Gentlemen, Start Your Chainsaws!
Doesn't the City of McAllen have better things to worry about than what private property owners do with their own stuff? Apparently not, because coming soon to a law book near you. . .the tree ordinance.
I can understand the pleas of the new ordinance's proponents. Yes, the older trees are beautiful and may be nostalgic for some people (unless it's a hackberry). My favorite arguments are the, "these trees have been here for a hundred years," and, "I grew up seeing that tree there." A hundered years is a drop in the ocean as time goes on this planet. Are we to be so bold as to claim that these trees need to be preserved forever. Hey hippie! You're going to die soon and so will that tree. Whether by natural causes or by the hand of man, the tree is a goner.
Is an ordinance really going to have the teeth to stop someone from clear cutting their land? Probably not. I think a big company could fork over the five hundred dollar fine many times over and chalk it up to the cost of doing business. Oh yeah, that gets passed on to the consumer.
Even though most businesses do it already, they might want to consider encouraging businesses and private home owners, whether or not they cut trees down, to plant more trees. That way in a hundred years or so when your great-grandchildren are hovercrafting down 10th Street, they can say, "look at those beautiful old trees," instead of, "when are they going to dig up that old dead piece of shit?"
I can understand the pleas of the new ordinance's proponents. Yes, the older trees are beautiful and may be nostalgic for some people (unless it's a hackberry). My favorite arguments are the, "these trees have been here for a hundred years," and, "I grew up seeing that tree there." A hundered years is a drop in the ocean as time goes on this planet. Are we to be so bold as to claim that these trees need to be preserved forever. Hey hippie! You're going to die soon and so will that tree. Whether by natural causes or by the hand of man, the tree is a goner.
Is an ordinance really going to have the teeth to stop someone from clear cutting their land? Probably not. I think a big company could fork over the five hundred dollar fine many times over and chalk it up to the cost of doing business. Oh yeah, that gets passed on to the consumer.
Even though most businesses do it already, they might want to consider encouraging businesses and private home owners, whether or not they cut trees down, to plant more trees. That way in a hundred years or so when your great-grandchildren are hovercrafting down 10th Street, they can say, "look at those beautiful old trees," instead of, "when are they going to dig up that old dead piece of shit?"
posted by Powerslave105 at 10:47 PM
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