What blogger can resist a good portmanteau word? The latest I've heard is "ecoflation," the alleged negative impact of carbon controls on the consumer goods sector. According to a study carried out by the World Resources Institute and the consulting firm AT Kearney, as carbon capping is enforced, earnings could plunge as far as 47% for producers if their current methods are not turned in a more sustainable direction.

While this might sound like bad news for an already staggering economy, keep in mind that in the current, non-carbon capped market, manufacturers bear very little of the economic burden created by their carbon emissions. Instead, it gets passed off on taxpayers as a whole, in the form of flooding, water shortages, more severe storms, and unpredictable weather patterns.

Though the news sounds dreary, many firms are already thinking ahead. To reduce the cost increases imposed by carbon caps, consumer goods heavyweight Proctor and Gamble is recuding emissions through decreasing reliance on carbon-heavy materials like plastics. Though the US currently has no carbon capping legislation, it is coming to be seen as all but inevitable after the near-miss of Warner-Lieberman this past year, especially now that a green Obama administration is in the offing.

The reality is there's not much choice in the matter. After all, it's better to have lower profits than no planet.

Flickr photo courtesty of tellytom