That's why (for example) extruded plastics are so cheap and ubiquitous: the petrochemical industry insures that the world is flooded at all times with inexpensive, uncomplicated, easily worked polymer resins such as polyethylene and polystyrene. Hence such simple petroleum-derived plastics have been pushed into just about every product and consumer good. These plastics are literally in everything, including your own human bodies and brains (q.v. #microplastics.)
#ElonMusk and his pals want to apply this same pump-and-dump approach to #space exploitation, and other things. Great guy.
The true cost to human and Earth life that's accrued from many many decades of filling the world with cheap extruded plastics may never be known—and the present-day intellectual climate is hostile to such understanding.
(cont'd)
The people in charge, the people who are profiting the most from continuing to fill Earth with petrochemicals and petroleum products of all sorts, are of the general opinion that humanity as a whole should shut up and be grateful for the gifts of #technology, and stop fussing about what it might be doing to their health or their peace of mind.
Meticulous study of subtle and long-term health effects of chemicals and polymers and other synthetic substances is tedious, expensive, painstaking work requiring a huge staff of scientists and technicians to carry out. In other words, it's just the sort of thing that an #entrepreneur is likely to regard as "inefficient".
(cont'd)