by Audrey Peters

Created on: April 17, 2008

The American public, at large, strongly favors the environment over business. 87% of Americans polled in 2004 by the World Public Opinion group believe that "American companies that operate in other countries should be expected to abide by US environmental standards."

The primary reason people polled answered the way that they did is that the environment deserves protecting. We are losing one and a half acres of rainforest a second for logging, mineral mining, to provide charcoal for industrial plants, and to provide cheap land for grazing. In fact, the rainforest could be gone completely within the next forty years. The Amazon rainforest alone is responsible for more than twenty percent of both the world's oxygen and the world's fresh water. 137 species are being lost everyday due to human destruction for business purposes-less than one percent of those species have been tested for cures for common human diseases. What happens when these resources are gone?

We have a lot to lose by not protecting the environment. No one is arguing this. What people are arguing, however, is whether United States companies should shoulder that burden even when they are operating outside of the United States. In fact, it is merely a replay of the tragedy of the commons. The argument American companies are making is flawed, at best. If they have to abide by more restrictions than their competitors, they reason, this puts their competitors at an advantage. The problem is that this is the logic of children. It is in the same vein as "he got one more present than me" or "she has an inch more soda in her glass." Someone must take responsibility for the environment. It needs to be us.

Legally, the water is murky. The typical arguments don't apply here, as a company is not an individual. The fact of the matter is, a company, unlike an individual, can be two places at once. It is something akin to standing with one foot one either side of a border, and shooting someone who also has one foot on either side of the border. Who gets to prosecute for murder? Clearly, we need to create new laws to define the situation, looking at the issue from multiple angles. The environmental repercussions of our laxity are clear.

American companies operating overseas aren't exactly environmental stewards. Georgia Pacific logs pristine rainforest in order to produce pulp for its paper products. Chevron has drilling locations throughout Latin America. In fact, Texaco is being sued over operations in Ecuador,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>