The Ruhr Valley in Germany has been mined for coal for 170 years. Over that time, they took so much material out from underground that the surface sank, and now the valley is completely dependent on Emschergenossenschaft pumps to keep the area from flooding. The most surprising thing about the pump system is that the coal companies are paying for them! Tom Scott has the story.
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Unfortunately, the Emschergenossenschaft ist the exception. The principle to privatize profits and nationalize ecological damages and financial losses seems to be an easy way to make money...
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In Kentucky, when a coal company ruins the landscape and makes it impossible for people to thrive there, they generally just walk away, go out of business, or otherwise take no responsibility. In a hyper-capitalist country, the Ruhr Valley would be a lake.
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But the coal companies have to pay for running the pums as they caused the presence of the vally. Who else is supposed to pay for it?
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