Originally Posted by Chris L
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A long term fuel price increase will merely force those supplying the goods to find more efficient ways of doing so, including more efficient means of transporting them, as well as decentralising production.
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(emphasis is mine)
I was eating my oatmeal the other day, and had occasion to read the label on the plastic bear that contained the honey I put on top of the oatmeal. It said, "Made in Turkey".
How cheap does fuel have to be that it is economic to ship honey halfway around the world ? I know that honey is produced in Michigan, my uncle was a beekeeper.
This is part of the problem of globalization. Local industries are decimated because large multinational producers have centralized the means of distribution and production. In addition to being terrible news for working people, it adds to the homogenization of culture. The older folks reading this will remember a time when each region of the USA had it's own unique foods and recipes. This has largely disappeared.
One of the added benefits to rising fuel costs is that expensive fuel makes more obvious the advantages of local production goods and services.
Dan