http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure When private costs (potential liability of losing a lawsuit in re pollu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure When private costs (potential liability of losing a lawsuit in re pollution) are lower than the cost of negative externalities (disease, cancer, obliterated ecosystems), you have a classic market failure. You can make lawsuits easier to win or you can impose artificial limits on the private entities impacted. I'd prefer the one that leads to less lawyers.