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To edit this article, The commodification of nature, using the article by Foster, I will add stuff about how ecology and capitalism are not meant for one another. I will do this by adding information about global warming, and policy that can be put into place to deal with this. I will also tie many of these issues to deregulation due to neoliberalism, accelerating around the Regan era due to all the regulation cuts that were placed into the system and caused many environmental problems.

Draft

As Foster points out in Ecology Against Capitalism, the environment is not a commodity (such as most things are treated in capitalism) but it is rather the biosphere that sustains all life that we know of. However, it is important to note that in our society, it is treated as a capitalistic value. For example, a price is put on lumber in a certain forest or the quality of water in a river or stream, or the minerals that are available under ground. These ways of putting a price on the ecosystem tend to forget to put a price on exploiting it. This can cause more damage to an ecosystem if the externalities for business are not taken into consideration. One way to fix this problem is taxes that will increase the cost of environmental damage. For example, a carbon tax would help society get off of fossil fuels and go towards renewables much faster. This is one step that many scientists and experts agree needs to happen in order to transition away from fossil fuels and delay or even prevent man made climate change. Deregulation of governmental programs such as the EPA, and other environmental organizations may be good for business, but it doesn't serve the people who must live on a more polluted earth.[1]

  1. ^ Foster, John (2002). "Ecology Against Capitalism".