Globe-spanning supply chains, the demise of

Reading such an article, I wonder how much we even think about the consequences of the following:

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.

There is more to this than merely imagining the situation as it exists. Explain it to yourself like you are a ten-year-old, and see how well you do. This is not a test or condescension, but an attempt to see how much of this we really understand. WALL·E did a great job of this, but we all need to challenge ourselves in this way.

Just to hear yourself explain the progress we have made on the back of energy supplied by fossil fuels – acknowledging* the reasons why it cannot continue – opens the door to reconciling its unforeseen consequences with a lower impact existence. Are we not smart enough to do this? And wouldn’t it be the next height of civilization?

*The amount of savvy required to continue to ignore all of this also being within our grasp may provide a wagering element for sporting types.