In today’s Republican party, the concern about climate change, the environment, pollution, sustainability, and regulations so meant to be enforced on behalf of the American people for the benefit of those same people, clearly seems to not be a priority of that party, whatsoever. Yet, if we turn the clock back to January of 1970, and President Nixon’s State of the Union Address of that same year, we would probably be rather surprised at what Nixon so said, and advocated for, back then. For instance, Nixon proposed that “… to the extent possible, the price of goods should be made to include the costs of producing and disposing of them without damage to the environment.”
Yet, what we so see, far too frequently, when it comes to how business is conducted and performed in America, that the businesses of America, pretty much run roughshod over our weakened environmental regulations, in which, those that pollute and damage our environment, are often either not held fully accountable for the damages so inflicted upon such, or are rather adept behind changing their corporate identity so that it so becomes that no going concern corporation is thus ever held responsible for such damage.
In our capitalistic system the rush for profits, the desire for the executive office to get their bonuses, the need for stockholders to see a constant and ever improving return on their investment, as well as the sales people of these corporations doing what so has to be done in order to get their fat commissions, lends itself to constantly conducting business in a way and manner in which the environment is treated as something that is not an ever present priority or concern. This is not the way that things should be, because business models can be constructed in which, clean air, clean water, and environmental responsibility could and should be part and parcel of those business enterprise responsibilities, without exception.
The problem that modern day America has, which is reflected by the policies so enacted and subsequently enforced, is that those of the business world, that are primarily driven by profit, have way too much influence and way too much sway upon the governmental policies so implemented within America. This means, that far too often, this government is counting upon the corporate world, to somehow do the right thing about clean air, clean water, and the environment – when that same government knows for a certainty, that the primary driving force of those businesses is the making of profit, above all.
It is one thing to know what the right thing is to do about the environment and pollution, as Nixon so stated in 1970, and it is entirely different thing to actually do what needs to be done. Further to the point, when businesses are permitted to pollute this fine land, year after year, the price that the general public must then pay for this to be rectified or corrected, ever increases, of which, the burden to ameliorate such, is apparently not rightfully placed upon the shoulders of those businesses that have created this mess in the first place; but rather, instead, is placed upon the taxpayers of this nation, and, regrettably, then, passed onto future generations to address and to deal with. In short, Americans supposedly still have a birthright of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but apparently, to this nations’ shame, have no birthright to a safe environment to enjoy such in.