(Pismo Beach, California) With beachside tourist sites around the world suffering from reduced business after the tsunami of December 26, 2004 in Indonesia, a California town is fighting back. Pointing to theories that tsunamis might actually be the result of additional stresses on the earth from global warming, the Pismo Beach city council has passed a local ordinance that will make the popular sea-side community a "tsunami-free" zone.
Pismo Beach lawyers explain that the ordinance paves the way for future litigation if indeed a connection is made between tsunamis and manmade global warming in a court of law.
The city council hopes that the ordinance will also help keep coastal property values high since property owners will have the additional peace of mind that, if their property is damaged by a tsunami, they will have legal recourse to recover damages.
It is also believed that posting of "tsunami-free" signs will have a positive psychological effect on tourists, who will feel somewhat safer visiting a town that is proactive about addressing the tsunami problem. At a minimum, the signs themselves are expected to attract additional tourist business as popular photo opportunity spots.
Already, neighboring communities are considering similar ordinances. For instance, Malibu is not only considering a tsunami ban, but is also discussing a possible ban on maximum daytime temperatures greater than 100 deg.F. City attorney Peter Bono told ecoEnquirer, "Like Pismo Beach, we see merit in legally protecting ourselves from damages due to the acts of mankind, whether they are directly, or only indirectly, related to global warming."
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