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Personal Property Rights? When The Planet Is At Stake???

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  1. norcaljeff norcaljeff is offline 2010 OT Thread Kill Leader

    San Francisco, CA
    United States

    Posts: 36,709
    Joined: Sep 07

    Feb 29th, 2008 (2/29/2008 3:26pm)

    did they put in towering redwoods after the guy put his solar panels up?

    SUNNYVALE, California (AP) -- In an environmental dispute seemingly scripted for eco-friendly California, a man asked prosecutors to file charges against his neighbors because their towering redwoods blocked sunlight to his backyard solar panels.

    Mark Vargas shows the solar panels on his home that get blocked by his neighbors trees in Santa Clara, California.



    But the couple next door insisted they should not have to chop down the trees to accommodate Mark Vargas' energy demands because they planted the redwoods before he installed the solar panels in 2001.

    Experts say such clashes could become more common as California promotes renewable energy and solar systems become more popular.

    "Five or ten years ago, you wouldn't have seen this case because there weren't that many systems around," said Frank Schiavo, a retired environmental-studies professor at San Jose State University. "I can almost guarantee there are going to be more conflicts."

    After more than six years of legal wrangling, a judge recently ordered Richard Treanor and his wife, Carolyn Bissett, to cut down two of their eight redwoods, citing an obscure state law that protects a homeowner's right to sunlight.

    The couple does not plan to appeal the ruling because they can no longer afford the legal expenses, but they plan to lobby state lawmakers to change or scrap the law.

    The Solar Shade Control Act means that homeowners can "suddenly become a criminal the day a tree grows big enough to shade a solar panel," Treanor said.

    The case marks the first time a homeowner has been convicted of violating the law, which was enacted three decades ago, when few homeowners had solar systems.

    The law requires homeowners to keep their trees or shrubs from shading more than 10 percent of a neighbor's solar panels between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun is strongest. Existing trees that cast shadows when the panels are installed are exempt, but new growth is subject to the law.

    Residents can be fined up to $1,000 a day for violations, though the judge did not impose any fines against the Treanors.

    Vargas says the law protects his $70,000 investment in solar power, and he believes it should be strengthened.

    "I think it's unfair that a neighbor can take away this source of energy from another neighbor," he said.

    Treanor, a retired engineer, said he and his wife are not against solar power, "but we think there's a rational way to implement it."

    Solar power is growing rapidly in California, which is by far the nation's biggest generator of solar energy. In 2007, more than 30,000 California homes and businesses had rooftop solar panels, with the capacity to generate 400 megawatts of electricity.

    That's as much as eight power plants, according to the nonprofit Environment California.

    The boom is being fueled by the California Solar Initiative, which offers homeowners and businesses more than $3 billion in rebates over the next decade to install solar-electric systems.

    Both sides say they want to do what's best for the environment.

    Treanor and Bissett, who drive a hybrid Toyota Prius, argue that trees absorb carbon dioxide, cool the surrounding air and provide a habitat for wildlife.

    Vargas, who recently bought a plug-in electric car, counters it would take two or three acres of trees to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as much as the solar panels that cover his roof and backyard trellis.

    Bernadette Del Chiaro, clean energy advocate for Environment California, says the solar shade law might need to be revised to prevent similar disputes.

    "We want to make sure we are protecting individuals who have invested a lot of money in solar power, which is an important resource for the state," she said. But lawmakers might want to "take a look at the policy and make sure it's written in a way that's fair to everybody."<SPAN class=cnnEmbeddedMosLnk> E-mail to a friend </SPAN>

    Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
  2. skeeze666 skeeze666 is offline

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    Feb 29th, 2008 (2/29/2008 3:45pm) in reply to norcaljeff

    The Ghey
  3. Mr. Smith Mr. Smith is offline

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    Feb 29th, 2008 (2/29/2008 3:46pm) in reply to norcaljeff

  4. No_Dice52 No_Dice52 is offline

    Bakersfield, CA
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    Feb 29th, 2008 (2/29/2008 3:48pm) in reply to skeeze666

    oh god.... sad thing is my family lives in santa clara and i lived there for 21 years of my life too... damn tree huggers
  5. dolphin13 dolphin13 is offline OT Vice MVP

    Chicago, IL
    United States

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    Feb 29th, 2008 (2/29/2008 3:48pm) in reply to Mr. Smith

    Just wait till I get my sun blocker up. all you bishes will pay me for power. bwahahahahahaha
  6. tekiller tekiller is online now

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    Feb 29th, 2008 (2/29/2008 3:49pm) in reply to norcaljeff

    the dudes an idiot and should have considered this before installing them by moving them to a place where he could get enough light
  7. Quantum Quantum is offline

    Bend, OR
    United States

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    Feb 29th, 2008 (2/29/2008 3:56pm) in reply to norcaljeff

    I think it's dope that the state of california is giving people good reasons to investin solar power, but that obviously needs to be revised to make sure it's fair and doesn't allow people to just get their neigbors to cut trees down wherever they feel like throwing a solar panel.

    The dude in the story needs to stick that thing on a higer roof. Problem solved imo.
  8. El Burro El Burro is offline

    Dallas, TX
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    Feb 29th, 2008 (2/29/2008 4:09pm) in reply to norcaljeff

    lol @ trees and solar power and laws and Santa Clara and The Associated Press
  9. fetaman fetaman is offline

    Holy See (Vatican City State)

    Posts: 3,259
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    Feb 29th, 2008 (2/29/2008 5:17pm) in reply to El Burro

    Speaking of panels, Sunbishe 2000 has just put out these high efficiency, environmentaly friendly panels, that apparantly have solved all energy problems.

    Handling with care, combined with exothermic reactions harnessed through heat recover generators, means kinetic motion, wave theory and sound all combine to provide enough power to keep anyone happy when the sun goes down.

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