Making Choices - Not Limitless

I like to live vicariously through Tom Silva and Norm Abrams. For those who aren't schooled in Public Broadcasting, they are the principals on "This Old House". The current project gives me pause for reflection.

The "old house" is getting an outside deck on several levels. For safety as well as appearance, the decks have railings surrounding them. The decking material itself is a recycled composite with some plastics in it. The rails and posts are all plastic. In this lies the conundrum.

Plastics are petroleum based. They are used in construction to replace actual wood, which saves our forests, which is an environmental benefit. The plastic material is made of, among other things, petroleum. Petroleum is about 80% imported, some from our least favorite trading partners. Namely Venezuela, several middle east countries, etc. In this particular transaction, we are saving or preserving our forests, greening America, at the expense of running up our trade deficit. One raw resource replaces another. Is this a net benefit.

A trade deficit is paid for by U.S. dollars. Currency is similar to any other product or commodity. If the supply is greater than the demand, the price goes down. If the world economy is flooded with U.S. dollars, the exchange rate goes down. The dollar is worth less in terms of other currencies. Since we have a trade deficit overall and we pay our bills mostly in dollars, the price of the goods we import goes up when the value (exchange rate) of the dollar goes down. Thus, the cost of the plastics that goes in to our wonderful "old house" that entertains me so much, goes up. Meaning the cost of the house renovation goes up. Meaning fewer people can afford to renovate their houses if they use the same product. Meaning we want to return to wood if it is the cheaper material, cutting down the trees we try to save. In order to keep the renovation market vibrant, employing more carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and loggers who cut down trees.

Is it a net benefit to replace the use of one dwindling resource by using another dwindling resource that is imported? Maybe in the short term, but not a long term solution if you consider the overall economy. My parents and Scoutmaster in my childhood and adolescence taught me to leave a campsite better than you left it. That's the admirable goal of most environmentalists. What we face today is a declining economy as long as we continue to rely so heavily on imports for what amounts to a basic necessity of life, spelled P-E-T-R-O-E-U-M.

Nuff said about the obvious.