: : Yeah, the Georges Bank fisheries is a good example of government mismanagement. There is no reason in the world for private fisherman to conserve what they do not own. There is only one priority; get the most fish out of the fishing grounds before your competitors do.
: : Turn it over to private corporations, let them hire security to protect their investment and watch the resources increase instead of decrease.
: : There is no reason not to believe that the same thing couldn't happen in other industries. :
: This is the way the theory goes but if you look here you'll see that that's not the way it works. The ranchers destroying the rain forest for grazing land for beef do not protect what they own, they use it up and buy more. This is one of the major problems facing the world and its future, and capitalism (private ownership of land) is what is causing it.
Yes, that "404 Not Found" error was very instructive. :)
Anyway, with some digging, I found the page you were referring to here.
I assume you were citing the 3rd point on the page, "Reduce Your Beef Consumption" which claims that "In both 1993 and 1994 the U.S. imported over 200 million pounds of fresh and frozen beef from Central American countries." I have no doubt that this is true but what you would need to actually support your argument is evidence that these rain forests are actually owned by the companies which are levelling them. I'll be pretty surprised when you tell me that Central American governments have been selling FULL private property rights in the rain forests to American corporations. Is this true?
If it is true, I am prepared to argue that levelling the rain forests for beef production is more valuable than keeping them for some other purpose. (That would be self-evident in a free market.) But, until I know the facts, I can't really respond. Please point me towards the facts.
