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The WSJ's Numbers "guy": The true cost of electricity is difficult to pin down. That's because a number of inputs comprise it: the cost of fuel itself, the cost of production, as well as the cost of dealing with the damage that fuel does to the environment. Energy Points, a...

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation on Tuesday overhauling the state's management of its groundwater supply, bringing it in line with other states that have long regulated their wells. This is really important because california has large agriculture based businesses (central valley). In fact, the oppositions to the legislature were people in the agriculture business. This potentially allows water companies and regulators to intervene if water use is excessive or improper. This is an article directly discussing scarcity of water and natural resources and how the government regulates these resources. This passing of this legislature could also have some opportunity cost along with it; less water=maybe more expensive food, less food, more chance of dying crops (?)

Liberia was going through a lot of deforestation, and was going to become the number one deforested country. Therefore Norway has jumped in to help with this crisis, by saying they will help pay for development aid, because there have been fears that the Ebola crisis would increase the logging in Liberia, who are really desperate for cash. This part of the news shows how Liberia would cut all their trees and take away all of their valuable resources for the money to help cure it's people. As of now Norway will pay the impoverished West African country $150m (£91.4m) to stop deforestation by 2020.

A commodity boom has helped pull millions out of poverty across South America over the past decade. It has also unleashed a new scramble for oil, minerals and cropland that is accelerating deforestation and fueling a new wave of land conflicts from Colombia to Chile. The land and the forests are poorly regulated and protected leading to illegal plundering of resources which end up deteriorating and damaging the environment. This article is also a good example of negative externality of consumption and how demand can indirectly increase the damage inflicted on the environment. Since the amazon rainforest is only protected in some places and not in others (and the protected places are still open to the public), it is a common resource that is constantly being violated and reduced.

In order to meet the demands of electricity in Nepal as well as export electricity to power-hungry India, the Nepal government agreed allow GMR to construct the 900-megawatt Upper Karnali hydroelectric power plant in the northwest. The project set for completion in 2021, which will provide 12 per cent energy free to Nepal to ease a crippling power shortage and help its economy emerge. An agreement was signed to construct transmission lines across the border to transmit the remaining electricity to India, which can help reducing the extreme scarcity of electricity in India. I agree with the project because this can decrease the scarcity level in both Nepal and India.

This article underlines how scarcity of one resource affects the availability of another. Many of you shared articles concerning about the current water scarcity. Here, you will se how this water scarcity has affected the cotton crops.

The holy river of Ganga that flows through new Delhi, capital of India, supports the lives of people living in about 118 towns. Over time this river has become highly polluted; some factors to blame for this would be modernization and ignorance. During the summer of 2014 a new Prime Minister was elected who has set up a project to clean this water body. The opportunity cost in saving this water body is time and financial resources. Roughly, it is said that the government plans of completing this project over 18 years while using millions of INR. The government is giving up these valuable resources to achieve something that is of high importance.

This article is about the tax for medical-devices that was started 1.5 years ago. Author states that it should be repealed since it caused many job losses and "business environment" in U.S. deteriorates because of this tax. Also, because small companies that produces medical devices are having a hard time, since sales have dropped, major companies have become more powerful. Fınally, author states that as longer this tax is imposed, as longer it will stay.

Why does the medical-device excise tax still exist? The tax is a universally reviled Obamacare revenue-raiser, skimming 2.3 percent off the sales of medical devices. Outside liquor and tobacco, most Americans don't see excise taxes, which are levied on gross sales, irrespective of a company's profitability.

The rising problem with pollution can directly be related with the fact that polluting the environment costs little to no money. However, trying to reduce our carbon footprint and becoming more environmentally friendly costs a great deal. This is the problem this article speaks of.

I like this article since it highlights that eventhough power companies are not paying for the combustion of carbon (no private costs) but there is still social costs

This article shows how apple watches makes the third party, IE the people around you the targets of negative externality as the product is rather annoying.

This article mentions what exactly is negative externalities and makes reference to real life examples.

Actually this article exactly reflects my opinions about improving technology and its causes.I believe that negative externalities mostly occur because of fast and destructive innovations.. New technologies effects people and they tend to buy all new products as if it is a rule.Eveything changes so fast and we don't realize the harm we cause to the environment and us in that rush.

Oil prices are based on the supply and demand of it and not on its costs on the environment. "They price oil and gas based on current demand and supply, and not based on the costs to the planet in pollution, global climate change, sea level rise, and more."

NRG Energy, the largest public electricity provider in the US is facing trouble providing enough electricity to power grids because of coal shortage. Coal stockpiles have fallen by 28% and prices have risen by 5.8%. And because oils are becoming more dominant in rail way delivery, coal plants are struggling to stay in market.