If You Were a CEO, Would You Move Your Company to the 50th Ranked State?
The debate over how much environmental protection a state should provide for its citizens usually devolves into this choice: business success vs public health. Businesses fight against tighter environmental laws because they could hurt their profits while also warning those costs will hurt the state’s attractiveness to other businesses.
I say the debate “devolves” to that question because it’s a false choice. It’s like a debate over how many cigarettes it’s safe to smoke. Or how many times you can play Russian roulette without losing.
There is only one correct answer, and not just because the wrong one can kill you. It’s also because history shows the correct answer — environmental protection should always be the priority — is also the best choice for long-term business success.
Louisiana is currently going through another cycle of this debate, with business interests pushing for permitting more polluting industries and against critically-needed reductions in the use and production of fossil fuels.
All of which leads me to this nugget from U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 ranking of “Best States” for quality of life: Louisiana ranks last.
And we were last in 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017 — which is as long as the magazine currently lists those rankings on its web page.
It says the rankings are based on measuring 70 metrics across eight categories: health care, education, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections and natural environment.
It is no coincidence that US News & World Report research also found Louisiana leads the nation in the highest amount of industrial toxins in its air, water and ground, as well as exposing its residents to the highest health risk from pollution.
Now, in case you’re wondering, neither liberal nor conservative states dominate the upper ranks. They are almost evenly divided between red, blue and purple states, as well as heartland and the coasts, and include several fossil fuel states. And almost all these states enjoy reputations for solid economies as well as healthy environments.
Read the rest of the article at The Times-Picayune.
