[natch]

Article does not even mention the Kaiser Permanente cement plant which has a dedicated train line bringing in coal for burning, is one of the largest sources of mercury pollution in California, and is perched right over Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and Los Altos, and very close to Palo Alto and San Jose, bathing them in a haze of emissions.

All the highly educated and well connected residents, rich and powerful corporations, and even local governments can't do anything about it, because it is grandfathered in by federal law. It doesn't even appear on many lists of top polluters because many people who compile such lists only include power plants, and it is not a power plant.

It's a real world counterexample for people who say we can just turn off the switch of things we don't like (AI being the usual such thing). Well, good luck with that, if there are laws saying you can't... which there will be.

[kayfox]

This plant:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanente_Quarry

Which is not owned by Kaiser Permanente?

[goda90]

It was founded by Henry Kaiser and named Kaiser Permanente Cement Plant after the Permanente Creek which flowed past it. It has since changed names. Kaiser Permanente the healthcare organization was named after the same creek. So calling it the Kaiser Permanente Cement Plant is outdated, but it's not saying that the healthcare organization owns it.

[foxyv]

Yes! The KP HMO has history with but is not owned by the Kaiser industrial companies. It was essentially setup by Sidney Garfield at the behest of Henry Kaiser and the help of FDR to treat workers at the Kaiser shipyards, hence the name. It's a not for profit organization completely distinct from other Kaiser organizations. Funny enough I'm pretty sure at $79 billion yearly, it grosses more than it's industrial namesakes.

https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/our-story/our-history/how...

[natch]

That is a different facility, but it is nearby.