America's carpet capital: an empire and its toxic legacy

Post by kortilla » Sat, May 09, 2026, 5:40 PM UTC

mystraline wrote: post #63

akudha wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is easy to be ethically and morally responsible, after one becomes rich, after one is retired. Until then, it is enough to follow the law just enough to not get fined. Actually, even that is a tall ask these days - fines are just cost of doing business. It sucks that it is this way, but society seems to have largely accepted it

Fine are the cost of doing business... FOR COMPANIES. For individuals: arrest, jail, prison, and horrifically crippling fines are normal. An individual kills 1 person, and its 15y to life. But if youre an 'insurance company' and make policies in abeyance of insurance and arbitrarily deny 30% of claims getting many killed (Luigi says hi), thats perfectly fine. Youre a business leader making lots of money. You steal $1…

Post by WarmWash » Sat, May 09, 2026, 5:46 PM UTC

pfdietz wrote: post #71

pessimizer wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's silly. The fact that it is toxic makes it a concern, and the fact that it is a concern means that if you're selling it you should find out yourself about the specifics. It's like saying that you're not responsible for stealing a wallet because you didn't know exactly how much was in it.

Silly? There are plenty of substances that are toxic at high dose and innocuous, or even necessary, at low dose. Examples of the latter are vitamins A and B6. The question of responsibility is of course not what we were talking about, but rather whether the statement "PFAS were known to cause issues" was in fact true. Too often we see possibility of harm being deliberately conflated with actually causing harm. Is it…

Post by sixie6e » Sat, May 09, 2026, 6:15 PM UTC

JKCalhoun wrote: post #21

sixie6e wrote: post #17

In this society, appearance, convenience, and justifying one's existence with unnecessary, destructive labor are more important than the ecosystems which support them. Humans are the invasive, destructive species. Also(I'm absolutely not taking corporate side here), she says, "I feel like, I don’t know, almost like there’s a blanket over me, smothering me that I can’t get out from under." because of PFAS levels but t…

"If you are going to be outraged, at least be consistent about it." I (and others) need to be educated about it first. I know, for example, the risks of cigarettes because it is on every pack in the U.S.

Post by casey2 » Sat, May 09, 2026, 6:17 PM UTC

pnw wrote: post #84

deaux wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China is definitely different in this particular aspect. The balance of powers in "state vs corporations" is completely different from the US. And China is seeing massive benefits from this particular aspect of its country, it's closely related to their ascension vs. the decline of the US in particular. Before people turn to Reddit-style downvoting and flagging, this isn't a vouch for China as a country on the whole.…

China's problems with PFAS are substantially worse than the US. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/398603137_Global_in...

Post by deaux » Sat, May 09, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC

pnw wrote: post #84

deaux wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China is definitely different in this particular aspect. The balance of powers in "state vs corporations" is completely different from the US. And China is seeing massive benefits from this particular aspect of its country, it's closely related to their ascension vs. the decline of the US in particular. Before people turn to Reddit-style downvoting and flagging, this isn't a vouch for China as a country on the whole.…

China's problems with PFAS are substantially worse than the US. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/398603137_Global_in...