What if Companies Had to Pay for The Damages?

[My Good Babushka]

What if Companies Had to Pay for Their Environmental Damage?

By: Pierce Nahigyan

"If the biggest companies in the world had to account for all the environmental damage they cause, could they still turn a profit? According to a UN-supported analysis, no way.

In fact, the 3,000 largest publicly-traded companies were responsible for $2.15 trillion in environmental damages in 2008 – but these damages are often written off as “externalities” and are not accounted for on the bottom line. What’s even worse, these externalities cost the global economy an estimated $4.7 trillion per year in health and social costs, lost ecosystem services and pollution."

http://www.planetexperts.com/companies-pay-environmental-damage/


I think all trade agreements, including the TPP, should be revisited and much more weight given to environmental/climate concerns and labor rights. We need to start acting like the planet and the people on it are real things, that a "livable planet" is a narrow, closing window and we can't negotiate with the physics of climate change.

[pangaia]

1. I'll drink to that.

Too many corporations just abuse the planet for their own benefit, assuming that when it is used up they can just throw it away, like they do people.

[Night Watchman]

2. SOCIALISM!

[Igel]

6. Yeah, because that worked out so well.

People are people.

[Festivito]

13. As it continues to work well as in Social Security, Medicare, representative democracy, etc. eom

[Bernardo de La Paz]

10. Actually, ... true libertarianism if the companies do pay all costs.

Socialism in the current system because governments and taxpayers end up paying the costs, especially for health care that is not properly funded by corporations. (Single-payer health care works extremely well if properly funded.)

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

3. That's not going to happen

The whole purpose of modern trade agreements is to make these corporations filthy rich. And, yeah, I do mean "filthy."

[k8conant]

4. Did you mean a "livable planet"? eom

[My Good Babushka]

5. Yes, fixed it.

After I stared at "livable" for five minutes trying to figure out what was wrong!
Thank you.

[ffr]

7. Once these costs are monetized into products

Republicans will get onboard with environmental protection. Not for the sake of their children's future, but for the immediate pinch to their wallets. That's the only language they understand. Money is their number one concern. Fuck the environment. Fuck their children and your children.

How many times have you heard one of them say, let them fend for themselves. They mean everyone, including their own.

Short sighted nitwits that should be ashamed.

[Igel]

8. Then they'd charge us for the damage caused by what we demand.

And then there'd be how we use the products.

Of course, those nice manufacturing jobs we love to say we loved but actually hated wouldn't have existed.

I've had a couple of educational courses in college. (Yes. Two. I'm ABD, and can count on two fingers the courses that really forced me to think.)

One presented facts, and said, "Here, let's build a theory." Then it confronted the theory with more facts. "Here, let's revise our theory." For the midterm, we were told, "Here's our theory so far. Here are more facts. Please revise the theory."
And the day after the midterm the facts in the theory and its revision were the current "state of the art" going forward. For the final, we were told, "Here's our theory to date. And here--you guessed it--are more facts. Please revise and justify your revisions." Except that on the final the facts presented really required a serious revision of almost everything we'd done.

Such is life. The point was that if you have a system, when there's a change to it you can't just consider how it affects the last addition but how it causes a rethinking of everything. So billing companies for environmental damage wouldn't just hurt the companies. It would hurt everything, from how we produce and distribution life-saving medicines, to how we produce food, our transportation, and even what we wear. Yet most comments go to "Bad corporations," when they're just middlemen. Think otherwise? Then enjoy your new 2017 Edsel on your way to Blockbuster to pick up that betamax video of yet another hit musical. While you're there, you can use that nice payphone to call your friends and invite them over, assuming they're home near their phones. Yeah, none of those changes were consumer-driven.

[Arizona Roadrunner]

9. Pull the TPP from Congressional consideration

Question: Can the President pull the TPP from consideration by Congress especially to avoid a decision during the interim period after the election? Reason is that any changes once approved will have to have the approval of ALL of the participating countries. Also, 60% of TPP has to do with Corporate relations and rules and not trade. TPP should really be renegotiated in the open with all players at the table. My particular concern is the ISDS part. I have posted my concerns elsewhere and won't repeat them here. However, it does reinforce the idea that TPP is not ready for prime time and will only be "snuck through" if passed.

[Dustlawyer]

11. BP sure has not!

They are still not done screwing over the victims. By the Class Settlement's own statistics, 2/3rds of the victims were denied compensation. BP, Halliburton and Trans Ocean are paying the Plaintiff's Steering Committee (the PSC attorneys were appointed by the judge to represent all victims in going after these defendants) $700,000,000 if they agreed to the crappy Class Settlement, but they only get the money if the settlement makes it through to the end without being overturned.

The deal turned out like the crap that it was denying most victims anything, but the PSC is the only group that can challenge the deal and if they succeed they lose the $700 million. They are refusing to challenge the deal. How is that for justice in America?

[randr]

12. If large corporations had to pay for the side effects of their businesses

along with the clean up and health issues they create, the standard of life that we know as "American" would not have ever happened.
The costs of our life style are paid for in our children's' losses and the deaths of millions.