Unless there's one sign somewhere on the whole state I haven't seen, I don't think that's so. I live in California, and when I see those disclaimers, I take it as a suggestion to consciously manage risk. I may choose to live in those places, or buy those groceries, or live near plants and refineries that apparently don't rate a warning label, but I do so some measure better informed. Labeling environmental hazards seems like a much better idea than playing Battleship with known cancer clusters. However much they seem to be everywhere is however much they're needed. I'd say that carries meaning.
California's disclosure laws are often the only reason we hear about known risks that should be diligently disclosed. If it weren't for California's in particular, you wouldn't be seeing companies admit to private information, computer and network security breaches quite as much. Its influence is outsize its importance, which was already considerable among the states of the union.
You have a good point. Maybe it’s because I moved to California right from Venezuela. I was wondering why everything, chairs, pillows, mattresses, garbage bins, etc. had a cancer warning. The problem is that, if you put the warnings on too many things, people stop paying attention to them. Maybe it would be best to focus on a smaller set of things that pose a relatively high risk and put the rest of the information on a public repository so people who are interested in all the details can look them up? That in my opinion would have a higher chance of getting people to avoid the really dangerous stuff.
Unless there's one sign somewhere on the whole state I haven't seen, I don't think that's so. I live in California, and when I see those disclaimers, I take it as a suggestion to consciously manage risk. I may choose to live in those places, or buy those groceries, or live near plants and refineries that apparently don't rate a warning label, but I do so some measure better informed. Labeling environmental hazards seems like a much better idea than playing Battleship with known cancer clusters. However much they seem to be everywhere is however much they're needed. I'd say that carries meaning.
California's disclosure laws are often the only reason we hear about known risks that should be diligently disclosed. If it weren't for California's in particular, you wouldn't be seeing companies admit to private information, computer and network security breaches quite as much. Its influence is outsize its importance, which was already considerable among the states of the union.
You have a good point. Maybe it’s because I moved to California right from Venezuela. I was wondering why everything, chairs, pillows, mattresses, garbage bins, etc. had a cancer warning. The problem is that, if you put the warnings on too many things, people stop paying attention to them. Maybe it would be best to focus on a smaller set of things that pose a relatively high risk and put the rest of the information on a public repository so people who are interested in all the details can look them up? That in my opinion would have a higher chance of getting people to avoid the really dangerous stuff.