Free Trade and the Environment

As you will find in all future posts, we will propose ideas that are born of common sense. We are not trying to blow people away with hard to follow theory but things that most of us can observe in our daily lives.



We chose the topic of the environment to address first because we feel it resonates today with so many people and it is not a topic commonly associated with free trade. The first and most obvious negative effect that free trade has on the environment is most obvious. Many of the third world (developing nations) that are manufacturing (in fact the majority of manufacturing) do not have as tight of environmental standards as the United States or other developed nations do. Therefore for each unit of product produced in one of these countries more pollutants, greenhouse gases and toxins are produced than would be produced if these same products were made in this country. Another component which is overlooked is that since "economic globalization" has occurred more products that would otherwise be produced in close proximity to where they would be distributed are now being produced thousands (or in some cases tens of thousands) of miles away. The environmental impact is that more fossil fuel is burned to transport products made half way around the world. I personally have seen news stories where companies in China will ship American garbage and recycle it, then ship it back to the United States as cardboard. Although this may be less expensive, it is absolutely costly to the environment.

Free trade has absolutely accelerated the growth of land fills. Especially lately with the in rush of cheap (inexpensive and poorly made) Chinese made products. First of all the cost is the first component that has contributed to this phenomenon. Psychologically by paying such a low price for an item it has created a waste mentality in the American consumer. The consumer would be more inclined to by a new as an example "screwdriver" rather than search their drawers for the one they bought last week because of the low price they paid. The other element is the poor quality factor. This was not the case when free trade took its first leap with Japan twenty something years ago. Japan was very good at using resources well and making quality products first and foremost. However with the latest incarnation of free trade, namely China quality is out the window. There have been countless stories about necklaces laced with the date rape drug or toys painted with lead or Sheetrock that causes your wiring to oxidize. All examples of how little China cares about quality. The result on the environment is cheap incredibly disposable consumer products. This leads to more waste and greater use of resources.

Another negative effect that the "low cost" of globalization has had on the environment is the decimation of the repair industry. Just 20 or 30 years ago most towns across America would have had a TV repair shop. Today because of the "low cost" Chinese made TVs, common practice is to throw them out at the first incident after the warranty expires. Some of the reasons for this is beyond the cost of American labor. One reason is because now that all of these industries have been moved offshore the skills and part sourcing have gone with it. Another reason is economics. The low cost of production in one country makes it impractical to fix it in a country with higher labor costs. The result either way is very negative for the environment.

The last idea concerning the negative impact on the environment has to do with technology. Just as slavery in the Roman Empire stifled technological developments in that era so too does cheap foreign made goods stifle the development of technology in the United States. Namely "green" environmental technology development. Anyone who has studied technology development throughout history knows that most technological leaps are made through necessity. This is why technology tended to develop faster in colder rather than in more temperate climates. It is also why technology would take the greatest leaps in times of war. Due to our "wonderful" source of cheap labor "green" manufacturing technology has most certainly been held back. There is no need to develop more efficient and environmentally friendly ways to make injection molded parts when you can "outsource" to a country where environmental laws do not apply.

We hope that this article concerning the effect that free trade has had on the environment has given you new insight into this issue. We welcome others to post and contribute to this article facts or ideas we may have overlooked. We think if an individual were to evaluate all the facts it is hard to see much good for the environment in free trade.

The Point of This Blog

The point of this blog is to advocate a great reduction in the level of free trade that America participates in. The views stated on this Blog will be presented from a Nationalistic standpoint. Hopefully we will be able to post articles that explain why the global economy and free trade standpoint that America has taken for the last 35 plus years are bad for this nation as they stand today. We will address how free trade has had a negative impact on our economic stability, the environment, relative wealth of our nation, the inevitable collapse of our economy, the widening of the divide between the poor and wealthy and eventual war and conflict that this policy has set us up for.