Our toxic nightmare; Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I've been reading the threads concerning the increasingly bad news coming from the Gulf and other situations from around the world. Common to most of these threads are two thoughts...

1) Why would these people/companies pollute the only home we have

2) Stop buying their goods

I can see an interesting connection between the two actually. Since companies seem to be allowed to pollute as they see fit with only token comment from environmental groups or government protection agencies there is no reason for them to care. It's only in the rare occasion like the Gulf that their actions get reported on, the rest of the time they are either able to buy off the right people or are simply operating somewhere no one will ever hear/care about.

The more toxic the environment becomes the more we are dependant on business to survive.

If we can't grow our own food because of polluted soil or toxins in the water (both likely spinoffs from the Gulf disaster) then we have no choice but to turn first to the big agri-companies for food, then later to Monsanto/GMO companies to create crops that can be grown at all.

Water undrinkable? Here's a disposable filter.

Air pollution? Here's a gas mask, or longer term, society in a bottle: always indoors, always watched.

It is a perfect business arrangement actually and may very well be the crowning gem in TPTB strategy of creating a situation, then providing the solution. If the planet becomes an unusable, sterile and toxic mess then those who survive are totally beholden to their leaders and the corporations for all facets of life.

Far fetched perhaps, but then again the dispersant being used in the gulf cleanup is actually worse then the oil, and it is made by a company that all the right people are part of. Tax us for pollution and the climate impact of our lifestyle, but make no effort to improve things thus gaurenteeing future revenues from both taxes and the increasing number of items required just to survive.

Makes me wonder.

On another note, there hasn't been much said about climate change or the carbon taxes recently.

Wanna bet there is a new and improved version that incorporates a tax for 'necessary evils' like oil based products? Since we all use these products and the basic resource is potentially so destructive then it is only fair that we pay an up-front fee to help counter the inevitable disasters that are spin offs of our way of life.