacted 18th Dec 1995) was a direct result of the Kyoto protocol which was finalised in December 1997?
Tell us more of this wonderful time machine.
———-
NOW that time machine crack?
so do you think KYOTO was an instant appearrance in 97?
do you not think they were planning how to save any upsetting of polluters, and NO Carbon is NOT a pollutant.
and really, they KNOW that, but its a wonderful revenue raiser!
see the link to the Brigalow Corp i posted above,
KRUDD WAS in Qld parliament then.
its a truly longterm and nasty doings.
KYOTO IS at the very heart of it along with the whole damned Warming Pack of LIES!
it may have escaped general notice, ALL the 3rd world lands are being Assisted by Monmongrels and their ilk who Looove AGW to scare people into thinking famine without it, to get control of the land and food and resources.
ALL of which including polluting Pharmas etc will get CCredits for their “effort” to be clean etc etc in said place, encouraging employment there, while killing us at home. T**on etc in O/S places producing cheap fast and dirty, Ca**ill too, and selling to us at local higher profit.
All will do massively well with CC C&T ETS whatever you name it.
You could look at Iraq Bill 81 for how its done.
you could look into Delta Pine and Land W Engdahl did a great piece@ur momisugly Global research.com
, bushes clintons the whole it and caboodle! and you could benefit from, Gates foundation and Mon….o, the links are real.
and its ALL a AIRY-Fairy TALE! the emperor is Buck Naked.”-)
I am waiting for the first Earthquake in Haiti , blamed on AGW story to surface.
yes! I DO believe some idiot will spin it.
The Pope has joined i CO2 bashing I read. and the Vatican will sell( have been! Sold) GM as a way to save their flock of starving etc etc.
Yes! Climate is Now a political issue because its been MADE to be one
Carbon IS affecting the world NOW.
BUT
not of its GH Status but because of a LIE about its status.
Shutting already cleared and used land off at a time of global need?
yup thats the smartest move a country could make…
Aussie version of an Nth American Indian story
Dingos All the way down!
Proverbs 13.23
A poor man’s field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away!
Glad to see tyrants look the same today as they did 3000 years ago.