Monday, July 5, 2010

Protecting the environment by giving it an economic value?

Protecting the environment by giving it an economic value?: "

For years, many have argued that our current economic system does not fully capture the cost of the environment. The price signal, for example, should be an indicator of resource scarcity or other environmental concerns, but often does not capture the full costs. (Current climate change is perhaps a clear indication of this.)



As a result, we continue efficiently producing products and services that have a negative impact on the environment in some way (which is inefficient, on the whole, in the long run).



For those who fear excessive government regulation, a truer accounting of such costs could allow markets to more naturally price goods and services, and highlight seemingly efficient companies and industries as inefficient, forcing change through markets, rather than regulation, which market proponents always fear. (The irony may be that to see such a change in our economic systems may require political leadership by governments and citizens — although that is how national and global market systems came into being in the first place.)



The biodiversity page has been updated to explain this further.



Read full article: Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares?

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