2011 Meeting Items

Discussion List—December 1, 2011

Stossel and Property Rights—Tragedy of the Commons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3POtj1JsNE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSI80KxIzK8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKLTX4YsQBE&feature=related
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1294588828001/taking-parks-corporate/

1. The Real Thanksgiving Story—They starved under communalism, but prospered with property rights.
2. Native Americans Hampered by Welfare Programs--Terry Anderson (PERC)
3. Property Rights and Prosperity--Hernando De Soto
4. Taking Parks Corporate

SNR Company—Steve Neugebauer
Steve is a licensed geologist / hydro geologist / engineering geologist who tirelessly promotes real environmental science and property rights. He speaks regularly around the state at workshops, seminars and continuing education classes for CAPR and other organizations.
Steve's Presentation (7 MB pdf)--Critical Areas Myths and Facts
http://www.snrcompany.com/
http://www.snrcompany.com/

Ilana Mercer
ILANA Mercer is a classical liberal writer, based in the United States. She pens WorldNetDaily's longest-standing, exclusive libertarian column, "Return to Reason." ILANA is a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies. She is the author of "Into the Cannibal's Pot: Lessons For America From Post-Apartheid South Africa," available from Amazon.com (in Kindle and hardcopy), Barnes & Noble, and from the Publisher. "The titular tease," she explains in the book, "is meant as a metaphor and is inspired by Ayn Rand's wise counsel against prostrating civilization to savagery." ILANA's website is WWW.IlanaMercer.com. She blogs at www.barelyablog.com.

Discussion List—November 3, 2011

Campaign for Liberty
http://wacfl.com/

National Heritage Areas
http://www.nps.gov/history/heritageareas/

Heritage Foundation "backgrounder" on National Heritage Areas
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/10/national-heritage-areas-costly-economic-development-schemes-that-threaten-property-rights

Distributed Sewage Treatment
http://cascadiagbc.org/resources/research
http://cascadiagbc.org/resources/research-2/clean%20water%2C%20healthy%20sound
http://netseptic.com/

1. Distributed Sewage Treatment is a "Game Changer" for property development.

Property Friendly Candidates Needed
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/26/should-tea-partiers-recruit-vet-and-train-candidates-hint-they-already-are
http://enterprisewashington.org/

1. Other groups are recruiting candidates.
2. We need to recruit candidates for local office.
3. Please step forward and run for office... any office.

Discussion List—October 6, 2011

Kelo Property now a dump
http://biggovernment.com/bgarst/2011/09/03/years-later-land-seized-in-kelo-decision-used-for-debris-dump/

1. Following hurricane Irene, the city designated the site as a place to dump storm debris.

Eminent Domain: The Movie
http://www.ij.org/about/4023

1. Brooke Shields to Star as Susette Kelo In Lifetime Television Movie "Little Pink House"
2. Will move into production this fall, slated for release sometime next year on the Lifetime cable station.

Seattle Times--We're conserving, but water rates may climb
http://www.proprights.org/KING/images/WaterConservation.PNG
http://www.proprights.org/KING/images/WaterConservation_2.PNG
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016189719_water13m.html

1. Because rate-payers are conserving so well, SPU is losing revenue.
2. The council might increase rates to make up the difference.
3. Seattle's per-gallon rates are high compared with other large cities.
4. However, the customers pay in the midrange nationally, because they use less water.
5. Seattle levies a 15.5 percent utility tax, which goes to the general fund, not the utility.
6. (How do you think people will respond to a rate increase?)

Democrats Against U.N. Agenda 21
http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/

The Post Sustainability Institute
http://www.postsustainabilityinstitute.org/

Discussion List—September 1, 2011

Lattin's Country Cider Mill and Farm
http://www.lattinscider.com/index.html

1. Told by Thurston County they could only have one employee per acre.
2. Has STOP Signs on their property.
3. Sells award-winning cider and jams. Also, apple-fed farm-raised beef, pork.
4. Please patronize their farm when you are in Thurston County.

