The National Environmental Trust has released a report on a recent Environmental Protection Agency proposal to weaken reporting of toxic chemical hazards in communities. Under the proposals approximately ten percent of communities that are included in the Toxic Release Inventory would no longer have the benefit of information on potentially lethal sources of industrial chemicals in their area. The Toxic Release Inventory was created by Congress when it enacted the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, signed into law by President Reagan. It was designed to prevent accidents such as the one at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, that killed thousands of people.

Weakening these protections will, of course, benefit industries that deal with large amounts of toxic chemicals. It's a short-term benefit, though, as any relaxation of regulation toxic waste increases the likelihood of a disaster. Time and time again, large corporations have shown that they will leave no corner uncut in their drive to reduce the costs of doing business, regardless of danger to the public. Even a small disaster will create tremendous political pressure for far tighter regulation than they now experience.

But corporate finance and governance are structured towards short-term gain. CEOs and others at the top have every incentive to increase profits and the share value of corporate stock, secure in the knowledge that the bad times will almost surely come after they have left the corporation and cashed out their stock and stock options.

A sensible public policy would give fewer rewards for short-term gains and greater rewards for long-term gains. A change in the taxation of executive compensation, stock options and capital gains would be a good start, but only a systemic restructuring of the entire financial (and monetary) system can eliminate the manic suicidal drive for immediate return on investment that characterizes our present day practices. I will shortly be publishing an essay/review for the JP based on Bernard Lietaer's The Future of Money that explores some of the alternatives, many of which are already being tried on a small scale around the world. Until we tame this monstrous system that destroys families, communities and even nations in the name of profit, most of us are destined to witness the progressive loss of what makes our lives on this planet tolerable, even possible.


The deadline for comments is today. Sorry I didn't find out about it sooner. Make a Comment which will be sent to the EPA administrator.

The National Environmental Trust

Analysis: Nearly 1,000 Communities Across U.S. Would Lose All Toxics Information

Text of proposed rule and supplementary information. (Note: this is a large .pdf file and the actual text of the amendments begins on Page 74 of the document)

Right to Know Network (Part of OMB Watch. Features databases copied from EPA TWI database you can use to investigate toxic release in your area)