You are right on the money. Self-regulation is the ideal way. but then the powerful people are too insecure to trust the general populace to act intelligently.

A sad reality is that we are saddled with mediocre if not corrupt leaders. And the 1% of the worlds population who has all the money and reach are backing them. Nobody cares if thousands die or suffer or even if Earth itself is irreversibly damaged. We, every human who wants the next generation to live better circumstances than us, have a fight on our hands.