Besides much that is admirable and glorious California also has its mad bureaucratic streak. A notice that appears in hotels and other public places startles: “This Facility Contains Chemicals Known To The State of California To Cause Cancer, And Birth Defects Or Other Reproductive Harm. A Brochure With More Information Is Available At The Registration Desk”. To which the obvious retort is: why isn’t the State of California doing something about it then rather then frightening people needlessly. The answer of course is California’s direct voter legislation. This is Proposition 65, passed in 1986. It has a laudable aim of reducing known carcinogens in the environment but the blanket use of this warring; often unattached to any actual assessment of any chemical risk is counterproductive. Wikipedia comments: “Because of the overuse of the vague warning, the ubiquitous signs ultimately communicate very little information to the end user... Most of the Proposition 65 complaints are filed on behalf of straw man plaintiffs by private attorneys, some of whose businesses are built entirely on filing Proposition 65 lawsuits”. Hmmm.
This Facility Contains Chemicals...
Besides much that is admirable and glorious California also has its mad bureaucratic streak. A notice that appears in hotels and other public places startles: “This Facility Contains Chemicals Known To The State of California To Cause Cancer, And Birth Defects Or Other Reproductive Harm. A Brochure With More Information Is Available At The Registration Desk”. To which the obvious retort is: why isn’t the State of California doing something about it then rather then frightening people needlessly. The answer of course is California’s direct voter legislation. This is Proposition 65, passed in 1986. It has a laudable aim of reducing known carcinogens in the environment but the blanket use of this warring; often unattached to any actual assessment of any chemical risk is counterproductive. Wikipedia comments: “Because of the overuse of the vague warning, the ubiquitous signs ultimately communicate very little information to the end user... Most of the Proposition 65 complaints are filed on behalf of straw man plaintiffs by private attorneys, some of whose businesses are built entirely on filing Proposition 65 lawsuits”. Hmmm. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm a writer whose interests include the biological revolution happening now, the relationship between art and science, jazz, and the state of the planet Archives
March 2016
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