[Fat Charlie]

Basic regulation is in no way the direct opposite of a free market. Allowing people to ignore actual costs of their actions, especially costs that don't affect them personally, is a bad thing. That kind of stuff is one of the main things governments exist to prevent.

Environmental regulations are a great example- remember when industrial areas' pollution was causing acid rain downwind? You can't put a price on a lake full of dead fish, but you can change the market's ground rules by limiting industrial emissions. Consumer safety laws are another good example: the government will not allow you to sell a car that does not have certain safety features or is otherwise inherently dangerous. When dangerous flaws come to light after the fact, the government can force a recall. One might see that as needless tyranny or a creeping nanny state, or one can see it as a set of basic ground rules that allow a market to flourish- regular people can buy cars without being mechanical and electrical engineers or having a private army that can strike fear into GM's heart.

Reliable ground rules let people better calculate consequences and make decisions, which is good for markets. Taxing gasoline is a more market based approach than simply banning behavior: you're still allowed to burn all the gas you want, but it's going to be expensive. Are you sure you don't want to rethink driving your Humscalade everywhere? A nice little Kia will get you there for 1/10 the cost. But if rolling in a couple tons of steel is that important to you, go for it. And while you're adding more wear and tear to our roads than the little roller skate drivers, you can pay for that too.