In true Trumpian style, #Alberta puts an oil executive in charge of the regulator! https://www.keepersofthewater.ca/news

It's hard to think of a better refresher course on the downsides of #UnfetteredCapitalism and #RegulatoryCapture than #ThamesWater.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2025/feb/12/a-state-clean-up-may-be-the-best-bet-for-thames-water?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Would fen-phen have been banned by today's FDA? Has regulatory capture reached the invulnerable pharmaceutical corp stage, yet?

We'll find out by how long it takes Wegovy / Ozempic to get banned.

Ran into two of the most senior people in UK AI policy talking to the most senior googler here, and they were just talking about search products. Maybe they were old friends from some consultancy #regulatoryCapture
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tkbweudpy6tvzjqdiza4z3p5/post/3lhsvtl2m3c2q

@primonatura
Sub headline reads “This is not normal.”

Funny, as I read the article it appears this is SOP, normalized by a complete failure to enforce existing regulations and a complete failure to update regulations to address changing manufacturing processes.

Why are so many people happy to poison children, the environment, themselves just so the very wealthy can pocket more money?

Local TV news (KTVU) described the recent power outage as the third-largest in PG&E's history.

Here's an article from years ago. It mentions deregulation, but I think this is also an example of "regulatory capture".

"PG&E Outage: A look back at utility company's history of blackouts"
By Ken Miguel KGO
October 25, 2019

"PG&E has had its share of massive blackouts since the state deregulated utilities in 1996. Some have been planned, others have not..."

https://abc7news.com/pge-pacific-gas-and-electric--pge-power-outage/5606454/

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/raw-sewage-in-creeks-sunnyvale-and-mountain-view-argue-in-court-the-clean-water-act-should-not-apply-to-them/

#PoliticsOfSprawl: miles of aging underground clay sewer pipes throughout the two cities are cracked and leaking untreated sewage into storm drain systems, which empty into the creeks. Sackett V. EPA, which developers had sought for years, could mean millions of acres of #wetlands nationwide lose protection.
Mountain View and Sunnyvale argue that because Stevens Creek, Calabazas Creek and the Sunnyvale East Channel run dry for some parts of the year, the creeks don’t have a continuous connection with San Francisco Bay and should not fall under the #CleanWaterAct.
They went further, embracing an argument that Justice Clarence Thomas had pushed, but which was not endorsed by the conservative majority, that only bodies of water that boats can navigate should be bound by the law’s pollution protections.
#ForeverWarSubsidizesFossilFuelsAndSprawl #StopDeterioratingCarbonSinks #BayDeadZoneAlgaeBlooms
#RegulatoryCapture

PG&E bills to soar nearly $400 a year in 2024 for millions of California households https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/pge-rate-hike-18458239.php
With more rate hikes in 2026! After running a state through #RoofTopSolar with #regulatorycapture. Fiscal misconduct pays- CEO makes more than $51M/yr.
#Repeal205 #NoPGEBailout

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16112023/inside-clean-energy-state-microgrids-grades/

#CitizensUnited: severely strained grid and reliability concerns related to wildfires.
This environment is practically begging for microgrids.
But some high-profile attempts to build microgrids in California have been rejected by #regulators, often due to opposition from utilities or utility-friendly groups
#RegulatoryCapture #ResilienceDenied

#RegulatoryCapture: the ultimate problem is that irrigation districts are stealing the water from the fish and all other aquatic life to further their private profits. it is also legalized vandalism.

#WaterIsLife #SiblingBeings #LivingScapes

https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/11/03/irrigation-vandalism-a-tale-of-two-rivers/

https://www.propublica.org/article/a-setup-for-disaster-california-legislation-requiring-companies-to-pay-for-oil-and-gas-well-cleanup-in-limbo

#regulatorycapture starts with #weakoversight: bonds, which are financial instruments guaranteeing to pay for cleanup, cover only a tiny fraction of plugging and decontamination cost.

California workers who cut countertops are dying of an incurable disease https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-24/silicosis-countertop-workers-engineered-stone

#RegulatoryCapture: #disposablepeople in #degradablespaces benefiting #developers amidst toothless #publichealth and #regulators (when #cleaner safer alternatives like wood, metal, formed concrete, and robotics exist.)

#RegulatoryCapture: discouraging important #CEQA lawsuits that enforce #environmentaljustice to block or mitigate the harmful effects of #housing #projects proposed in #toxicareas.

https://capitolweekly.net/ceqa-gutting-bill-threatens-californias-public-health-communities/

#RegulatoryCapture machinations #SB253: Diane Papan, abstained. So, if the bill lost just one more vote, her action would have doomed it. By a strange quirk of CA government, once the bill had passed, she and eight other abstainers were allowed to vote again, and voted for it — like joining the winning team after the game is over.

Price of #transparency, getting on the Papan shit list.

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/papan-almost-sinks-climate-bill/article_923ba43a-529d-11ee-8481-c7253c36f79f.html