[extropy-chat] FWD [PvT] Terraforming Earth

[Technotranscendence]

On Friday, February 13, 2004 5:05 PM Mike Lorrey mlorrey at yahoo.com
wrote:
>> ObLibertarian: If you have private landownership
>> of these large forests, how do you prevent people
>> from making a rational economic decision to cut
>> them down with out regulations or financial
>> incentives?
>
> The stripped value of the land is the financial
> disincentive against deforestation. Virtually all
> deforestation occurs on public lands that are
> leased by industry. Leasing eliminates long
> term stewardship and negative price signalling
> one deals with when one owns the land and has
> to figure in future resale value.

That's a lot of it and also the governments often build the roads and
provide other services to timber companies on public lands.  Typically,
these reduce costs a lot by passing them on to the taxpayer at large.
In a completely privatized system, the owners would have to pay for the
roads, etc.  So they would experience higher costs for extracting
timber.

Later!

Dan
http://uweb.superlink.net/neptune/