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By Clayton A Francis on May 25, 2015

Clayton A. Francis, Zeeco, USA, outlines the potential consequences of proposed legislation to change the laws for flare system design and operation within the U.S.

In 2020, the US will mark the centennial of one of its greatest social follies, the ratification of the 18th amendment to the US Constitution, or ‘Prohibition’. In this social experiment the American government endeavored to legislate what it viewed as moral, appropriate attitudes and behaviour regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages. While the mission was noble and its aims were pure (healthier, happier, wealthier populace), the complex cascade of reactions and interactions among society, commerce, and government caught the country off guard. All kinds of benefits from Prohibition were projected at the removal of this vice, but once the law was enacted the results did not meet expectations. The Prohibition movement and amendment, eventually repealed in 1933, provides a robust case study in unintended consequences. Anecdotes and stories abound where a supposed benefit of the new law led to significant, sometimes overwhelmingly negative, and clearly unanticipated results.

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