https://medium.com/@hrnews1/how-dupont-knowingly-poisoned-americans-with-pfas-for-over-50-years-5c5ac6ad4f3d?sk=4fe0f9e159888268b19a82307b0dae07
Even after phasing out PFOA under pressure, DuPont and its spinoff Chemours have continued releasing the toxic substance into the environment, leading to recent Congressional demands for an explanation.
So, it's not even about profits anymore. You're now PAYING to poison Americans. How is this ok? Not that it was ok before, but this takes it to a whole NEW level of evil.
They knowingly poisoned the world. Expected a better headline from medium, for some reason.
That's the for some reason in my comment. I know why we got that headline. I do not know why I expected better; Was medium ever any better than this?
My take on "world" is the living, breathing parts of the planet that make it anything more than the third large rock orbitting a random star ... so, yeah, sure, let's go with: you got my meaning exactly.
Regardless of how they screwed up, the PFOAS should not be banned. They should be restricted to uses that require the material for national defense and for technology development. There's stuff that PFOAS can do that not much else can. For example cooking utensils are a dumb use, but components for machines that make cars or solar panels. For example capacitors need the material because it has a high voltage breakdown. Smart uses, not stupid wasteful and polluting uses.
Uncontrolled discharge of waste in all uses is a major issue for all PFOAs though and I am not sure that there is anyway to handle the waste that it doesn't get back into the environment.
It's actually very simple. Waste management is expensive, so pass that expense on to the technology that needs PFOAS. If they do that by law requirement, then the problem will correct itself because it would be too expensive to use on stupid things like cooking pots.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=Q3p4BH7U4kM
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
If someone doesn't have the time for all that, here's a rap song about the last 400 or so years of the company.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=0RUHWksg2Rw
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
The thing is you're absolutely right, it's not the fault of business that they're allowed to run rampant and that the system is gameable. It's kinda their fault that they're so good at lying and then supporting those lies through lobbying for wrongheaded/poor/ignorant/laughable legislation, but it's simply the clever thing to do in the situation.
No, it's the situation that needs to change. The government which allows them to govern themselves with revolving doors and without oversight is the real problem. The justices who put their own interests before their job. The stock market which eventually requires the enshittification of everything, and which does not allow the company to take the correct course. And the politicians, who either knew or had already abdicated their responsibilities, and so let them do it anyway, from plastics recycling to PFAS to climate change - it's all lies, all the time and too little, too late.
Let's replace them all with AI. At least it just hallucinates. It's not yet established itself to be reliably malevolent, and maybe if we get rid of all these shitheads pumping out bad information and bullshit simply to cover their own asses, it'll start getting better information and hallucinate less, who knows, at least it won't be actively trying to wipe us all out so we don't figure out what it's been up to.
Yeah. The system as it stands is unbelievably destructive and oppressive. But you don't have any incentive to make it better without stepping outside of it or drastically changing it.
So I'll just make snide, unhelpful comments on socmed and call it good lol