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This has been a problem in Malibu, California for some time now. The issue there is that controlled burns are necessary, but there is chronic NIMBYism due to th

by gdubs 11y ago

This has been a problem in Malibu, California for some time now. The issue there is that controlled burns are necessary, but there is chronic NIMBYism due to the fact that the controlled burns result in a charred, ugly landscape. [1] If I recall correctly, California was actually on fire when the first settlers sailed up along the coast. The native population used to burn the coast annually. It's a tremendous cost (both financial, and the lives of firefighters lost) to support housing development in an area that's not really suited for it. 1: http://www.amazon.com/Ecology-Fear-Angeles-Imagination-Disaster/dp/0375706070/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 http://www.amazon.com/Ecology-Fear-Angeles-Imagination-Disas...

kuschku 11y ago
> It's a tremendous cost to support housing development in an area that's not really suited for it. Be it deserts, be it wildfires, be it floods – this is a huge issue, and just continuing to fight against nature is not easy. Well, unless you are the dutch, but they can only keep their cities safe of floods because they keep floodplains for the rivers.
- bjelkeman-again 11y ago
  And they are deeply committed to their flood defence infrastructure. They even have a democratically elected regional government dealing only with this. [1] They are also moving houses out of the flood plain to make it work. The culture in the U.S. Would make that really hard I think. Lots to read about it here. http://www.dutchwatersector.com http://www.dutchwatersector.com [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_board#Netherlands https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_board#Netherlands
tomjen3 11y ago
The earth isn't suitable for human habitation. We spent unimaginable amounts of lives and created tons of suffering to create the world we now inhabited. It seems, to me, odd to say enough is enough when a few houses are in danger of burning out.

by gdubs 11y ago

kuschku 11y ago

> It's a tremendous cost to support housing development in an area that's not really suited for it. Be it deserts, be it wildfires, be it floods – this is a huge issue, and just continuing to fight against nature is not easy. Well, unless you are the dutch, but they can only keep their cities safe of floods because they keep floodplains for the rivers.

bjelkeman-again 11y ago
And they are deeply committed to their flood defence infrastructure. They even have a democratically elected regional government dealing only with this. [1] They are also moving houses out of the flood plain to make it work. The culture in the U.S. Would make that really hard I think. Lots to read about it here. http://www.dutchwatersector.com http://www.dutchwatersector.com [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_board#Netherlands https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_board#Netherlands

tomjen3 11y ago

The earth isn't suitable for human habitation. We spent unimaginable amounts of lives and created tons of suffering to create the world we now inhabited. It seems, to me, odd to say enough is enough when a few houses are in danger of burning out.