Yesirree I sure do love it when our dirtiest, most recalcitrant polluters put their heads together to produce their world class puffery, horse manure and heavy duty bullsh.t. Hmm is it really bullsh.t if it looks like bullsh.t, smells like bullsh.t, comes from the back end of a bull BUT it's green in colour? I've been watching the recent television ads telling Canadians that the six largest petroleum producers are now working together to research improved "carbon capture" methods. Ooh how exciting is that? Why do I strongly suspect this is just an attempt to circumvent federal carbon capture requirements already in the pipe? Why would any reasonable Canadian be skeptical that the Canadian Assoc. of Petroleum Producers might be even slightly less than enthusiastic to limit the very profitable and self-serving damage they've done to both the environment and human health for the last one hundred years?
3M according to today's Waterloo Region Record are attempting to phase out polyfluroalkyl substances known as PFAS from their consumer products such as non-stick frying pans, water-repellant sports gear, stain-resistant rugs, and cosmetics within two years. Never mind that the environmental and human damage from these substances has been known for many years we certainly wouldn't want to interrupt any more than necessary 3M's profits now would we. As I recall Dupont is also a big contributer to PFAS and also possibly PFOS and a movie was produced starring Mark Ruffalo a few years ago. Apparently Hollywood are much faster at responding to these human tragedies than corporate America is.
Finally we have the Lanxess Canada site in Elmira, Ontario. It was formerly owned by Chemtura, Crompton and finally Uniroyal Chemical. All four companies are masters of greenwashing albeit they long ago learned to capture their regulators first and foremost. This not only includes the dishonourable Ontario Ministry of Environment (MECP) but also local and regional governments if at all possible. Once you've made your early sweetheart deals it's all easy sailing afterwards. Pay for a new water pipeline, negotiate a cleanup such that the previous culpability of those very same regulators and authorities also put them on the financial hook thus giving them an incentive to always pick the cheapest and least effective cleanup method and you are golden. Really what's a little conflict of interest between friends? Once you've eliminated local governments and bureaucracies as adversaries then all you are left with is the local citizens. Again via manipulation, outright lying, co-opting certain special citizens to your cause and having your partners and fellow travellors publicly elevate and promote your special citizen friends you can sell the public almost any pile of crap.
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