When I teach the principles of economics, I usually start with some variation of the question: Can you name something that isn't scarce? Invariably someone answer 'air.' I usually dance around the issue by making some vague claim that while you may not think air is scarce, clean air is valuable. The obvious next question to my vague claim should be: If it's valuable, why isn't there a market for clean air? Well…
An idea dreamed up out of thin air appears to be earning one businessman some serious money.
British entrepreneur Leo De Watts, 27, has made thousands of dollars selling bottles of British country air to Chinese buyers, but the price alone — £80 ($115) per bottle — could knock the wind out of many customers.
De Watts says the 580 ml (about 20 oz) glass jars have been flying out the door, many headed for pollution-plagued Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.Since launching late last year, his air farming company Aethaer has sold hundreds of containers of clean breeze from windswept locations across Britain — including Dorset, Somerset, and Wales.
via www.cnn.com
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