Congress,perks & payoffs.

Stop using all things created by factories. Then get back to us.

Oh.. you wouldn’t be able to, because your computer was made in a factory… so were your clothes, most of the stuff in your house, your books… the stuff you cook with.. the bus you ride to school.. the steel in the cookware you use…

Do you use anything made of plastic? Stop! it was made with evil oil!

Ride a horse to school… just remember to clean up the poo.

Difficult one.

But in general, they will control those that are easy to control, and don`t cost them anything.

But we can`t have it all ways. We all know now how important the car industries are to all major economies, and cars need OIL!
The same goes for the wheels of industry.

As consumers, we have to be careful what we wish for.
It is easy to call for banning something, but most of us are `guilty` consumers…and we have to be careful we do not cut off our own noses to spite our face.

I think that no company openly pollutes, but many of the larger polluters would be seen as necessary evils, otherwise we would be sitting in the dark, with no plastics materials (including medical supplies). Then some of these companies would probably say they have regulations, have to deal with future regulations, and inspectors showing up to test occasionally that could create issues and threats of fines if an inspector finds something, so millions of dollars on line, all the time.

I really don’t blame the companies so much because they are simply supplying what we want as consumers, which we talk big, but we want to buy cheap, and want to be able to turn the lights on anytime of the day or night. We as consumers could go out and all buy enough PV solar panels to cut down on our power needs from the electric company, but no one really does except the rural types and a few extreme greenies. Most see the price tag, and decide to buy a CFL instead. And it doesn’t stop there, we could grow most of our own food and keep and plastic and shipping materials out of landfills, but we opt not to. It’s just to easy and cheaper to buy what we need.

Then we as consumers don’t have to buy gas cars. You could buy a really good electric car, but it will cost you better than $50k. We could all go to electric, but we choose not to (realistically). We could also chose to walk or ride a bike (that also requires some pollution to make and maintain).

We then charge our lawmakers to government agencies to help clean up pollution, and cars are an easy target, especially older cars. Why get mad at what we wanted, back when laws were being passed?

So we are getting what we all wanted, when it was all good, and we are not about to give up our energy or plastics, so perhaps when we as a people decide we no longer need all that, can we really come down on the companies with the same vigor.

We are basically getting what we want, and the majority rules.

Wow, are you either living abroad or living in the 1960′s. The reason that the United States has not added a single large refinery since the 1970′s is because of the pollution controls. Most factories and power plants are limited on the amount of emissions. Also, dumping waste into rivers have been banned since the 1970′s also and companies that accidentally discharge into a river gets huge fines. For the rest of the World especially the developing World what you are saying has merit.

Government control, lawyers and taxes.

A plant is allowed by the EPA to discharge X amount of pollutants. Those amounts are scientifically monitored (jobs). Excess amounts of discharge are fined (state income). The manufacture makes a product and sales it (economics)

You throw trash out your car window and the police write you a ticket (state income). You take the trash home and throw in the trash and the trashman takes it to the dump for a fee (economics).

Ask that question to the EPA, they allow it.