I remember the good old days when you shopped locally, and the big trip was to K-Mart or JC Penney, or Sears-where the stuff was. You ordered from their catalog and you waited for it to come into the store. The stuff usually was made in the US.
Now you can go on your computer, buy anything you want, and Amazon guarantees shipment within 24 hours! Why bother to slow down and buy locally? Walmart does the same thing!
Greed and obsession with things have gotten us here. We can't wait for the next newest thing to come out in the spring, so we pre order it only to forget what we wanted and then it comes in later and we wonder why did we need this?
Stop shopping and start saving your money. It'll bring down the average debt, the amount of carbon pollution (boats do use oil and fuel to run) and lengthen the lives of so many people who have to move that stuff from one country to another.
If you don't need it today, you won't need it tomorrow either.
Great commentary today. "Fast fashion" is plague across our society. We buy houses and feel the kitchen needs to be updated every five years. Marble? Granite? What kind of countertops are really "in" for 2022? Better update before putting it on the market! Big screen TV is last year's model, better get a 75" to replace the 65" model (does it have any impact on the quality of the shows?) What happened to a plain wood table and chairs - timeless and usable for at least 50 years and even then, repairable rather than 'off to the landfill'. If we can get our finger off the "Place Order" button, it's the easiest, if not biggest, way to reduce our personal carbon footprint - with no waiting for better solar panels, wind turbines or rechargeable batteries.
I run a grant funder rural business accelerator in NC. I help small rural businesses get online to sell from their farms and specialty food operations. We are celebrating our success at www.ShopRuralDay.org on 11/11/21. 80 rural businesses are using live-streaming e-commerce to reach customers with authenticity, transparency and deliciousness. Amazon can't compete with these entrepreneurs! 12 noon to 12 midnight on 11/11/21.
Another problem with shipping goes unnoticed because "Many cargo ships still use “bunker fuel”—the sludgy dregs of the petroleum refining process. The noxious blend is dirt-cheap, making it possible to charge next to nothing to ship goods internationally. All of which means our unbridled consumerism hitches a ride on some of the dirtiest vehicles on earth. (At least they hold tons of stuff, right?)"
For part of my second career I ferried yachts on the oceans. You could trace the passage of ships that had long disappeared over the horizon by the low-altitude, urine-yellow sulphurous contrails they left behind them, often scores of contrails at once converging on places like LA/Long Beach.
If you take a short route going from Oahu to SoCal, you go though the Pacific Gyre, a slowly rotating garbage dump in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Tangles of abandoned polypro fishing gear hold together patches of debris that looked thick enough to walk on, but I never tried.
Out of sight, out of mind. The ocean is dying silently and we will not notice until it is gone.
Just In Time delivery to reduce inventory on hand. Non-refillable bottles that only need to go out. All the "efficiencies" which rely on a supply train that hums along smoothly failed to function. I see similarities to the self-service checkout stands in big box stores which require fewer employees. Cut costs, cut costs, cut it down to the bare bones and you get to believe it will never miss. Until it does.
Lucian, by this "an average of 2,600 containers were lost at sea between 2011 and 2013, according to the World Shipping Council," does it mean annually or in total over 3 (2?) years? Thank you.
Great piece and so timely before the holidays and after the global climate summit. This year my kids told me they wanted an experience for Christmas (like a hike somewhere remote and quiet), and not stuff. We'll be doing that, and if we want any stuff, candy in the stocking, new socks, will focus our efforts to buying locally made.
Some days I think that USians totally deserve the screwed-up government we've got. Just keep those baubles coming and whatever's left of our democracy can go hang.
Relax, Lucian. LOTS of money is involved, it will get fixed. Today's LA Times reports things have already speeded up by 14% (if memory serves) because daily fines are being levied against empty containers not retrieved by the owners--apparently a large reason for the slow down. I don't share or understand your concern. China/Taiwain's (et al) economies need to sell to us; our economy needs what they make. International supply chain commerce isn't dependent on countries getting along nicely--we and China haven't been for a long time. The breakdown in the supply chain was caused by Covid. Experts, you quote one, predict the chain will be back to normal soon. I'm not an expert, but history leads me to think 6 months, certainly no longer than a year.
Obviously, Biden is aware of ANY OF THIS AS HE JOKED ABOUT THE REALITY OF IT! Well I have a few words that would be better spoken by Joe Pesci except I can’t use that language here nor will I! Use your imagination.
Seriously I think I’ll write my own name in for President in 2024!!!
I remember the good old days when you shopped locally, and the big trip was to K-Mart or JC Penney, or Sears-where the stuff was. You ordered from their catalog and you waited for it to come into the store. The stuff usually was made in the US.
