Jonathan H. Adler
The Washington Times
September 3, 1995
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Quite a different view is contained in Property Rights in the Defence of Nature by Elizabeth Brubaker (Earthscan, $12.95 paper, 328 pages). This book argues, quite forcefully, that owning nature is the best hope for true environmental protection. Ownership doesn’t only facilitate stewardship, Ms. Brubaker argues, it encourages it. And common law protections against trespass, nuisance and the like secure those rights. Ms. Brubaker includes three appendices summarizing illustrative court cases.
The author is executive director of Environment Probe, a Canadian environmental outfit affiliated with the Energy Probe Research Foundation. Her embrace of property rights is the result of her experience in the field, where she has learned the value that ordinary citizens place on their land, water and other resources and their roles as environmental stewards. A Canadian import, this book may be hard to find in the Washington area, but it is worth a search for those truly interested in alternative approaches to environmental protection.
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Environment Probe 