"The sea, as well as the air, is a free and common thing to all; and a particular nation cannot pretend to have the right to the exclusion of all others, without violating the rights of nature and public usage."
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Show this quote to the EPA and I'm sure they'll laugh at you.
 -- Anon     
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    Why is the sea and the air any different than property above which is to be held tenaciously? Why does not all property have the rights of nature and public usage? Does Elizabeth contradict the other guys above?
     -- Waffler, Smith     
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    Waff, you are truly nuts or else you are just putting us all on. I would hope that my home and my two rather old cars are not for public usage. Carl Marx would be proud of you.
     -- jim k, Austin     
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    Waffler, all property does not have the rights of nature (as a stand alone concept it is nonsensical). Rights are a distinguishment of life. A Right(s) is an eternally omnipresent warrant that lawfully enables inalienable and laissez-faire affairs, interests, issues, matters, etc. You are attempting to distinguish natural law's association to land, air and sea. Rights of nature, as expressed by the quote, is a statement referencing life's lawful activities and such's relationship to nature. Man can sustain life on non-moving earth (it can be recognized, defined and individually owned - not infringing on anyone-else's rights). You're question also displays a difference between static space and the item that fills that space.
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    Because the sea and air are the last vestiges of universal rights - lets keep it that way. Well done Lizzy - considering you ruled the waves, not bad.
     -- RBESRQ     
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    I did not take a position I posed a question! All the knee jerkers who are set in their ways and non-thinking go ditzzy over someone posing a thought provoking question. Mike who is all for allodial onership of land (which of course does not exist in the United States of America) would seem to also favor allodial rights to water and air or at least to air space and water space. Of couse in the modern world nations due exercise property rights over their air space and of the water space extending out so and so far from their land mass. More after I reread the first two quotes.
     -- Waffler, Smith     
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    If a people can be tenacious of land (allodial rights as Mike would propose) why should he not be tenacious of air space and sea space, and outer space etcetera, etcetera.? Now my view is that he cannot be absolutely entitled to any property and in fact he is not entitled for perpetuity since he does not live in perpetuity. If individual life is limited then of course individual ownership is limited. Alodial ownership is BS either of land, sea or air.
     -- Waffler, Smith     
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    That was a long long long time ago...I just received a letter from one of our senators supporting so many 3 lettered groups that our taxes will pay for I thought at first he had sent me something for Jay Leno's opening night.
     -- aa, hb     
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