An excellent piece from Der Spiegel that
highlights economic concepts such as negative externalities and natural capital:
“The prices of
bananas, beef, bread and other foodstuffs are determined primarily by supply
and demand -- and sometimes by subsidies, quotas and price speculation. But the
prices do not include contributions made by nature. These contributions include
such things as the use of clean water or fertile farmland. Harmful chemicals,
gases or polluting particles emitted during production are likewise not
factored into the price, neither for producers nor consumers.”