Most people value efficiency because it allows us to get more of what we want from the means at our disposal. The free market often ＿＿（43）＿＿ efficiency. Producers compete with one another to provide goods and services of greater quality at lower prices. A lower price typically represents a smaller ＿＿（44）＿＿ not only on our individual financial resources, but also on the resources of the planet. For example, telephone communication with fiber optics is cheaper than with copper wire, and it is cheaper at least in part because ＿＿（45）＿＿ takes up less space and uses more readily available materials. The lower price corresponds to reduced environmental impact. Free market competition within the profit-oriented telecommunication industry ＿＿（46）＿＿ efficiencies that benefit both customers and ecosystems. Long distance rates keep coming down. However, this logic does not work with public goods, such as clean air and water. These are goods that no one owns individually, so no one has a financial ＿＿（47）＿＿ to use them efficiently. They tend to be wasted unless society imposes regulations, such as required pollution permits, which make degradation costly.