Now you can go on your computer, buy anything you want, and Amazon guarantees shipment within 24 hours! Why bother to slow down and buy locally? Walmart does the same thing!
Greed and obsession with things have gotten us here. We can't wait for the next newest thing to come out in the spring, so we pre order it only to forget what we wanted and then it comes in later and we wonder why did we need this?
Stop shopping and start saving your money. It'll bring down the average debt, the amount of carbon pollution (boats do use oil and fuel to run) and lengthen the lives of so many people who have to move that stuff from one country to another.
If you don't need it today, you won't need it tomorrow either.
Great commentary today. "Fast fashion" is plague across our society. We buy houses and feel the kitchen needs to be updated every five years. Marble? Granite? What kind of countertops are really "in" for 2022? Better update before putting it on the market! Big screen TV is last year's model, better get a 75" to replace the 65" model (does it have any impact on the quality of the shows?) What happened to a plain wood table and chairs - timeless and usable for at least 50 years and even then, repairable rather than 'off to the landfill'. If we can get our finger off the "Place Order" button, it's the easiest, if not biggest, way to reduce our personal carbon footprint - with no waiting for better solar panels, wind turbines or rechargeable batteries.
I run a grant funder rural business accelerator in NC. I help small rural businesses get online to sell from their farms and specialty food operations. We are celebrating our success at www.ShopRuralDay.org on 11/11/21. 80 rural businesses are using live-streaming e-commerce to reach customers with authenticity, transparency and deliciousness. Amazon can't compete with these entrepreneurs! 12 noon to 12 midnight on 11/11/21.
Another problem with shipping goes unnoticed because "Many cargo ships still use “bunker fuel”—the sludgy dregs of the petroleum refining process. The noxious blend is dirt-cheap, making it possible to charge next to nothing to ship goods internationally. All of which means our unbridled consumerism hitches a ride on some of the dirtiest vehicles on earth. (At least they hold tons of stuff, right?)"
For part of my second career I ferried yachts on the oceans. You could trace the passage of ships that had long disappeared over the horizon by the low-altitude, urine-yellow sulphurous contrails they left behind them, often scores of contrails at once converging on places like LA/Long Beach.
If you take a short route going from Oahu to SoCal, you go though the Pacific Gyre, a slowly rotating garbage dump in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Tangles of abandoned polypro fishing gear hold together patches of debris that looked thick enough to walk on, but I never tried.
Out of sight, out of mind. The ocean is dying silently and we will not notice until it is gone.
people like to feel in control of something. When covid complicated the process of ordering around a restarant server, they ordered more junk online.
Just In Time delivery to reduce inventory on hand. Non-refillable bottles that only need to go out. All the "efficiencies" which rely on a supply train that hums along smoothly failed to function. I see similarities to the self-service checkout stands in big box stores which require fewer employees. Cut costs, cut costs, cut it down to the bare bones and you get to believe it will never miss. Until it does.
Yes. American companies have to connect the dots. Everything points to China aggression toward the US in the near future. An eye opening article.
Lucian, by this "an average of 2,600 containers were lost at sea between 2011 and 2013, according to the World Shipping Council," does it mean annually or in total over 3 (2?) years? Thank you.
Great piece and so timely before the holidays and after the global climate summit. This year my kids told me they wanted an experience for Christmas (like a hike somewhere remote and quiet), and not stuff. We'll be doing that, and if we want any stuff, candy in the stocking, new socks, will focus our efforts to buying locally made.
Some days I think that USians totally deserve the screwed-up government we've got. Just keep those baubles coming and whatever's left of our democracy can go hang.
I remember reading that port crane operators make a bundle. At that time the average was 180K per year, I assume it is much higher now.
Relax, Lucian. LOTS of money is involved, it will get fixed. Today's LA Times reports things have already speeded up by 14% (if memory serves) because daily fines are being levied against empty containers not retrieved by the owners--apparently a large reason for the slow down. I don't share or understand your concern. China/Taiwain's (et al) economies need to sell to us; our economy needs what they make. International supply chain commerce isn't dependent on countries getting along nicely--we and China haven't been for a long time. The breakdown in the supply chain was caused by Covid. Experts, you quote one, predict the chain will be back to normal soon. I'm not an expert, but history leads me to think 6 months, certainly no longer than a year.
Obviously, Biden is aware of ANY OF THIS AS HE JOKED ABOUT THE REALITY OF IT! Well I have a few words that would be better spoken by Joe Pesci except I can’t use that language here nor will I! Use your imagination.
Seriously I think I’ll write my own name in for President in 2024!!!