'New car smell' is the scent of carcinogens

Re:'New car smell' is the scent of carcinogens by 0xquad on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:13PM (#26157588)

The main problem with Prop 65 is that it was done by ballot proposition -- through California's initiative process. That is, the proposed law was voted up or down by the people AS IS. As opposed to being created through the normal legislative process that would have allowed for sensible changes (as well as probable neutering by opponents). The initiative process is a form of direct democracy intended to bypass/override the legislature. As such, it is difficult to tweak Prop 65 legislatively for needed fixes that would make it more effective.

This is one example of why most things that are proposed should not actually be done through the initiative process, IMHO. As a Californian, my default bias on ALL ballot propositions has become NO until proven well-written.

That said, I'd rather have Prop 65 as imperfect as it is than nothing. It occasionally gives me actionable information.

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Re:'New car smell' is the scent of carcinogens by annoyingnoob on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:47PM (#26157928)

There is a spot somewhere between abstinence and gluttony where you can live well and keep your risks under control. I think I'd rather live a little and take my chances - as long as its my choice. I'm with you generally, its good to have notice, but not all science is correct/settled and we need thresholds.

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Re:'New car smell' is the scent of carcinogens by mleonhard on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @06:28PM (#26160192)

I believe this is the "Argument to Moderation" logical fallacy [0].

> Argument to moderation is the fallacy that the truth is a compromise between two opposing positions.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_to_moderation

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Re:'New car smell' is the scent of carcinogens by annoyingnoob on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @08:27PM (#26161447)

I'm saying that I can't eat french fries everyday, but once in say 15 days isn't so bad. That isn't true of Benzene. Prop 65 would warn you to abstain from many things, many things that need more science.

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Re:'New car smell' is the scent of carcinogens by _nalply on Wednesday February 17, 2021 @06:57AM (#26165412)

Let me tell you about Swiss direct democracy. If an initiative comes up, parliament can amend the law and tell the people, hey look, we already improved the law, you can reject the initiative, or make a rejectable counter-proposal, or even both. It's sometimes complicated and it doesn't always produce something I would call nice but more often than not the outcome is better than acceptable.

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