Consumer protection refers to the laws designed to aid retail consumers of goods and services that have been improperly manufactured, delivered, performed, handled, or described. Such laws provide the retail consumer with additional protections and remedies not generally provided to merchants and others who engage in business transactions, on the premise that the consumers do not enjoy a sufficient bargaining position with respect to the businessmen with whom they deal and therefore should not be strictly limited by the legal rules that govern recovery for damages among businessmen. The overarching goal is to protect individuals and the interest of the public in general from unfair and misleading activity in business and commerce (such as false advertising and deceptive trade practices) and scams perpetrated by criminals (such as identity theft and pyramid schemes) that harm a substantial number of consumers.
Moss Landing (formerly, Moss) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. Moss Landing is located on the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad 15 miles (24 km) north-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of 10 feet (3 m). As of the 2005 census, the CDP population was 782. It is located on the shore of Monterey Bay, at the mouth of Elkhorn Slough, and at the head of the Monterey Canyon. It is home to the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, a multi-campus research facility of the California State University; and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, sister organization to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Moss Landing's most notable landmark is the Moss Landing Power Plant. The natural gas plant, located at the intersection of State Route 1 and Dolan Road, produces 2,538 megawatts, is wholly owned by Dynegy, and is visible from Santa Cruz, California to the north and Monterey, California to the south on clear days. Moss Landing is also the location of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories research facility, which is sponsored by seven California universities and offers a Masters of Science in marine science.