Florida Growth Management Repeal
http://www.dca.state.fl.us/
http://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2011/html/2156BC
http://capitolcomments.blogs.heraldtribune.com/10566/growth-management-law-repealed/

1. In May 2011, the Legislature repealed most of Florida's 1985 Growth Management Act
2. Ends almost all state reviews of development, leaving the decisions entirely up to local officials.
3. Heralded as a boost for economic development.
4. Democrats said the legislation rolls back 26 years of environmental protections.
5. Gutted the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA)--Growth Management

Social Media Revolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SuNx0UrnEo&feature=related (2.5 min video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzZyUaQvpdc&feature=related (4.5 min video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bveXo-BZrJQ&feature=related (5 min video)

1. 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations
2. Only 14% trust advertisements
3. Estimated for 2012--$6 Billion in virtual goods purchased by gamers.
4. Only $2.5 Billion in real goods purchased by movie-goers.

Discussion List—August 4, 2011

The Sacketts: Last Chance For Justice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px0y4Y-ka2A (1.5 min video)
http://www.pacificlegal.org/page.aspx?pid=1619 (1.5 min video)

1. On June 28th the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear the Sackett v. EPA case.
2. The Sacketts wanted to build a home on their half-acre lot in Priest Lake, Idaho.
3. Their parcel is in a residential area, with sewer and water hookups and they obtained the necessary local permits to build. However, without notice or hearings the EPA announced their property is a "wetlands" and ordered them to restore their land to the EPA's conditions, or face extreme fines.
4. The Sacketts hired a soil expert and a biologist, and got a certification that their parcel is not a wetland.
5. The EPA - and the Ninth Circuit - said they can't challenge the agency in court!
6. Instead, they would first have to seek a "permit" costing over $200K (more than the value of the land!) and bring a legal case when the permit was denied. Or they could violate EPA's orders and face penalties of more than $32K per day, then seek court review.
7. Either way, a courtroom remedy is not allowed, unless they pay massive fees or fines!
8. So the issue before the Supreme Court is: Can EPA take people's property, simply by declaring it "wetlands," without having to justify their actions? Or do Americans still have the right to defend themselves and their property rights, in court?
9. The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is arguing this case to the Supreme Court.

Declining Residential Water Usage
http://downloads.vertmarkets.com/files/downloads/cd87a016-92cc-4337-b2e6-ae396d9930c6/declining_residential_water_usage_final.pdf

1. Water usage is declining in households across the U.S., a trend that is expected to continue for the next 15 years or even more.
2. A 2010 study by the Water Research Foundation tracked trends in household water use in North America over the past 30 years.
3. A household in 2008 used 11,678 gallons less water annually than an identical household in 1978. (A 13% decline.)
4. The drop is thought to be due to the increased use of water-efficient appliances, a decrease in the number of occupants per household, a growing conservation ethic among consumers, and conservation programs implemented by utilities and other entities. Also, price elasticity. (See Wikipedia Price Elasticity of Demand )

From Seawater To Fresh Water With A Nanotechnology Filter
http://www.wateronline.com/article.mvc/From-Seawater-To-Fresh-Water-With-A-0001

1. New research reveals that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could play an important future role in the desalination of seawater, providing fresh drinking water from the oceans.
2. Existing technology already exists for desalination, but it requires a lot of energy. Using CNTs could reduce cost and energy consumption by 20 to 1.

