One source of our sense of powerlessness and frustration around climate change is that we are so accustomed to outsourcing so much of our lives to specialists of one kind or another, that the idea that we could reinvent the way we live, change our lifestyles, is absolutely daunting to people. We don't know how to do it. We've lost the skills to do it . . . I think where climate change is taking us is to a point where many of us will need to take care of ourselves a little better than we do now. We will be less able to depend on distant experts and distant markets. We will need to re-localize economies all over the world because we won't be able to waste fossil fuel . . . These long supply chains are going to have to get shorter.What do you think, designers? Is localized production possible? Comments please. Pollan's garden-talk might not provide all the answers but it's sure got some good clues. Go ahead and read the full interview here
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if that is high enough, then localization WILL happen no matter what environmentalists or industrialists think. if it is not high enough, then it will not happen, no matter how much greens wish for it.
of course - border between these two scenarios is not clearly visible and of course - nobody knows where is that critical price limit.
This could happen for two reasons. Firstly economic: if fuel prices stay high and if industries feel the bite of carbon taxes, the value of off-shoring to a cheap labor country is reduced. And labor costs in those countries won't stay low for ever, as workers become more skilled their wage demands will rise. Secondly there are social/political reasons: people are increasingly aware of the hidden costs of off-shoring. Not only the environmental costs, but also the fact that cheap goods aren't so cheap if you've lost your own job when your company went off-shore. It's also worth considering that in future 'factories' might be quite different to what we think of today - they are likely to be smaller, cleaner and producing more customized goods, which might reduce opposition from those who don't want large industries moving into their neighborhood. I've written a bit about this on my blog: http://no-retro.com/home/2008/05/22/some-environmental-considerations-of-rapid-manufacturing/
Good post by the way, would probably have missed this if I didn't see it here.