Quote:
Originally Posted by Duck Butter
It isn't like cap and trade because loss of wetlands can actually be measured, and cap and trade would have dealt with carbon offsets and there is still too much variability in the measures of carbon depending on who measured it and thats a whole different slice of bread there  If you put a building on top of a wetland, the wetland is still technically there, but the whole function of that wetland has ceased. Some of the 'brush' and vegetation you may be clearing are probably wetland plants that only occur in a wetland and can't grow anywhere else. I will digress, I think we all know the value of a wetland and it can't be justified in just a few paragraphs. Its much much greater than just a few plants lets just say that. There are very few places with as much plant diversity as a wetland. Plant diversity usually means animal diversity as well.
I can see where you are coming from though, and would probably have had the same reaction if I wanted to build and was unaware of the process. Its far from perfect (because the gov't is in charge of it  ) but it is at least something to keep some natural areas around.
On the cap and trade thing, there are actually companies that are buying these carbon 'crediks' to show that they are a 'green' company by showing that their carbon emissions are at a net zero by planting trees to offset their carbon emissions. More power to them if thats what they want to do. |
Wetland mitigation/Carbon Crediks = gooberment scam, no more, no less.
You can destroy an existing wetland area (LAbERGE) if you pay $$$ to someone who has an existing wetland enrolled in the program. How or who is going to develop the millions of acres on the coast owned by Miami Corp, Vermilion Corp, ect. it's never gonna happen but they can sell it in mitigation for someone to build a hotel on a marsh area if the pony up the chedda. How does this promote/protect the wetlands drained for non-beneficial use?
I believe you are missing my point on this. Gooberment intervention into my private property (imement domain) (wetlands mitigation) (carbon crediks) has the effect of driving up the cost of doing business, which is passed along to the populace who pays taxes. I am for sound use of our resources, conservation but not at the expense all the loony laws enacted by the EPA, ect.