This morning I stumbled uponthis blogpost, that talks about a book that describes a fictional story about a small town that relies completely on the local economy. Something that I've been thinking about a lot... but wait. You might be asking yourself, why would we even do/want that? What are the advantages? What are the downsides?
Advantages of a more locally sustainable economy:
- More "High-End" Jobs - Is it not sickening that hear such stories of grocery store owners whose business' have been destroyed by Walmart, only to be hired by Walmart for minimum wage?
- Lower Emissions - eliminating long hauls will decrease the embedded carbon emissions in products
- Happier Neighborhoods - I feel better when I know who I am helping when I buy a local product. It feels empowering to know that you helped "Bob", that you know personally to stay in business.
- Better Quality Products - the US and Canada have strict regulations on product quality which are often undercut by companies that import. One example: paint finishes on toys.
- Product Cost - things will cost more. Production in the US and Canada is more expensive, but do the advantages not offset the disadvantages. (As oil prices rise, we might soon be at a tie though. Our money will go towards paying for the product, rather then the transport.)
- Somewhat More Inconvenient - we might not always be able to quickly jump into one store and get everything we need.
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A recent article in thestar.com:
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image by bonedad
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