Energy
There are certainly technological developments in the energy industry that are both profitable and generally benign. An example would be an economical method for increasing the efficiency of an electric generator that does not entail any significant drawbacks, such as a higher failure rate. But, unfortunately, many, if not most, methods used to increase the profitability of energy companies are harmful to people and to the environment.
Coal companies routinely destroy mountains, pollute streams, ruin the lungs of miners. Their product produces noxious fumes detrimental to human health, and carbon dioxide in quantities contributing significantly to global warming. On the grounds of duty to their stockholders (to pay them dividends) coal companies strenuously resist efforts to make them reduce the damage they cause. This resistance takes the form of contributions to political parties, lobbying legislators and government officials, and the use of public relations firms to influence public opinion.
In order to make possible the continued consumption, at ever-increasing rates, of gasoline to fuel our cars, and, more important, to enrich themselves, other energy companies are now beginning to exploit shale oil, which involves various environmentally harmful processes [4].
There are no significant market penalties to deter environmental abuse. In some cases, where individuals can show that they were directly harmed by operations of an identifiable individual or corporation, civil law suits can be used to punish the offender. But such cases are rare. E.g., while there is often clear statistical evidence that some number of people hundreds of miles downwind of an oil refinery are experiencing illness due to emissions from the plant, it is not possible to prove that any specific individual was harmed. The only remedy is governmental action, usually via the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
It might be argued that, since our way of life is heavily dependent on the availability of low cost energy, the companies supplying that energy are meeting an important societal need, and we should be willing to accept the cost, which necessarily includes some detrimental effects on health and the environment. Even if that argument were valid, it would still be important to minimize harm to humans and the environment. E.g., coal could be mined under conditions that did not require miners to breath air contaminated by coal dust, and emissions from coal burning power plants could be filtered to virtually eliminate sulfur compounds. But such measures would detract from profits. They are implemented only to the limited extent mandated by weak laws and regulations that are under continuous assault by supporters of corporate interests.
The simplest, most effective and efficient way to reduce harmful side-effects of energy generation is to reduce the amount of energy used. There are many ways in which energy is wasted, often due to carelessness [5].
Consider, for example, the energy consumed by an air conditioner (A/C). The power required is proportional to the difference between the outside temperature, OT, and the desired room temperature, RT. The average A/C energy consumption is proportional to OT - RT. It seems to be a common practice in restaurants to reduce the room temperature during the cooling season to a level that feels quite chilly to one entering from the outside on a warm day, probably below 75 degrees. Let's assume an average outside temperature during this season of 83 degrees. Then the required power is proportional to 83 - 75 = 8. If the target room temperature were raised to 79 degrees, the power would be proportional to 83 - 79 = 4; the A/C energy consumption rate would be halved.
Twiddling the numbers for OT and RT would, of course, change the energy savings ratio, but it is clear that, for reasonable numbers, the potential savings is considerable. I have found that restaurants are often cooled down to the point where I feel a need to wear a sweater when entering one during the summer. There is a shock effect caused by the big change in temperature experienced on both entry and exit. Excessive cooling seems quite common in many other public spaces as well. The situation during the cold weather season, is similar. Offices, and public spaces, such as restaurants, are often over-heated, another instance of expending energy to produce negative results.
My discomfort is more than an idiosyncrasy. At least one scientific study has found that it is very common for American office buildings to be overly-cooled during hot weather seasons and overly-heated during cold weather seasons, and that both of these are associated with increased symptoms of ill health, such as coughing or sneezing [6].
The application to restaurants or retail stores is interesting from the point of view of the effects of commercial competition. For some reason, restaurant operators have concluded that over-cooling and over-heating are both good for business. Else, it would make no sense for them to spend money to exacerbate the effects of summer and winter. Presumably, business owners believe that not over-cooling and over-heating would cause their customers to desert them in favor of competitors maintaining cooler (or warmer) establishments.
Now consider the effect of what free enterprise advocates would probably denounce as an outrageous violation of the rights of business people, namely a city health department ordnance requiring that, during the cooling season, establishments open to the public not be cooled below some temperature (say 79 degrees), and that, during the heating season, the target temperature not exceed 69 degrees. This would benefit customers (and employees) who would be less likely to suffer from the ill effects found during the cited study. Since it would apply to all restaurants and stores, none would lose business to competitors as a result, and all would benefit via reduced heating and A/C costs. And reduced energy dissipation would benefit our environment. A clear win-win-win situation!
The food industry
While "health" food stores purport to, and generally do, stock products that are particularly nutritious and largely free of unhealthy ingredients, they constitute only a small segment of the food industry (and also often carry a variety of quack products, such as food supplements purporting to expedite weight loss). In general, the health of customers is of minimal interest to the corporations that supply most of our food.
Almost everything that the giant food companies do to increase sales and profits is detrimental to the health of consumers. They make heavy use of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and other artificial flavorings to make their products more tempting, with the result that large numbers of people over-eat, imbibe too much sugar, and ingest all sorts of chemicals, some of which may be harmful. We don't know the extent of the harm because few artificial ingredients have been properly tested. The use of other chemicals as preservatives, emulsifiers, coloring agents, etc., further expose people to risks of unknown magnitude.
Meat and poultry products are produced under appalling conditions, with animals kept alive by antibiotics in filthy, greatly overcrowded feeding pens. Such heavy use of antibiotics reduces their effectiveness in protecting humans against infections. As excessive fishing has depleted the fish population in open waters, more and more fish are being raised on fish farms under analogous conditions. In all cases, top priority goes to minimizing costs, and making the products look attractive.
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