Why Shouldn't Oil Companies Pay for Polluting the Air Everyone Must Breathe?

[No Exit]

Dave Johnson
11.18.2006

Capitalism 3.0 - A New Way To Think About What We Own

READ MORE: Global Warming

I've just finished a very interesting book, Capitalism 3.0, A Guide To Reclaiming The Commons, by Peter Barnes. The book talks about ways we can restructure our laws and rules of ownership to cover who should pay for polluting and other harmful things -- costs that our current system ignores and even encourages. The change is based on our realizing that we all own certain things in common. Here's a quick way to understand the ideas in this book:

Suppose you live next door to a sawmill operation. The owner makes lots of money, but a waste product, sawdust, is building up on his lot. This big pile of sawdust is getting bigger and bigger, and it's getting to the point that he's going to have to shut down his profitable operation if he can't find some place to dump some sawdust. So one day he comes to you and asks if he can dump some sawdust in your back yard. You answer, "If you give me $25,000 a year, each year you can dump 5 truckloads, but no more, in my yard." You are $25,000 richer, you limited the sawdust to a level you could tolerate, and the sawmill can continue to operate and make money.

(snip)

Here is what I am getting at: Oil and auto companies currently dump CO2 (and other stuff) into the air. This is an "externalized" cost. They don't pay anyone and it doesn't show up on anyone's books. They make tremendous profits from this arrangement but the rest of us suffer the consequences.

But what would happen if we started to realize that this is OUR air? You know, "the people" and all that, like it says in our Constitution. Democracy and community. And what would happen if we decided to set up our laws so that we have "ownership" and "rights" to refuse to let them do that - or to charge them and limit how much they can dump?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-johnson/capitalism-30-a-new-wa_b_34425.html

[acmejack]

1. Because this is a Capitalist society

The "commons" are considered to be a "communist" idea, screw everybody if it can be exploited for personal gain at the expense of the community tough shit. It is the capitalist way, yet they dare talk of "personal; responsibility". It's nice to have it both ways, isn't it?

[EllenZ]

2. Oil Company

Not so much the oil companies but the auto makers. Seems to me there was something in the news a month or so ago about California suing the auto makers for polluting the air.

[Wwagsthedog]

3. Hmmmm. Wonder who is driving those cars?

nt