Comments by "Nunya Bidness" (@nunyabidness3075) on "How Bad Planning Makes Wildfires Worse" video.
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This is a great example of why our country is sick of experts. Instead of giving a clean, objective education on the subject, the gentleman mixes in a lot of opinion and policy before the audience (voter) is ready. No one seems to be an actual scientist or educator anymore. They are all like teenagers who want to control the facts on which the decision should be made as to whether to buy them a fancy SUV. Seems to me, much of his description of the problem is contradicted by traveling through Europe which is certainly dense like he seems to think we should be, but which is built in areas he seems to think result in problems. I guess some of those thousand year old structures just got lucky?
Seems to me, much of the conclusions are also based on policy decisions and are decidedly statist. Planners should decide who builds what where, and of course, they will, and should, do so based on his proscription. The reality is they haven’t and never will. Even if a perfect and omniscient planner makes recommendations, it’s likely a corrupt and imperfect politician, an ambitious developer, and other people with career incentives will interfere. This country was built on a different plan, and maybe that ought to be reconsidered as new policy. If people want to build or buy in fire prone areas, let them. Perhaps we spend money on informing people, and then let fear of the consequences do the regulating?
After all, those California wildfires are also fueled by poor land management in public lands and on private property where fire prevention is poorly regulated. The virtually state run power companies are prevented from properly cutting around their lines. Leap frog development is enforced by allowing home owners and even renters to prevent anyone around them from developing and ruining their view, neighborhood character, or environment. They’d likely be better off with a quarter or less of their regulation.
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