Over the last couple of weeks I have been educating myself on Plastic Pollution, Ocean Pollution and even pollution just in general as a社会现象。

I think its important to understand not only 'what is' happening, but also analyze why this happeneing.

污染是我们集体全球“人类”种族进行的集体，系统和普遍行为。

Frankly, I'm a realist, and I honestly don't believe in the likelihood of a planet wide awakening based on some unfathomable high morals, atleast in the near future and would like to take a little more pragmatic view on this '社会现象'。

关于此类问题的任何讨论都必须具有建设性，我认为对亮点的乐观观点。

我的目标是尝试分享我关于为什么污染通常发生的公理核心的一些想法。

I'm not naive to assume that people are inherently evil and intend to do damage intentionally, rather on a systemic level our society has evolved and become very complexly structure.

"Externalities"

Most of the world around us, and even the sustainability of our oceans can be explained by economics if looked at it from behind a certain set of goggles.

经济学具有非常关键的理解外部性';

Infact, pollution is the most commonly used examples of a 'negative externality'。

Very simply -这是不属于等式的成本或收益，考虑到它的唯一方法是将其带入方程式或'一世nternalize the externality'。

Note: if you are an advanced economist - please forgive this amateurish gibberish.

Case Study: Mr. Wang

例如，可以说您在中国有一个玩具生产工厂，其年度固定（间接费用）成本为5000美元，可变成本为5/玩具，收入为每年1000个玩具x $ 20/件=$ 20,000

Mr. Wang's business isn't unique and is far from a monopoly.

实际上，该地区的企业很容易相互取代，因此对产品的需求非常严格，而20美元/玩具基本上是每个人都出售的产品。

在那些数字上，王先生10,000美元的利润per year

Here is the issue, at the moment the factory is gushing out strong industrial pollutants into the air and into the sewage. Hypothetically there is a'成本'一世mposed on nature because in theory this damage should be cleaned up - this is a 'negative externality'。

Alternatively, the factory would need to set up a filtration system that would cost another $5/toy to mitigate 95% of the damage done and thus adress the cost and thus '一世nternalize the negative externality'。

Now, even if the owner of the factory recognizes that he is simply growing an unclaimable debt with nature and wants to live more sustainably, he will have problems.

Lets say he decides to implement the filtration system, lets see how this affects his numbers.

#Scenario 1: He Adds The Cost to the Product

Lets say he shifts the cost of the filter down the line and now sells his toys for$25/toy.

在这个价格点，市场只愿意从他那里购买700个玩具，从而带来了他的收入$ 17,500。

他的费用仍然为5,000美元，现在他的每玩具费用为$ 10 x 700玩具= 7000美元，总$12,000

王先生现在只做$5,500 versus the $10,000他以前在做。

然而，严酷的现实更糟。

Beijings Toy Manufacturing Market is inPerfect Competition王先生经营的整个领域与他所做的完全相同。这被称为市场“完美竞争”。

实际上，在上述示例的情况下，将其产品的价格提高实际上可能会将王先生的销售量减少到零，并立即使他失业。

Most of the time, businesses in a '完美的竞争'economy are in a very tight race and barely any make any profit and operate at a price dictated by the market.

This is how the demand curve actually look in a perfect competition market:

For the sake of argument, we'll continue this case study presuming that the rigidness of the demand in Mr. Wang's market isn't so perfect, and there is some downward slope.

方案＃2：施加的政府法规

正如我们在上面的示例中看到的那样，王先生是一个完美竞争市场的球员（BTW的大多数全球市场）都不能'一世nternalize this externality'on his own AND stay in business.

他的竞争对手根本不会遵循套房并接受相同的费用。

Now, what if ALL of his competitors were forced to do that?

The only way that this can happen (outside of an unlikely mass 'awakening' among people fighting for survival) is for the government to impose regulations across the industry.

Lets say the Beijing regional government imposes legislation that all Toy Factories in Beijing have to by law implement the $5/toy additional costing filtration/disposal system.

