The
corporate propensity for rationalizing the irrational in the pursuit of profit
appears to be boundless.
Consider
J.R. Simplot, a giant agribusiness conglomerate whose phosphate mining
operations in Idaho
Simplot's
scientists rationalized the corporation's dirty deed with a 1,200-page study
asserting that even though the selenium contamination of creeks was well above
levels allowed by environmental law, the water remained "safe" for
fish.
Tucked
back in the appendix of Simplot's own "study," however, were a few
photographs that vividly depicted the screaming irrationality of the
corporation's safety claims. The most stunning photo was of a two-headed baby
trout produced by Simplot's pollution of area creeks. It wasn't the only
sickening deformity caused by the selenium. Other trout had facial, fin, and
egg disfigurements.
These
grotesque mutations led to calls for an independent agency to conduct a full
scientific review of Simplot's study. At the request of Sen. Barbara Boxer
(D-CA), the Fish and Wildlife Service complied, issuing a scathing report in
January that bluntly branded the corporate study "biased."
Simplot
systemically understated the deformity rate of baby fish in the creeks, the
agency found. It's not 20 percent that are deformed, as the company stated, but
70 percent.
Asked
about this huge discrepancy, a Simplot vice-president could only grump that the
Fish and Wildlife review was "totally outside the regulatory
process." Well thank goodness for that! As another independent toxicology
expert says, "I have seen lots of malformed baby fish, but never one with
two heads. We need to be careful here."
Yes,
let's. In fact, let's stop swallowing any irrational rationalizations by
corporations that pollute for profit.
Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and
public speaker. He's also editor of the populist newsletter,The Hightower Lowdown.
Distributed via OtherWords (OtherWords.org)
Distributed via OtherWords (OtherWords.org)