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OMG ! We have great news for the economic growth (more US exports to China, a strong growth) and you're whining and exageerate about a "disaster" ? Please....
You should be ashamed
Great news BTW US coal exports to China boomed too
Maybe because we do not envision a big happy trading world, or any of the corporation trading theory retardation behind it?
Ashamed? Maybe you should get a brain.
If we lose money on trade (we do) you sincerely figure that if we do more of it we will come out better? We do not need China as a market. We have 300 million customers right here. How about Less Trade / More Profit for US?
And as far as Coal, from US to China. How stupid is that? We send them Coal, they send back what? CO2, Ash, SOx (no scrubbers), NOx, Hg into the oceans, and oh, almost forgot -- a boat load of junk in shipping containers that will wind up in the landfill about 6 months later.
If this is your "Great News," I would suggest some education.
Can you explain just how the sale of a perishable renewable resource means that we won't be able to grow more aka "refill it" in the future?
Well, if you figure out how much NON-RENEWABLE oil and natural gas it takes to produce every bushel of grain we grow, then maybe you would "get it" as to why it's such a poor long-term strategy for this country.
Well, if you figure out how much NON-RENEWABLE oil and natural gas it takes to produce every bushel of grain we grow, then maybe you would "get it" as to why it's such a poor long-term strategy for this country.
So, what exactly are you suggesting?
1) We don't grow the crops so as not to have to then export them.
2) We grow the crops have massive excess supply but never sell it. Let it eventually rot in storage facilities.
1) We don't grow the crops so as not to have to then export them.
2) We grow the crops have massive excess supply but never sell it. Let it eventually rot in storage facilities.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of cultivated farmland that really does need to be either returned to pasture or left fallow to allow the soils to recover. This is especially true in the Great Plains. Another major issue is the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer on the Great Plains, which is already reaching the point that a lot of irrigated land in the Texas Panhandle is returning to dryland farming. We, for many years, have been essentially "mining" our soils all across this country, only stemming their complete depletion by massive inputs of fossil-fuel-derived fertilizers. Over the long-term, that is not sustainable and anyone who thinks that it can be sustained is a fool.
High diesel fuel prices and high natural gas prices will make a whole lot of farming practices economically non-viable, as well. At that point, we probably won't have sufficient production to export a whole lot of food. We have to prepare for that by conserving the soil, water, and energy resources that we have. We can not do that by pushing those resources to their absolute limits now, no matter how profitable that may be in the short term. We have got to start thinking--in everything we do--farther ahead than the next quarter or year results.
I always go back to what President Theodore Roosevelt said over a century ago:
Quote:
"We of an older generation can get along with what we have, though with growing hardship; but in your full manhood and womanhood you will want what nature once so bountifully supplied and man so thoughtlessly destroyed; and because of that want you will reproach us, not for what we have used, but for what we have wasted...So any nation which in its youth lives only for the day, reaps without sowing, and consumes without husbanding, must expect the penalty of the prodigal whose labor could with difficulty find him the bare means of life."
"Arbor Day - A Message to the School-Children of the United States" April 15, 1907
And,
Quote:
"Optimism is a good characteristic, but if carried to an excess, it becomes foolishness. We are prone to speak of the resources of this country as inexhaustible; this is not so."
Seventh Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1907
Unfortunately, there is a lot of cultivated farmland that really does need to be either returned to pasture or left fallow to allow the soils to recover. This is especially true in the Great Plains. Another major issue is the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer on the Great Plains, which is already reaching the point that a lot of irrigated land in the Texas Panhandle is returning to dryland farming. We, for many years, have been essentially "mining" our soils all across this country, only stemming their complete depletion by massive inputs of fossil-fuel-derived fertilizers. Over the long-term, that is not sustainable and anyone who thinks that it can be sustained is a fool.
High diesel fuel prices and high natural gas prices will make a whole lot of farming practices economically non-viable, as well. At that point, we probably won't have sufficient production to export a whole lot of food. We have to prepare for that by conserving the soil, water, and energy resources that we have. We can not do that by pushing those resources to their absolute limits now, no matter how profitable that may be in the short term. We have got to start thinking--in everything we do--farther ahead than the next quarter or year results.
I always go back to what President Theodore Roosevelt said over a century ago:
And,
Thankyou for explaining your thoughts. We may not completely agree on all of the aspects but I respect your position.
Wow, good economic news and the doom and gloomers come out in force! We are a nation that produces far more in the way of some of these food items than we could ever consume. Sure grain is sold here in the US as well- probably all or almost all grain that is used here comes from here. And all that excess has to go somewhere- what's wrong with exporting it to China, or to Europe, or to whoever wants to buy it? Otherwise it sits around in piles at the grain elevators and spoils!
Wow, good economic news and the doom and gloomers come out in force! We are a nation that produces far more in the way of some of these food items than we could ever consume. Sure grain is sold here in the US as well- probably all or almost all grain that is used here comes from here. And all that excess has to go somewhere- what's wrong with exporting it to China, or to Europe, or to whoever wants to buy it? Otherwise it sits around in piles at the grain elevators and spoils!
Contrary to those who think otherwise, I am not a strict "gloomer and doomer"--I am, however, an absolute realist when it comes to a lot of economics and natural resource issues. Unlike many, I actually do have some serious experience in agriculture and I have been involved with energy issues for many years, as well. That experience leads me to the conclusion that this country is confronting some very serious issues in both our agricultural and energy supply picture that may cause very traumatic consequences for the American people if current policies and thinking do not change. The biggest change that we Americans can make that would lead me to some optimism is if we would--individually and collectively--embrace a mantra of strident conservation of our natural resources in this country. Unfortunately, I see almost no serious movement among the general public or the leadership of this country to embrace that--thus, yes, I currently hold a pretty pessimistic view. It isn't a question of whether or not we choose to conserve those resources--we will begin conserving them. The question is whether we start doing so proactively in ways that are least disruptive to our society, or we get draconian conservation measures involuntarily jammed down our throats, either economically or politically, in ways that are either extremely painful, unsurvivable by some, or both.
Wow, good economic news and the doom and gloomers come out in force! We are a nation that produces far more in the way of some of these food items than we could ever consume. Sure grain is sold here in the US as well- probably all or almost all grain that is used here comes from here. And all that excess has to go somewhere- what's wrong with exporting it to China, or to Europe, or to whoever wants to buy it? Otherwise it sits around in piles at the grain elevators and spoils!
Thank you for this post It's wonderful news and these sad guys can't be happy, it's really sad
Ok..you need to learn about the US strategic reserves and their purpose.
You also should read up on The Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust.
Also read up on world food crises and how the US responded.
Should another one happen..we have nothing left to help the world with.
The grain will not spoil. China is buying and storing themselves. If there was another global food crisis how much do you think China will release for humanitarian purposes ?
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US coal exports to China boomed too 
