John Consider the contrast in magnitude of the numbers you are talking of that are revealing of the underlying driver of much political discontent. Compare to the magnitude of the estimate, by Robert Costanza, et al, published in 'Nature' putting the value of natural goods and services at about $125 trillion per year. IF we charged fees to industries proportional to emissions, extraction and habitat destruction, we might expect to collect an amount of money of this magnitude. (The actual amount of the fees could float up or down, depending on the reults of an auction of permits, issued in quantities that reflect the amounts of impact of various kinds that most people would deem to be permissible. The system will, in effect, set the fees at an amount appropriate for a democratic society.) With such a system, the very wealthy people will see that the best place to invest it would be in industries that are able to meet people's needs with relatively little harmful impact on th...