Recently the movie the Age of Ultron was viewed whose story among the super heroes was about man’s desire to use technology to help make the world better. There is little doubt that the world is better, however there have been consequences along the way. The book The Polluters – the Making of Our Chemically Altered Environment by Benjamin Ross and Steve Amter published by Oxford University Press, NY, 2010 looks at some of the consequences.

If you ever been to Los Angeles or seen pictures you will know the city of LA is surrounded by mountains or hills and sometimes the wind does not blow or the air is stationary and collects whatever is in the air. When the wind is moving, the air is cleaned. For a number of years, the fog and pollution built up in LA and no one really knew why. For a long time, people looked towards chemical companies, the oil companies, factories and eventually all of them had to do something. It was not enough and still the smog returned during the summer. When it affected the more desirable neighborhoods, a commission was formed to gain pollution regulations. Eventually a scientist isolated the problem to the automobile engine. Part of the cause was to ensure car engines performed better lead was added to the gasoline which caused pollution and with al the vehicles on the road, everyone was both part of the problem and solution. What to do about took many years to solve. It is the reason why now all governments look to the California regulations – partly because the market is big and the regulations are higher standard than others. The authors write the regulators came up with the solution to the problem, however they were fought all the way by the companies scientists first trying to disprove the theory, then casting doubt on the methods and sometimes the people.  Understanding LA is a big city, the reason it found its solution or how the smog was created was because the local elites pushed to find answers, a smaller community with only one factory where the answers were seemingly easier to find – Donora, Pennsylvania the solution took longer to find.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, as companies operate they leave a footprint some where, as investors we want them to make money and pay dividends. Companies allocate resources and leave many footprints which may not add to the profitability of the company. Often the companies wish to do better than government regulations, which if you are realistic about it, the companies had an influence in making them (they should do better).

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.