LCACM

Is Local Actually Greener than Global?

The article has a serious logical flaw. He has used different formulas when computing the transportation costs of Chinese goods versus Locally produced goods. The general formula that needs to be applied in both cases is
Total Transportation Costs = (1) Cost of Transportation to Distribution Point + (2) Cost of Local Transportation. In the case of Chinese goods it is clear that the goods need to be trasnported all the way to California(1) and then distributed to local markets.
When computing the transportation costs of Chinese goods the author has ignored the costs of Local Transportation, since these costs still apply, because goods need to be transported from California to your local Walmart in Peoria, Illinois. In the case of local goods the Cost of Transportation to Distribution Center is significantly less because the distance is far less. Secondly, there is nothing preventing the transportation of local goods by train instead of by Trucks. For example in India, a mixed mode is used. From the distribution point the goods are tranported by train and then distributed locally by truck.
To do a meaningful comparison the author needs to compare apples to apples.

Mini-November Crash Update

"but we've turned it around before and can do so again. " In the past US leaderssuch as Lincoln and FDR were not ideologues but pragmatic and wise. Judging by his recent statements at the Peru summit, it appears President Bush has still not learned a thing from this crisis and he has till next January 20th to wreak further havoc with what is left of the US economy.