Wyoming made it illegal for concerned citizens to document pollution

www.zmescience.com...

A group of NGOs has filled a lawsuit in federal court against a ridiculously controversial law which makes it illegal for any citizen to take samples or photograph open lands in public or private property. As such, a person who isn’t acting under governmental approval – say a concerned citizen – can’t take samples from a contaminated river, photograph it or collect any meaningful evidence in these lines for the purpose of alerting the authorities.

The law in question is called the Senate File 12 or the Data Trespass Law. The wording makes the law even more dubious and suspiciously one sided, since it suggests it’s ok if you collect data from from private or open land (crops, grazing grounds, delta, river estuaries etc.), but it’s not ok if you share that data with the state or federal government.

Is this evidence of the complete take over by the state and corporations. If this bill passes the citizens are SOL. Frack away....

Laws against trespassing are already on the books...this is something else.

a reply to: olaru12

Wyoming is a cattle ranch state. Many places on the Western frontier are right to ranch and right to farm lands. They have also adopted the code of the West. The residents know it. It is not all that glorious a state, as far as city dwellers are concerned. They have the right to keep their primary industry undisturbed by environmentalists. If you are that concerned and want city type regulation, move there. Wyoming is full of cowboys, and we know how much they are loved by the modernists.
10 Ethics of the West was adopted in 2010. That at least shows there support for it.

Here is another code of the west code. It's a bit more specific.
El Paso County, Co code of the west

a reply to: olaru12

that is so messed up, I couldn't imagine there not being a huge outcry from the public if that law gets passed...

a reply to: olaru12

Citizens have been being arrested for years for taking pictures LEGALLY for years! Hasn't been much of an outcry, so I don't seem to want to be excited about environmentalists being arrested for taking pictures.

Freedom seems to only be an issue when it only affects a certain persons belief! Stick up for all or flounder under tyranny! Tired of outrage when it only affects a certain group! We should have been outraged about people taking pictures and being arrested YEARS AGO!

a reply to: olaru12

Laws against trespassing are already on the books…this is something else.

Not really. Denyng access to "Public Lands" so the corporate heads of state can rape it.

Been going on for a while. The "Forestry Service" for instance, is now under the Dept. of Agriculture… everything that grows in the forest is "product".



Mineral rights have always been on the books, allowing mining, whatever, regardless who owns the land. Then theres "Eminent Domain" another Euphemism, i.e., give it up or we'll just take it. Bureau of Land Management, Army Corp of Engineers, FEMA, you name it. Thought you had rights to something, yah you have the right to shut up and go away.

One day they'll just have to shut down the whole internet to keep people hearing from whistle blowers about the rape and pillage of the natural world. Here and abroad.

a reply to: harvestdog

I smell a cowspiracy

Methane (CH4) is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the United States from human activities. In 2013, CH4 accounted for about 10% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Methane is emitted by natural sources such as wetlands, as well as human activities such as leakage from natural gas systems and the raising of livestock. source

I like how "city dweller" and "ranchers" are two seperate classes of people and in reality they are.

The average person could never hope to amass the funds to operate a farm or ranch and many of these establishments are long standing operating on huge swaths of land and passed down to other members of the same family.

These lands are secluded by nature and often off limits to anyone but the land owner. When the Shepards away the sheep the do play so with little to no oversite it leave room for gross incompetence as far as the land is concerned.

I could care less if they are as old school as a cave man, or how big their truck is or the colour of their Stetson hat. If the practices are destroying the land you all call home and it's forbidden to even document the damage something is off. I personally don't don't like tradition or doing something "jus cuz it's how pops done did it" Giving people to much power is never a good thing even when it pertains to their own land.