WPC Environmental Policy Conference--2011

1. http://tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2011070028A -- (55 Minutes) Opening Remarks
   Daniel Mead Smith and Todd Meyers
2. http://tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2011070028B -- (73 Minutes) Panel One 
   Panel One - The Role of Science in Environmental Policymaking (includes Norm Macleod)
3. http://tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2011070028C -- (79 Minutes) Panel Two 
   Environmental Priorities for Water Policy -- Puget Sound Partnership
4. http://tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2011070028D -- (56 Minutes) Keynote Address 
   Dr. Patrick Moore, founding member of Greenpeace and author of "Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout"

Fred Kelly Grant--To the Tenth Power and Strategies for Improving Local Economy
http://trademarkamerica.org/30.html August 12th - 13th at the Tukwila Doubletree
http://trademarkamerica.org/tinc?key=XCg62URC&formname=Register August 12th - 13th at the Tukwila Doubletree

Freedom On Fire
http://freedomonfire.org/ August 20th at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

Discussion List—July 7, 2011

Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo

1. Clever visualization of world statistics.
2. No more boring data.
3. Shows wealth and health over time.

Gap Minder World
http://www.gapminder.org/

1. Select Gapminder World.
2. Compare fertility rate to income per person.

National Association of Reversionary Property Owners (NARPO)
Richard Welsh, Executive Director
http://home.earthlink.net/~dick156/

King County Ombudsman 
David Spohr—King County Senior Deputy Ombudsman
http://www.kingcounty.gov/operations/Ombudsman.aspx

Discussion List—June 2, 2011

The Matrix: Agent Smith Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOi6v5DD_1M

1. Classified Humans as a virus.
2. What type of society was he talking about?
3. A hunter/gatherer society—food is obtained from wild plants and animals. People largely depend on nature as they find it. This is truly an "unsustainable" model for society.
4. This needs to be contrasted with an agricultural society, where people depend on ranching and farming, and commerce for their food.
5. What is the key principle needed to change a hunter/gatherer society into an agricultural society?
6. Property rights--ownership.

Jared Diamond—Guns, Germs and Steel Part 1 of 18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgnmT-Y_rGQ

1. Diamond was a biologist who was studying birds in Papua New Guinea.
2. He spend 30 years answering this question:
   "Why you white men have so much cargo and we New Guineans have so little?"
3. The result was his book Guns, Germs and Steel

Hernando De Soto Polar
http://www.thepowerofthepoor.com/

1. Peruvian economist—president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD), Peru.
2. Known for his work on the informal economy and the importance of property rights.
3. Raised by his parents in both Peru and Switzerland
4. Spent years studying why these 2 countries are so different.

Julian Simon vs. Paul Erlich
http://www.perc.org/articles/article588.php

1. The year 1980 was a time when many people thought that the earth was running out of its precious natural resources. Julian Simon, an economist (who died in 1998), contended that human ingenuity would always come up with substitutes if needed. Thus humanity would never run out of key materials. In contrast, Ehrlich, a neo-Malthusian biologist, contended that overpopulation and excessive consumption were already forcing shortages of key materials and that this trend would continue.
2. Simon and Ehrlich agreed that rising prices would be a sign that raw materials had become scarce. Simon offered to bet that any raw materials selected in one year would be lower in price ten years hence. Convinced that prices would go up over the next decade, Ehrlich and two colleagues responded to Simon's offer.
3. So, in October 1980 Ehrlich and his colleagues picked five different metals (chrome, copper, nickel, tin, and tungsten), spending $200 on each metal. The total investment was worth $1,000 in 1980 prices. If, in October 1990, the value of the five metals at their original 1980 quantities, adjusted for inflation, turned out to be greater than $1,000, then Ehrlich would win the bet. If the value were less, Simon would win the bet. Whoever lost would be required to send a check to the winner equal to the difference in value.1
4. In October 1990, the price of the basket of metals had fallen substantially below its 1980 level. All the metals had experienced a drop in value. Moreover, the drop was so substantial that Simon would have won even if the values hadn't been adjusted for inflation. Ehrlich and his associates sent Simon a check for $576.07 (Tierney 1990, 81).
5. So one possible lesson of this is that natural scientists should confer with economists before making predictions about the future based on their own interpretations of the past... Such as Diamond and De Soto.