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Boring Company cited for almost 800 environmental violations in Las Vegas

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Re: Boring Company cited for almost 800 environmental violations in Las Vegas

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In some cases you are correct, however the happy middle in this case probably does not include many (most?) of their violations. One particular example: > Workers have complained of chemical burns from the waste material generated by the tunneling process, and firefighters must decontaminate their equipment after conducting rescues from the project sites. The company was fined more than $112,000 by Nevada’s Occupatio…

Yes to be clear, my statement was meant very generally, not about any of these violations (which do sound pretty bad)

then maybe this isn't the right place to make it?

Re: Boring Company cited for almost 800 environmental violations in Las Vegas

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You did too much crime. Therefore, we will charge you for fewer crimes! Bulk discount!" This is ridiculous and why we have the problems with late-stage capitalism that we do. Fines are not high enough. No jail time for environmental crimes.

Do you think that isn't how it works? The guy who gets busted for possession of 1g of cocaine might get 10-30 days, depending on jurisdiction, judge, and prior record. Do you think the dealer who gets caught with 5 kilos gets between 137 and 410 years?

In this case, the dealer is getting an hour.

Re: Boring Company cited for almost 800 environmental violations in Las Vegas

#63
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The truth is somewhere in the middle. Many regulations are terrible and serve as a huge hindrance to innovation, and effectively restrict certain things to only the already-massively-rich entrepreneurs. However, (IMHO) there are a lot of regulations that are important and absolutely should be enforced up front. Finding the right balance is kind of impossible, and I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,…

>> >Many regulations are terrible and serve as a huge hindrance to innovation What is an example of a regulation that was a "huge" hinderance to innovation? Looking at the past 40 years of the US technological progress and the only thing I seen hindering innovation are the tech companies themselves through monopoly, monopsony, patents, and regulatory capture. (Unless the last one is what you meant, but that's a regul…

Out of curiosity, have you ever attempted to create something from scratch and bring it to market? Not as an employee, but as someone trying to figure it out?

Your work history will impact the way you view this issue IMO.

Re: Boring Company cited for almost 800 environmental violations in Las Vegas

#64
post #5

leaving a toxic mess is a repeated part of Musk's plan with each business it's always privatize the profits, socialize the costs he's doing the same thing with Starlink which is going to vaporize many thousands of toxic satellites out of LEO into the atmosphere https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-space-orbit-satellit... imagine what he's going to do on the Moon or Mars

That is a very deceptive video/article (at least the first half above the paywall). It is true that a few of these sats will have to come down each day, but the video is of a booster failure/explosion, not a normal planned obsolescence sat re-entry. And re-entry is part of the cleanup plan . All satellites responsibly launched need a plan to deal with possible orbital waste. By decommissioning in this way, we're redu…

> the immense possible good worldwide internet

It's hard to take your argument seriously if you think that's more important than preserving the environment

Re: Boring Company cited for almost 800 environmental violations in Las Vegas

#65

The tricky thing about environmental regulations is that they are crafted and utilized by NIMBYs to block any infrastructure development. Even if, on balance, the infrastructure is a net positive. It's not clear if these violations actually represent a real environmental hazard or are more reflective of NIMBY degrowth sentiment.

[flagged]

> if you are just shilling for polluting billionaires.

What an acidic thing to fling. I want us to build infrastructure. Nowhere did I say we need do whatever Musk says.

I want us to use cost-benefit analysis to judge infrastructure projects rather than the heavy moral framing we get a lot.

Re: Boring Company cited for almost 800 environmental violations in Las Vegas

#66

The tricky thing about environmental regulations is that they are crafted and utilized by NIMBYs to block any infrastructure development. Even if, on balance, the infrastructure is a net positive. It's not clear if these violations actually represent a real environmental hazard or are more reflective of NIMBY degrowth sentiment.

Workers getting chemical burns and firefighters needing to frequently take on decon sounds awfully like environmental regulations run amuck. Its also outrageous that companies have to pay for workman's comp insurance /s

> Its also outrageous that companies have to pay for workman's comp insurance /s

That's not something I proposed in my comment.

Re: Boring Company cited for almost 800 environmental violations in Las Vegas

#67

800 environment violations in service of the development of modern subterranean transportation is a utilitarian trade I'll take any day of the week.

> modern subterranean transportation Looks at Hyperloop. Looks at London subway. Looks at NYC subway. Looks at literally any other subway Yeah, a poorly-made tunnel with cars that fit 2-3 people at a time while requiring each car to have their own driver is very modern and definitely worth environmental violations.

Poorly made two way tunnel... Not even two tunnels so you could send traffic to both direction at same time and have actual potential for reasonable capacity.

Re: Boring Company cited for almost 800 environmental violations in Las Vegas

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: > Workers have complained of chemical burns from the waste material generated by the tunneling process, and firefighters must decontaminate their equipment after conducting rescues from the project sites. The company was fined more than $112,000 by Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in late 2023 after workers complained of “ankle-deep” water in the tunnels, muck spills and burns.…

Yes this sounds quite serious. In line with Elon’s “at all cost” mindset, which is very powerful but also dangerous.

"At all costs" to the workers and community, not to Elon.

Re: Boring Company cited for almost 800 environmental violations in Las Vegas

#69
I think the big picture here is much more important. If tunneling technology is radically improved, we're going to see massive improvements in urban living, including:

• Cleaner air at street level because vehicle exhaust stays underground and can be filtered, which would have massive health and environmental benefits

• Quieter cities with most traffic noise eliminated

• Cooler temperatures since asphalt and vehicle heat are removed from the surface (urban heat island effect)

• More space for trees, parks, and gardens, improving urban greenery.

• Lower stress levels thanks to quieter, greener surroundings.

• Better physical health from more walkable, pedestrian-friendly spaces.

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