Some may think these are “only in America” stories, but laws and guidelines making some aspects of going green challenging exist in many countries that consider themselves to be developed and progressive nations.
 
Environmental site TreeHugger has covered a couple of stories recently whereby people have been threatened with jail for growing food.
 
In the first instance, a mother of 6 in Michigan faced 93 days in jail after being charged with a misdemeanor – a front yard vegetable garden.
 
A man in British Columbia converted a 2.5 acre “residential” lot from a gravel pit into an organic farm – and has drawn the ire of local authorities for his efforts.
 
I noticed an update on the Michigan story stating the charges had been dropped; but the laws not changed – so whether this was an isolated reprieve from the authorities in face of community backlash regarding the story or not is hard to tell.
 
While there’s often more to these stories than meets the eye, some local/state/federal governments really need to catch up with the times on environmental issues; to be encouraging people to go green rather than allowing these archaic and ludicrous legal blocks to continue standing in the way.
 
The situation with these stories reminds me of a couple of other ridiculous issues I’ve mentioned in the past; such as laws in Colorado that ( until relatively recently) made it illegal to harvest rainwater and outdoor clotheslines banned in some private communities for being “a marker of poverty that lowers property values.” 
 
Even here in Australia, the driest inhabited continent on the planet, it was illegal in some places to have a rainwater tank. It took the Millennium Drought to get these backwards authorities reconsidering. It shouldn’t be so hard to live more sustainably, nor should such extreme circumstances need occur to finally see positive change.
 
If you come across similarly insane rules and guidelines; don’t just accept it, make a fuss – get the word out about it as this is the only way things will change. Write in to web sites such as TreeHugger or even Green Living Tips – it can be a good way to get additional exposure of whatever legal challenge you face in greening your life or community.