Image 01 Image 03

Then they came for Southern California’s beach fire pits

Then they came for Southern California’s beach fire pits

At College Insurrection, I recently covered a West Virginia professor who ranted that his state was a “national laughingstock” while deeming NRA members traitors.

The presumption!

California is the nation’s laughingstock!

And to prove my point, here is a story about one of  our most powerful bureaucratic bodies prohibiting a classic Californian summer tradition. Lorraine Yapps Cohen of the San Diego Examiner reports:

Southern California beachgoers will soon say goodbye to their beloved fire pits. Yes, California is now about to ban fire.

Washington Times reports that South Coast Air Quality Management District will soon decide whether fire is bad enough for the environment that beach fire pits should be banned. The decision will require the removal of fire pits from Los Angeles and Orange County beaches.

As if considering such a ban were not enough, the Air Quality agency arranged an analysis of pit fire particulates. The beloved barbecues are said to emit as much particulate matter as a diesel truck does in 564 miles.

Such “arranged analyses” fly in the face of scientific studies that say otherwise. Dr. James Enstrom showed that the risk to human health from diesel exhaust is seriously overstated. Letting that diesel truck travel a mere 564 miles—the equivalent of an evening pit fire barbecue —lowers the risk to negligible, if any at all.

I just reported that our politicos are complaining because Texas Governor Rick Perry is poaching business from this state. It seems that another governor is looking to raid even more enterprises.

Florida may post billboards in California in a bid to convince businesses there to relocate here.

Gov. Rick Scott, a former CEO, sees California and other states as competitors, much as he saw other businesses when he was in the corporate world. His goal now, he said, is to lure business from other states to the Sunshine State.

His top target: the Golden State and balding California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat.

“I’m working on putting up a billboard out there that has Jerry Brown’s picture and mine. We both have the same haircut,” said the similarly hair-challenged Scott at a Republican Party meeting in Sarasota County last week. “It’s going to say: ‘Same haircut, no income taxes. No. 1 in teacher quality. Move to Florida.'”

If Scott’s team were smart, the billboards would be posted by beaches and picture a family gathered around a roaring fire in a pit. The thought of having a regular life with traditional American activities would be a tempting lure.

DONATE

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.

Comments

Perhaps Calif now stands for “Come And Live In Florida”?

I hate to bust up a good meme. Fact is many Florida municipals already ban the building of fires on the beaches, have for decades due to liability issues. Florida born and raised.

    TrooperJohnSmith in reply to Sally Paradise. | June 4, 2013 at 4:17 pm

    So, why doesn’t Cali just ban wildfires, earthquakes and mudslides? Then, they can blame Republicans, the Tea Party and “deniers” when the Golden State continues to burn, shake and slide.

So, what do they do with the drift-wood we used to burn when I was a kid on the beach?

Land-fill…???

    snopercod in reply to Ragspierre. | June 4, 2013 at 10:00 am

    No, no, NO! That driftwood is “known to the State of California to be carcinogenic” and must be handled as toxic waste. If you find some on the beach, you must call 911 immediately and ask for a HazMat unit!

We like people to come to Florida…but not if you are going to bring that whole Liberal Californian thing here.

If that’s the case…STAY AWAY from my State. We have enough trouble with South Florida Liberalism that gave us Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

You can bet that the mega-mansions of the Hollywood and IP elites won’t be banned — with their Al Gore/Tom Friedman like carbon footprints and their multiple fireplaces.

Nor will Barbra Streisand and her ilk be banned from having fire pits on their private beaches.

The stupidity of the rank-and-file working stiff Democrats who go along with this elitist, conservationist religion is the saddest thing of all.

Noblesse Oblige | June 4, 2013 at 10:50 am

It’s all relative. When the California legislature is preoccupied with silly stuff like this, they do less damage than they would otherwise. What CA needs (among many things) is a part time legislature.

    Ragspierre in reply to Noblesse Oblige. | June 4, 2013 at 11:08 am

    “…[the] South Coast Air Quality Management District will soon decide whether fire is bad enough…”

    So, no joy there. Regulatory agency action.

      TrooperJohnSmith in reply to Ragspierre. | June 4, 2013 at 4:21 pm

      Had Neanderthal man lived in California of today, he’d have frozen to death, as the Californicating Democrats in Sacramento would’ve blamed that new invention called ‘fire’ for the melting glaciers and ice sheets.

Henry Hawkins | June 4, 2013 at 11:07 am

Many of us will have noticed how so many products we buy have special applicable-only-in-California warning labels. Must be a regulatory nightmare in CA. It’s a pity because no where in America do you find beaches, mountains, and forests. Only in California.

ufo destroyers | June 4, 2013 at 11:18 am

Sooooo, have they banned the annual burning of 10 to 50,000 acres of wilderness area in Los Angeles County? A fire pit is probably the equivalent of spitting in the ocean compared to the wildfires burning now.

Here’s a picture of the South Coast Air Quality Management District spokesman regarding the fire pits. http://morethings.com/fan/saturday_night_live/phil_hartman/losing_it0.jpg

Good luck getting the beach bums to comply. Enforcement will be a big bill.

I am a semi-truck driver.

I can safely say they just confirmed fire pits can be used for eternity

This is because a modern semi-truck (thanks to California and Obama) recieves dirtier air at the front than what it puts out the pipe.

Yes we clean the air, only costs $50,000 more upfront and about $800-$1000 a month for us to do this for you. Rest easy for surely they will not taint that side of the issue as well right?

“As if considering such a ban were not enough, the Air Quality agency arranged an analysis of pit fire particulates. The beloved barbecues are said to emit as much particulate matter as a diesel truck does in 564 miles.”

How many diesel trucks in a 24 hour period make a 564 mile trip along I-5 in California? The thing about the fire pit statement is that it doesn’t quantify the emission over time. Are they saying that all of the fire pits in California emit as much particulate matter as one truck making that trip? Is it just one fire pit? If it is one fire pit, is that over the course of a year? A day? An hour?

But in any case, there are thousands of trucks making 564 mile trips every day. Are we sure that removing the equivalent of one of them is really worth the cost in loss of enjoyment of our time outdoors?

California did have a part time legislature once. Thank Big Daddy Jess Unruh for the current situation. What I think we need is no legislature or governor. The state would run better by itself.