User:Rvillap/sandbox

I will be editing the eco-capitalism page
After reading the page I believe it would be helpful to add a couple paragraphs discussing the barriers that long-term infrastructure can pose to a transition to an eco-capitalistic economy and how companies like Tesla are combating this issue. I also plan on adding a section on how eco-capitalism plans on internalizing current externalities like carbon emissions through policies like carbon credits. Following this up with a simplistic example of how ecologically favorable policies can alter the entire private sector through consumer preferences.

Externalities: Correcting of a free market failure
A central part of eco-capitalism is to correct for the market failure seen in the externalization of pollution. By treating the issue of pollution as an externality it has allowed the market to minimize the degree of accountability. To correct for this market failure eco-capitalism would have to internalize this cost. A prime example of this shift towards internalizing externalities is seen in the adoption of a system for carbon trading. In system like this people are forced to factor the pollution cost into their expenses. This system as well as other systems of internalization function on large and small scales(often times both are tightly connected). On a corporate scale, the government can regulate carbon emissions and other polluting factors in business practices forcing companies to either reduce their pollution levels, externalize these costs onto their consumers by raising the cost of their goods/services, and/or a combination of the two. These kinds of systems can also be effective in indirectly creating a more environmentally conscious consumer base. As the companies who are creating the most pollution face falling profit levels and rising prices their consumers and investors are inclined to take their business elsewhere. This migration of investment and revenue would then be expected to make its way to business who have already incorporated the minimization of pollution into their business model thus allowing them to provide lower prices and higher profit margins attracting the migrating consumers and investors.

Barriers to the transition
While there can be many barriers to the transition to a eco-capitlalist system, one of the most daunting and forgotten is the systemic barrier that can be created by former models. Dimitri Zenghelis explores the idea of path dependence and the how continuing to build infrastructure without foresight seriously impedes the implementation and benefits of future innovations. Zenghelis uses the term “locked-in” to describe situations where the full implementation of a new innovation cannot be seen because an earlier infrastructure prevents it from functioning well. This barrier is exemplified in older cities like Los Angles, San Francisco and New York where the infrastructure was designed around urban sprawl to accommodate private vehicles. The sprawl has been researched with the results returning that the moving forward mega-cities need to be constructed as eco-cities if the hope of curving emission levels down is going to have any hope.