| Cutting down trees to reduce greenhouse gases? |
Subject: Cutting down trees to reduce greenhouse gases? by JrRifleCoach on 2008/2/21 2:50:31 Wheres the Sierra Club when you need it!? In an environmental dispute seemingly scripted for eco-friendly California, a man asked prosecutors to file charges against his neighbors because their towering redwoods blocked sunlight to his backyard solar panels.  But the couple next door insisted they should not have to chop down the trees to accommodate Mark Vargas' energy demands because they planted the redwoods before he installed the solar panels in 2001. After more than six years of legal wrangling, a judge recently ordered Richard Treanor and his wife, Carolyn Bissett, to cut down two of their eight redwoods, citing an obscure state law that protects a homeowner's right to sunlight. The couple does not plan to appeal the ruling because they can no longer afford the legal expenses, but they plan to lobby state lawmakers to change or scrap the law. The Solar Shade Control Act means that homeowners can "suddenly become a criminal the day a tree grows big enough to shade a solar panel," Treanor said. The case marks the first time a homeowner has been convicted of violating the law, which was enacted three decades ago, when few homeowners had solar systems. Residents can be fined up to $1,000 a day for violations, though the judge did not impose any fines against the Treanors. Vargas says the law protects his $70,000 investment in solar power, and he believes it should be strengthened. "I think it's unfair that a neighbor can take away this source of energy from another neighbor," he said. Treanor and Bissett, who drive a hybrid Toyota Prius, argue that trees absorb carbon dioxide, cool the surrounding air and provide a habitat for wildlife. Vargas, who recently bought a plug-in electric car, counters it would take two or three acres of trees to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as much as the solar panels that cover his roof and backyard trellis. Bernadette Del Chiaro, clean energy advocate for Environment California, says the solar shade law might need to be revised to prevent similar disputes. ----So the morons will continue to engage in hypocrisies until we have no power and no trees. That'll make the Sierra Club real happy !!! |
