An excellent article from the New York Times covers rising transportation costs the world over, which is causing what economists call the ‘neighborhood effect.’ That is to say, global supply chains are shrinking and more goods are starting to be produced closer to home. The days of fish caught in America and then shipped to China for packaging, only to be shipped back to the United States for consumption are probably numbered.
From the Times article:
Cheap oil, the lubricant of quick, inexpensive transportation links across the world, may not return anytime soon, upsetting the logic of diffuse global supply chains that treat geography as a footnote in the pursuit of lower wages. Rising concern about global warming, the reaction against lost jobs in rich countries, worries about food safety and security, and the collapse of world trade talks in Geneva last week also signal that political and environmental concerns may make the calculus of globalization far more complex.
“If we think about the Wal-Mart model, it is incredibly fuel-intensive at every stage, and at every one of those stages we are now seeing an inflation of the costs for boats, trucks, cars,” said Naomi Klein, the author of “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.”
“That is necessarily leading to a rethinking of this emissions-intensive model, whether the increased interest in growing foods locally, producing locally or shopping locally, and I think that’s great.”
Read the full article here:
I was just catching up with a week’s worth of posts on the Miami Critical Mass Discussion Board and came across a crucial advocacy post:
We have a problem with a planned project that we were looking forward too. SW 3rd Ave from Coral Way to SW 16th Ave (by US-1/MPath) was in the works to have fresh new bike lanes on them.
We need to support this project. It is an important connector it will connect the planned Coral Way bike lane to the SW 15th Rd project which will connect to South Miami Ave in Brickell.
If this section doesn’t happen it is likely the FDOT will pull their support of the Coral Way project. Remind Commissioner Sanchez that he supported bike lanes when he rode with us earlier in the year, and it is important that he continues his bicycle facility advocacy.
If you want bike lanes on Coral Way, then call Commissioner Joe Sanchez and kindly voice your support.
Office of Commissioner Joe Sanchez· www.miamigov.com/district3
Telephone: (305) 250-5380 · Fax: (305) 250-5386
3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, FL 33133
Had I seen this yesterday I would have posted it. Regardless, if you have not called Commissioner Sanchez yet, do it first thing Monday morning!
Thanks to a tip from one of our dedicated readers, David, it has come to my attention that US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters will be speaking at the Downtown Miami Hilton Today. The event, A New Transportation Approach For America, is sponsored by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and will begin at 12:30 (Click here to register, $75 fee for non-members.) I’m going to try my best to make it there and hope that despite the short notice some of you all can attend. You can find some of the emails SBH has shared with me concerning the subject here.
Like our friend over at Hallandale Beach Blog has noted, we too find it interesting that Mary Peters can make some time out of her busy schedule to speak about transportation in Miami, while FDOT director Stephanie Kopelousos remains MIA in the South Florda region. Kopelousos recently held a transportation summit in Destin Florida to discuss the congestion issues of North Florida. I guess a drive down to Miami would have been to difficult.
Here is what the Halladale Beach Blog has to say:
When federal public transit policy meets South Florida’s notoriously fickle apathy, who wins?
Oh, right.
Everyone loses!
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