Farm Accident Digest

December 16th, 2003

One of my theories of life (no, not that one. That's not for typing out in public) is that regulations are little more than government contracts to certain companies. What you'll find when a new regulation, especially in environmental terms, is put in, the regulation happens to match very closely with a product that some company produces or is close to producing. Even more amazing, you'll find that this company was part of the lobbying for these specific regulations or helped fund the lobbying. Hence this reaction.

Environmentalists and an Ohio company that makes pollution control equipment for power plants are disappointed in a Bush administration proposal to give energy companies up to 15 years to install new technology aimed at reducing mercury emissions.
[...]
The Twinsburg, Ohio-based company is one of about a dozen such firms across the country that stand to gain - or lose - business based on how strict the Environmental Protection Agency tightens Clean Air regulations regarding mercury.

They hedge their bets on companies being forced by the state to use their products. Strange tenses in this next paragraph.

The Clinton administration has listed mercury as a "hazardous air pollutant" and would have required each plant to install the best mercury controls by 2008.

Emphasis mine at least until the Supreme Court declares that bold tags are not free speech. Weird to say the Clinton administration "has listed". Shouldn't that be "had listed" or just "listed"? The way they have it makes it sound like the Clinton administration still exists.

Then there is "would have required". Note that it did not require, but it "would have". Those rules it proposed, it never put into effect. But because it proposed them, though did nothing about them, they got to define the standard even though there currently is none.