> Most of the major polluters are publicly owned companies, ie, they have
> publicly traded stock. What this means to the CEO is that if he doesn't
> show
> not only profitablity, but sustained pofitability at an expected level,
> then
> he's out the door. Therefore, every little nickel that gets added because
> of
> whatever regulation means that he's closer to being kicked out by the
> stockholders. And this goes on every quarter of the business year. So, the
> CEO's are forced to only see into the next 3 months at most. And if he has
> a
> heart to make the air and water cleaner for his current and future
> relatives
> and lets that profit margin slip, then the stockholders will merely boot
> his
> ass out on the street and get someone else in there that will do the job
> "right." Such is the life of big business as I understand it.
>
I'm sorry...I have stick my head in hear again because Dirk has brought up
another key point: the bottom line of business. Maybe with the exception of
Floridians this year, an American's vote rarely "counts" (like it should, I
guess I should say). However, each of us gets a vote with every dollar (or
other currency) we spend. You buy at Wal-Mart, you'll have three in your
town. You like fast food? Expect whole roads dedicated to them. On the
other hand, buy a Honda Insight or Toyota Prius and you'll have hybrid cars
all over the road. Buy film from your local camera shop and it might not go
out of business. Of course, it's impossible to be perfect. I drive an SUV.
It guzzles gas and fits me perfect; I love to wander roads, whether smooth or
rough, paved or rutted. It transports me and my OMs to hopefully capture an
image that tells a story.
Driving an SUV, however, show that it's not about being part of the
problem or part of the solution. It's about deciding how much (or little)
you want to contribute to the problem. The environment, as it is today or as
tree rings tell us, is a lost cause. But there is no reason why we cannot
keep some of it for people to view first hand rather than through the
photographs each of us create.
I realize this is getting way too long, but I want to share one more
thing. I was digging through my grandfather's stuff the other day and found
Research Report No. 1 of the National Audubon Society on the Ivory-billed
Woodpecker. It was printed in October of 1942 and opened with these words:
"The greatest tradegy in nature is the extinction of a species. We
may condone reasonable control of carnivorous animals in those parts of their
range taken over by human settlement. We may even understand the
commercialization of the Passenger Pigeon by interests which regard them only
as an inexhaustable supply of 'food on the wing.' But where is the man who
knowingly would stand by and watch a marvelous creation of nature - harmless
to man's interests, and of no intrinsic commercial value - be forced into the
vortex of extirpation without even raising his voice in protest? Surely no
intelligent human being could be indifferent to the passing of the last
Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and certainly no philanthropic organization
dedicated to the conservation of wildlife could let this come about withouth
making some effort to prevent it..."
--p.j.
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