Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
remedies. Within a brief period, socially responsible companies and
industries adopt these remedies and change their ways to ameliorate the
problems. The result is that the public's health and safety are protected.
In the real world, this is not what happens, basically because money
is involved. The only ideology of business is to make money. In a capital-
ist economy, no one should be surprised that companies act unethically
to make profi ts—they are beholden to the shareholders (you) to maxi-
mize those profi ts. Large industries have major investments in the way
things are and fear they will be harmed fi nancially by changes that are
not of their making. And in capitalist economies, this generates resistance
to change. We live in a world of crazy economics because we do not take
account of true costs and externalities. Markets are good at fi xing prices
but incapable of recognizing costs. Damages to the public caused by
industrial and agricultural activities, termed externalities, are not con-
sidered. As a result, public health and welfare usually take a back seat
to industry profi ts.
To get away with this behavior, the industry typically emphasizes
perceived uncertainties in the science that underlies the need for change.
They mobilize their large corps of lobbyists in Washington, and perhaps
in state capitals as well, and pressure is put on the nation's lawmakers
to defeat proposed changes. These lobbying efforts can delay change for
decades and perhaps indefi nitely.
Corporations and other interest groups such as the fossil fuel industry,
automobile industry, agricultural lobby, and many others spend money
on items that they believe will result in increased profi ts. In this regard,
it is signifi cant that the amount spent on lobbying has increased every
year during the past decade except 2009, an exception because of the
deep recession that lowered spending. Spending on lobbying was $1.4
billion in 1999, $1.8 billion in 2002, $2.4 billion in 2005, and $3.3
billion in 2008. The money was distributed among 12,000 to 14,443
(2008) lobbyists. These expenditures are a major reason the federal
government has, until the Obama administration, always favored coal
and oil as energy sources rather than renewable and nonpolluting
sources. It is also the reason that the effi ciency of car engines is low and
the reason Washington's agricultural policies have not favored organic
farming rather than the health-destroying and pesticide-dowsing
policies of factory farms.
Climate issues are a hot topic in Washington and serve as an example
of the intensity of lobbying. There are many industrial groups that
believe their profi tability will be affected by pending climate legislation.