If some rancher is over using fertilizer and its screwing up local watershed he should be held 100% accountable and public should be able to document this and anything they see fit to document for that matter as often as they wish to do so.




a reply to: harvestdog

originally posted by: TheAmazingYeti
a reply to: harvestdog

I smell a cowspiracy

Methane (CH4) is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the United States from human activities. In 2013, CH4 accounted for about 10% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Methane is emitted by natural sources such as wetlands, as well as human activities such as leakage from natural gas systems and the raising of livestock. source

That's a dairy cow. Since we are talking Wyoming a black angus / lowline would be much more accurate.

originally posted by: charolais

originally posted by: TheAmazingYeti
a reply to: harvestdog

I smell a cowspiracy

Methane (CH4) is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the United States from human activities. In 2013, CH4 accounted for about 10% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Methane is emitted by natural sources such as wetlands, as well as human activities such as leakage from natural gas systems and the raising of livestock. source

That's a dairy cow. Since we are talking Wyoming a black angus / lowline would be much more accurate.

Ah okay. Thanks for the specific info.

a reply to: TheAmazingYeti

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have not heard of that "documentary". I will have to see what that professional "actor" has produced.
I have long heard that methane is a greater greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. I have heard of environmentalists targeting the cow ranching industry. What they may not understand is that this is people's livelihood. In Wyoming you ranch or leave for college and never come back. Cliven Bundy was one rancher and he stood down BLM. There are MANY Cliven Bundy ranchers out there! There are laws on the books, in right to ranch/farm states, that say it is the responsibility of the owner of the property to fence off. A rancher has a right to graze his herd. If they are on your land, you have to prevent it yourself by fencing off your property.

You can't kill cattle ranching without killing Wyoming. And this is what Environmentalists want I guess.

It was Dick Cheney's declared home state when he was nominated vice president (even though he really lived in Texas like Bush the lesser).

So there being a lot of cow excrement is an understatement.

Been to Wyoming a couple of times. Barren place. First and only time I have ever had to pull over on a highway to urinate for lack of gas stations.

There is something wrong with the General Consensus in Wyoming. Scott Walker? Wake Up Cowboys.

a reply to: ugmold
Scott Walker is Governor of Wisconsin, not Wyoming.
And there is nothing wrong with Wyoming being a cowboy state.
Environmentalists want to shut down the cattle industry.
Not gonna happen.

originally posted by: harvestdog
a reply to: ugmold
Scott Walker is Governor of Wisconsin, not Wyoming.
And there is nothing wrong with Wyoming being a cowboy state.
Environmentalists want to shut down the cattle industry.
Not gonna happen.

Ooops, thanks for clearing that up, I apologize for the Walker Insult. And he is an insult.

The great misconception that Wyoming keeps feeding the rest of the nation is that it is an agricultural state. While it does produce a large amount of sheep and cattle industry, it doesn't compare to many other western states, such as Nevada for sheep, Colorado/Montana for cattle. The arid and temperate climate of the high desert doesn't produce long enough growing seasons leaving beets, some corn, some wheat as some of the only crops grown.

What this bill on the other hand does is somewhat set up protections for the industries that prop this state up, and that is the coal (largest in nation), trona (largest reserves in the world, baking soda, deterrgent), and other industries that pump billions of dollars annually into the states' coffers.

While perusing the net I did find this article from a few years ago. I believe this was about the same time that there was the Ozone problem approximately 100 miles north.

Anyways, interesting to hear what Wyoming officials are thinking. I wonder if this also might be in response before the EPA hands down the decision on Sage Grouse listing. That decision could have quite a negative impact on Wyoming's, as well as every other western states revenue generation. The sage grouse habitat covers quite a bit of the western region, and this bill might be a roundabout way to still be able to explore the natural resources in Wyoming.

This might be a somewhat proactive approach. Just thinking from a different angle.

Funny the source doesn't mention that it also makes it illegal for government agencies to trespass in the same manner too.
... so it's not just against NGO.

And it's not even a law yet.

This is what Republicans give you- tyranny, taking away your freedom to enrich business under the false guise of "liberty".