Can someone please explain why it is that approx. 70 to 80% (I think I am being a little too conservative with these percentages) of the "items" for sale, at any given department store in America today, are made in China? This question has bothered me for years.
Is this simply a matter of lower labor cost in regards to manufacturing? Are the majority of these products designed in the states and then produced overseas?
I realize this is off-topic, and I do try to keep my off-topic posts to an absolute minimum, but I could sure use some enlightenment on this one.
It's part of the "race to the bottom", and yes, we've discussed it
here before. Part of the problem with our excessive energy use
concerns the distance that commodities (even food) have to travel to
get to us. China's emerging industrial might also contributes to its
increasing energy use, and that is another reason why your question is
"on" topic.
Localized production and consumption significantly reduces the
embodied energy of everything we use. Biofuels, without serious
conservation, cannot "solve" our energy problems. Using less also
entails changing our patterns of consumption, including decisions we
make about buying products that come from far away. Sometimes this is
not practical or possible (as is the case with the Indian tea I
drink), but to the extent that supporting local manufacturers and
farmers can be done, it SHOULD be done. In this manner, other
environmental considerations come into play. Todd is fond of pointing
out that pollution is a serious issue. Local pressure on polluters is
far more effective than protest involving intercontinental distances.
Accountability for the conservation of resources works well on a
local level, but is far more difficult when the damage is done beyond
our borders.
I'm sure others can contribute to this discussion.
robert luis rabello
"The Edge of Justice"
Adventure for Your Mind
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=9782>
Ranger Supercharger Project Page
http://www.members.shaw.ca/rabello/
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