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I've read that environmental issues can be solved by privatising all available land and oceans. Therefore giving each area an owner who will protect because it's in his own interest. I think this may actually work. Presumably this is a good solution how can this be accomplished? How can we decide who gets what?

Also, in a related question. What if I own a huge piece of rain forest that gives air not just to me but many other property owners in the world and I decided to cut it all off because I want to spend the money. Does that mean I violate other people's property rights as I remove natural flow of oxygen, therefore I should not be allowed to cut off the forest?

Edited by Ivan Raszl
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I've read that environmental issues can be solved by privatising all available land and oceans. Therefore giving each area an owner who will protect because it's in his own interest. I think this may actually work. Presumably this is a good solution how can this be accomplished? How can we decide who gets what?

Also, in a related question. What if I own a huge piece of rain forest that gives air not just to me but many other property owners in the world and I decided to cut it all off because I want to spend the money. Does that mean I violate other people's property rights as I remove natural flow of oxygen, therefore I should not be allowed to cut off the forest?

Generally, ownership of land (which includes things like rivers and oceans) is based on the homesteading principle which is recognized in the courts as a basis of who has a just claim to get what and to prevent conflicts over scarce resources.

Basically, oceans and rivers should not be treated any differently than dry land in terms of legality. This would allow oceans to be developed and their resources to be harvested for productive use in the same way. Different plots could be marked off by electronic devices, nets could keep fish fenced in and bred to much more abundant levels, oil and other resources brought out of the ground by machines and tools. In other words, the oceans are in the same primitive state they have been in since the planet was in this form, much like the dry land was before humans developed it with capital goods and there is absolutely no reason why this should have be the case.

Violations of property rights generally stem from aggression onto someone else's property, not from removing your own property from their use. However, an argument could possibly be made depending on who has there using the oxygen first. This isn't really a good example because obviously if you cut off the rainforest, it's not like you will deprive anyone of oxygen. There's plenty of other trees in the world. How it could come to a point where your trees are the only ones left in existence is not really plausible, given that land areas are priced according to their use in satisfying urgent wants, if a demand for trees for oxygen production would arise, it would draw the attention of entrepreneurs long before your rainforest were the only one left on the planet. Then there's the fact that your rainforest would then be more profitable not to cut it down, therefore if it is premised on spending money, that doesn't really work. Then there's the whole not having oxygen for yourself wouldn't really allow you to spend money anyways.

But a better example would work with water. An argument could be made that if I am on a river or lake, and I use the flow to run my factory, and someone else buys the area upstream and builds a dam, I could possible sue for an easement or a minimum amount of flow. Since I was there first, it could be objectively proved that I had homesteaded a certain amount of the flow.

Here's some other threads that have some good stuff:

"THE ENVIRONMENT, Should waterways by privately owned?"

http://forum.ObjectivismOnline.com/index.php?showtopic=18028

"Ownership Of Waterways, Can it be done?"

http://forum.ObjectivismOnline.com/index.php?showtopic=4385

"Property Ownership, water, airspace, and the moon"

http://forum.ObjectivismOnline.com/index.php?showtopic=782

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Hello Ivan, and thank you for such an interesting question.

I'd like to first address your second question as it's a typical situation where big is blamed, and so the answer is (technically) easy:

Big Chunks of rainforest are already owned and exploitated, slowly erasing poverty in Northern Brazil, and creating legendary fortunes that are fueling the transformation of Brazil into a Developed Nation.

The atmosphere is like a one ocean, a disgusting soup where one has to suffer from the deeds of your neighbor. In this context something like Polder Socialism comes to mind but I don't agree in giving up:

One big factory might pollute less than 1000 malfunctioning stove.

The big Factory gets most the attention and 110% of the blame.

The Big Factory (or big Ranch, in the Amazon) might pollute, but can also be more easily identified as a polluter, and actions can be taken (most likely preemptively from the owners). The thousend incomplete combustion stoves (or small industries, or billions of individuals polluting in little impune anonymous ways) can't be solved or replaced definitely with one blow (like the current campaigns you might have seen) but they can be eliminated forever just by letting the people who use it come out from extreme poverty for good. Only one way to do that: allow more big factories.

On the other, more interesting question, I'd suggest you join us at Seasteading org.

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