• Sludgehammer@lemmy.world
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    26 days ago

    The funny thing about Love Canal is that the Hooker Chemical was complying with the (entirely inadequate) environmental regulations of the day. While the containment was terrible, there was at least some containment of the toxic waste.

    Then the Niagra Falls school board was like, “Hey that ‘Love Canal’ property you’ve got would be a great place for a new school” and Hooker chemical was like “No, that’s a terrible idea”. So the school board threatened to sue and just seize the land and Hooker chemical basically said “Okay, we’ll sell it to you for one dollar, on the condition that you don’t disturb the toxic waste and anything that goes wrong is on you”. Then the school board immediately bulldozed the land cutting open the clay containing the toxic waste turning a huge problem into a catastrophic problem.

    Don’t get me wrong, Hooker was absolutely at fault, but IMO the school board is more to blame. It’s kinda like asking “Who do you blame, the guys who laid down a minefield, or the guys who decided to have a Riverdance jamboree on the site despite the warning signs?”

  • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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    25 days ago

    I grew up next to the Cuyahoga in the 1970s. It wasn’t the part that caught fire (which was in Cleveland) but I have no idea why not. The river was chock full of old tires, rusting oil and chemical barrels, and there was a sheen of oil (or god knows what) over everything. All the industries in the town along the river (which included and still includes the factory that makes that green foam shit florists stick flowers in) had giant pipes that emptied all their shit right into the river. People still used to fish there, which is just mind-boggling.

      • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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        25 days ago

        They were on HBO in the early '90s. They were basically Monty Python a generation later, and I don’t mean that as a slight in any way.

        • Mongostein@lemmy.ca
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          25 days ago

          Funny I just watched the Kids in the Hall documentary the other day and they talk about Monty Python, but not SCTV at all, even saying that there was no sketch comedy between MP and KITH.

          Like… wut?

          • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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            25 days ago

            even saying that there was no sketch comedy between MP and KITH

            Jesus, that’s pretty out there. They’re also skipping SNL, which while historically very uneven, was definitely sketch comedy.

  • LazyOldPervert@lemmus.org
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    25 days ago

    It’s almost like telling an industry they can self regulate is the same thing as telling an 8th grader there are no consequences for a day.

    Weird huh?

  • ChilledPeppers@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    26 days ago

    Because thats not what self regulation means?

    Self regulation means that the correct ammount of products will be made and distributed, as making too much leads to losing money, and too little to not realizing the potential of the investment.

    Other than that, you are not talking about the same sense of the word regulation.