Consumption vs Production

It has been noted recently that we are a consuming society and not a producing society. Cheap Chinese labor has eliminated the profitability of doing anything for ourselves. It is now obvious that pursuing profit before any thing else will lead to economic collapse. Now that the shell game that is our economy has been exposed what do we do? The stimulus package is not going to create the structural change needed to move forward. Producing goods close to where they will be used is looking like one option. Eliminating excess and waste is another. There needs to be a complete approach that can embrace structural change and make our economy less reliant on consumption and waste. Environmentally sustainable thinking in our economic planning is the quickest way to drive the change because it has built in checks on waste and over consumption. By modeling our economy on sustainability we have a better chance than business as usual government spending.

Outsourcing Pollution

There has been a lot discussion about outsourcing of jobs overseas. Thousands of products are made in China to take advantage of lower cost labor. Another cost has recently come to light with the pollution problems plaguing China. With the massive growth in industrial output in China the pollution has come with it. It is getting so extensive that during the Olympics in 2008, factories will have to close in Beijing.

This is our problem. China did not sign Kyoto and, combined with India, will contribute half of worldwide pollution within 20 years. Economies that rely on consumer spending are creating part of this problem by demanding cheaper goods. I don't want to slam Chinese goods because they are doing what everybody has tried to do: make lots of money by leveraging their advantage. But if the recalls aren't enough to change your buying habits think about the amount of pollution you're generating with what you are buying. Not only have we put our neighbors out of work but we're going to kill a few people with pollution.

A reminder of my other site Living in a Toxic World News Service where I have aggregated feeds and a few video posts.

Finally I want to thank everyone who has made comments and sent me messages in the last couple of days. I hope to keep my content compelling enough so you come back and we can work together to expand our opinions and make positive contributions to the world around us.

Scarcity of Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is considered part of the solution for climate change, pollution and dependency on fossil fuels. Many jurisdictions are legislating the use of renewable energy in electricity generation and offer significant tax incentives through rebates or accelerated depreciation rates. China has announced a massive $265 billion expansion in renewable energy, with half slated for dam projects. China is facing a pollution problem from coal plants combined with rapid economic growth fueling even more demand for energy. A vicious cycle from an energy policy perspective and one that could eventually curtail the economic growth. The premise that more renewable energy projects will make them all cheaper and eventually they will be competitive with traditional forms of energy.

Unfortunately, current energy production is either subsidized or so heavily regulated that it makes any alternative uncompetitive and breeds inefficiency. Many countries are alos pursuing nuclear power as a way to combat climate change and spend billions of dollars. Terence Corcoran of Canada's National Post gets it right, again, with his editorial Power Crazy.

All of this leads to scarcity of resources. As every energy policy leads to renewable and alternatives there will be a scarcity of materials needed to produce these alternatives. Eventually the use of alternatives will not be feasible and a return to fossil fuels will be necessary. Barring some major technological advances, energy scarcity will be the defining point of our future.

Who knows what the answer is? I think many signs are pointing to less consumption of energy and, goods in general, to alleviate many of our environmental problems.

China's Environment

A brief video on China's environment.

Product Safety

Another toy recall has hit the news. Combined with antifreeze in hotel toothpaste a few days earlier and loads of other product recalls nothing is safe to use or buy. While watching a news report I began thinking if a child chewing on a lead toy for months could get lead poisoning what about the person who made it? What kind of pollution/contamination is in and around the factory that is making these products? To get an idea read the China posts at Globalisation and the Environment. In my opinion, the world has not only outsourced their jobs to China but their pollution as well. Developed economies have regulations and inspections to keep corporations from doing too much damage. However, regulation can only do so much with limited inspection. The biggest element that has moved production offshore is bad publicity that can be generated by a free press. Nothing would be worse than an evening news report that workers at a local toy factory are suffering lead poisoning making your child's toys. China not only lacks regulation and/or enforcement, but they do not have a free press or comparable freedom to challenge the destruction of their environment. It is the backlash from bad publicity that will force change. Citizens in developed countries should not only look at China, though. Plenty of us stand by silently and watch as our environment is also polluted or "developed" for housing. We have a responsibility to take action and protect ourselves and our future.