[A Jovial Cad]

Nice try--but I happen to know better. The price went up because the handling, use, and disposal of R-12 became a highly regulated matter, and that super efficient refrigerant is now all but banned. All based upon an unproven theory that it somehow harmed the ozone layer. Further, chemical companies were forced to come up with R-12 substitutes in a phase-in, and those substitutes, besides being far less efficient, are also quite costly.

"The CAA makes sure the marketplace runs efficiently"

Now that's rich, indeed: an unwarranted government intrusion into the marketplace is touted as making it work more "efficiently."

Note to New Orleans: most conservatives I know believe that government regulation of the marketplace should be based upon manifest necessity, not the sky is falling! environmentalist hysteria.

[New Orleans Slim]

"Note to New Orleans: most conservatives I know believe that government regulation of the marketplace should be based upon manifest necessity, not the sky is falling! environmentalist hysteria."

What do you know about the Clean Air Act exactly? I've litgated it on the corporate side. If you are looking for environmental hysteria I'd recommend discussing a different law, like the Endnagered Species Act.

Or are you suggesting that there are no environmental externatlities? Because internalizing externalities is necessary for any market to run properly. But I guess complaining about laws is easier than actually looking at what a specific law does.

[okie01]

Further, chemical companies were forced to come up with R-12 substitutes in a phase-in, and those substitutes, besides being far less efficient, are also quite costly.

Furthermore, chemical companies were forced to come up with substitutes just as DuPont's patent on Freon was expiring...

And DuPont just happened to have a new refrigerant that met the new standards, patented and ready for market...

I'm not saying that there was anything less than kosher about the EPA's new regulations...it's just that the coincidence is so, well, stunning.