Many environmental laws and regulations have missed their objective of providing protection for the environment. They are implemented to stop the damage caused by a few, but are also penalizing many more that have been doing the right thing. Many find that they are precluded from doing the right thing because they don’t have or are not willing to forgo the time, money and effort required to obtain the required permission or permits.
Environmental protective laws are written along with the penalties for violating them, but none of them instill or encourage responsible stewardship. They attempt to stop us from doing the wrong thing but unintentionally also stop us from doing the right thing.
Regardless of our title, ethnic, religious or economic background, and for the sake of future generations, we all need to be responsible stewards. By being a responsible steward, many of our environmental and social issues will be resolved.
Dan Bartelheimer
Snohomish County Farm Bureau
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