Poisoned for Pennies – The economics of toxics and precaution: principal author Frank Ackerman with Lisa Heinzerling, Rachel Massey, Wendy Johnecheck, and Elizabeth Stanton (2008) The purpose of Ackerman’s book is to expose the weaknesses of the “cost-benefit method” of economic analysis, which has been promoted heavily since the Reagan administration, and increasingly used in this capacity since then, as the best way of determining whether a particular attempt at instituting public health safety or environment regulation of society, business, and industry should be allowed to proceed. Ackerman, who has spent the 21st century devoting his writing and...
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The calculation of labor-hour cost of producing treated drinking water In proposals for a rudimentary method for calculation labor costs associated with a socialist economy, we operate under the assumption that the labor-hour will be adopted as the unit of choice. This has the strongest tradition in socialist literature, however in the 21st century different units, such as the kilowatt-hour, being a bit more scientific in that they are derived from actual physical measurements in addition to time, may prove to be more universal and accurate as an accounting tool. In any event, I would like to use...
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Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment (originally published in WSR #20) All chemicals ingested or applied externally have the potential to be introduced into sewage systems and from there to aquatic or terrestrial environments. When those chemicals are components of personal care products such as suntan lotions, makeup, and toiletries, or human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, they represent a particular class of pollutants now being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, water and sewage treatment services and academia. These chemicals are given the acronym PPCP to facilitate communication and research on what can be a mind-boggling array...
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While the holidays are supposed to be a time to gather together with family members and reflect not only on the accomplishments of the past year but on the possibilities of the future, to many it is a crushing reminder of just how much this brutal system we live under can make our lives miserable. As capitalism, which depends on constant growth to survive, depends increasingly more on the winter holiday season meet its yearly profit goals, so too does the pressure increase on the working class to spend their hard earned discretionary income or go deeper into debt...
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I work in a water treatment plant that serves 450,000+ people. The job is a bit repetitive; rotating shifts 7 days in a row at a time, occasional 16-hour days, and working most holidays. It is not a hard job, but not at all glamorous. My job is to conduct routine analyses of the water to make sure it is up to our and the EPA’s standards of quality. I do a major set of tests every 2 hours and a smaller set every hour in between. Part of each major set involves a rather long walk to the...
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Green without being Green
October 25th‘s New York Times contained a special full-color insert titled “Corporate Social Responsibility – Designing a Sustainable Future”. The introduction, given by the President and CEO of Business for Social Responsibility Aron Cramer, tells us that “Consumers are paying more attention to the sources of the food they eat and the safety of the products they buy for their children”, implores business to heed “a new urgency for business strategy integrate social and environmental impacts with opportunities”, and goes on to say “The most exciting chances to leverage business success for broad social benefit involve innovations that deliver...
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