What happens to the numbers?

• Lets say the Beijing Toy Factory mini-economy used to sell 200,000 toys @ $20/toy or$4,000,000
• It provided approximately 1 job for $10,000 revenue or 400 jobs.
• As the costs of the $5/toy have been implemented, the cost per toy went up to $25.
• 在这个价格点，市场只愿意购买130,000个玩具或$3,250,000

Since Mr. Wang and his competitors export their production to the US, they are in competition with producers fromTaiwan，，，，Philipines和Mexico。

The market is cut throat, and in reality, a price jump like that could possibly cut out their market from existence entirely - as seen with the hypothetical example of a 100% perfectly competitive market.

Lets sum this up, by introducing the legislation the government has:

1. Rid itself of $725，，，，000x 25% =$187,500worth of taxes
2. 减少了现金流入$ 537,500一世nto the local economy from the US
3. Rid the community of 75 jobs which in turn supported another 300 people

On the other hand:

1. The Health Care costs of millions of Beijing Residents are reduced by unaccountable amount
2. The quality of life for it's citizens is improved by an unquantifyable amount

In most countries, there is a varying scale of crony relations between government & big business, thus to expect that a government wouldproactively pursue such measures一世s unrealistic, atleast historically.

因此,无论是好是坏——上ly way that a piece of legislation can be enacted to protect the 'common“好是相关的足够压力”社区'。

然而，这个问题跨越了边界，如上所述，例如中国政府通过这样的立法，一世t will lose ground to another country that won't.

因此，这可以在全球范围内受到影响的唯一方法是消费者是'educated'and 'conscious'。

方案＃3：敏感和意识的消费者

Lets look at this from another angle.

Lets say that the government does not pass this law and Mr. Wang decides to take on changing the system alone, against all odds, and he places a little mark on the bottom of every toy sold marking it as'Sustainably Disposed Plastic Material'。

现在，可以说，在美国，美国的消费者意识到通常生产的塑料玩具与仔细处理产品的浪费的塑料玩具之间的区别，可以说这些消费者很乐意支付他们通常购买的$ 5差异和这种可持续的变体。

Suddenly, Mr. Wangs business doesn't look so bad. He is still selling the same amount of toys, he is still making the same profit margin and his business is not polluting the environment.

In reality, this is the only solution globally and itapplies to every product, market, person & part of the world.

Conclusion

只有两种方式影响的economics'that place us in a world in which most externalities are not factored into the equation but need to be.

#1: Political Engagement

This is not limited to electing a president or joining one of the 3 parties.

政府在许多层面上都存在，即使上层阶层被记录为腐败，也可以承担某种阴谋，直到较低的政府。

These lower tiers need to be addressed first.

Local councils, city mayors and various government departments.

If there is a factory polluting, it must be forced to comply with reasonable and adequate legislation that is demanded by the residents whom the government represents.

#2: Conscious Purchasing

Consumers need to be careful which products they purchase and spend some time to educate themselves on the variations of the product and the implications of it, versus using price as a sole factor for decision making.

This applies to far more factors than just pollution, it applies to things like products made through child labor, slave labor or products created as a result of wars/conflicts or even ones through unfair trade agreements.

Side-Note For Divers

The Activity in which we partake in creates a positive externality (generally), by creating economic value to maintaining coral reefs and other parts of the sea/body/lake/river/ocean in pristine condition.

By simply diving and spending money on this hobby, we partake in marine conservation.

如果一个礁石上有0个潜水员，则说1zplay每年1000条潜水员每年支付$ 100,000 = $ 1,000,000来潜水，那么不在当地社区偷猎礁石的论点对此有更大的重视。

特别是如果潜水“社区”支持深深地支持当地经济和雇用当地人的企业。

Due to scuba diving, for example a dead manta is worth less than an alive one (purely in an economic sense).

继续潜水并教育自己，了解我们所消耗的东西，它来自哪里以及去向的地方！