More on Corporate Influence in the US

I have already blogged about the political influence of large corporations on the US government. By lobbying, and by means of money--their monetary contributions to political campaigns and setting up front groups that carry on advertising to advance their interests—corporations influence what laws are passed, what regulations are put into effect by US regulatory agencies, and what regulations already on the books get enforced. This latter can be a function of corporations—indirectly through Congress—denying funding to the regulatory agencies whose regulations these corporations see as not in their interest.

But here is yet another example of corporate influence. Plastics and other chemicals are being pumped into our environment in inconceivable quantities. We all have amounts of these chemicals in our bodies that could disrupt proper functioning of our bodies because some of them mimic the hormones that naturally occur in our bodies. Babies in the womb are exposed to these chemicals and might be born with (for example) small genitalia. Adult men's sperm counts are going down.

Plastics end up in our oceans. They harm wildlife who ingest these plastics. (Plastic objects get broken down by sunlight—not into harmless substances but into small pieces that look like food to sea animals.) Animals like albatrosses, sea turtles, seals, whales, and so forth are being found with plastics in their stomachs and were killed by them.

Major culprits are plastic bags and plastic bottles for bottled water—both of which we produce—and discard—by the billions. Many European countries have banned plastic bags. But many attempts to ban plastic bags—for example in San Francisco—have been thwarted by corporate influence.

Copyright © 2011 by Richard Stein