Now that we’ve begun getting into some of the specifics of the issues of environmental protection and the history of implementation, I feel a bit more comfortable. I think the philosophical questions distract me from what’s important: making changes in our government and society to improve quality of life for everyone.
Rio de Janeiro makes a poignant model for ecological destruction . It’s amazing how much money could be wasted to no effect. After thinking about it over the course of the day, the example makes me think of United States examples from a century ago. I don’t know much of the situation in Brazil beyond what we covered in class, but it seems to follow the pattern for a developing nation. High economic and/or population growth and insufficient infrastructure lead to a horrendous accumulation of trash and waste. And of course corruption accompanies all of this, leading to the waste of a billion dollars trying to fix the mess.
Someone mentioned the fact that it isn’t just the fault of the government, but the fault of society. This is true, but the government also serves as an instrument of society. The situation in Rio de Janeiro is a classic example of the tragedy of the commons, where the value of the rivers that everyone in the vicinity makes use of is slowly eroded as everyone makes use of it. It seems that the government must either make use of the river less convenient (by enforcing a fee for littering, for example), or preferably by creating a better alternative. It seems ludicrous to expect a city the size of Rio de Janeiro to remain livable without sufficient waste disposal and sewage infrastructure.
As an interlude, I’d like to mention a wonderful aspect of the class environment that Professor Alexandratos creates: a sense of wonder and appreciation for knowledge and learning. The idea that you should always leave the room smarter than you came in is a great motivating factor to learn, and presents an attitude that makes life (and school in particular) much more enjoyable. Personally, I very much enjoy learning almost any bit of information (such as the beginning of “modern times”) because it enriches my understanding of the subject, and because I know these sort of things come back again and again. As such I find it sad, and slightly appalling when someone replies “No!” to the question, “don’t you want to know…?”
On Thursday we finally did learn what exactly PCB is. As I just started Organic Chemistry I don’t yet know enough to really relate its properties to its shape, but I’ll keep it in mind as my knowledge grows. For now it’s probably enough to know that the compound is toxic and needs to be removed from the Hudson River environment if we want a clean fish supply.
GE’s ability to delay cleanup is reminiscent of the situation in Rio de Janeiro, except perpetrated by a private company rather than a corrupt government. The issue of an extensive and lengthy appeals process seems incredibly difficult. With money to spend in the courts, the company delayed cleanup for thirty years, allowing it to make large profits on its investment essentially at the expense of the public and the fishing industry. When GE finally began the job in 2008, much of the PCBs had likely dissipated naturally. GE will spend a billion dollars cleaning up what’s left, but how much did they avoid paying over the last several decades? And even if GE is fined for every dollar it wasted in the appeals system or saved by not cleaning up at the taxpayers’ expense, most of the GE shareholders, employees, and executives who profited from the issue have probably retired. The expenses will have been passed on to a new generation.
