"Junkyard Planet" by Adam Minter

Although India and China are both rapidly industrializing countries with a large demand for resources, the vast majority of US scrap metal goes to China.  The distribution of scrap metal around the work is ultimately decided by the price of shipping and the level of demand.  China, being a top exporter of products to the West Coast of the United States, has a much more desperate demand for scrap metal than India has.  In addition to the lack of demand, US companies will always choose to export scrap to the country with the cheapest shipping rate.  Although companies in India long for an opportunity to buy and ship scrap from the US, it is a strong knowledge that no matter what, US scrapyards will rarely ever make a deal with India due to the higher cost of shipping.

A passage in this reading that illustrates a larger issue or problem related to globalization is a passage from page 88, and is also briefly discussed on page 92.  The passage, "alas, there is a problem:  China prohibits the import of scrap beverage cans due to concerns about the health and safety implications of importing the residue of old six-packs", (88) brings awareness to deterrents of worldwide trade.  When there are conflicts between countries, often times there will be some parameters that may restrict certain acts of globalization.  The example given in the chapter touches on the ban of scrap-metal shipments from the US to Japan.  The ban was lifted in 1950 after the decade long restriction.  A different type of ban is that some countries have restrictions on importing certain items due to environmental or safety/health concerns.  As mentioned above, China is concerned that the importing of scrap beverage cans is a hazard to health and safety due to the residue.  Certain restrictions and bans may not cross a person's mind right away; I know they did not enter mine until this reading.  Often times, these bans will make it difficult for countries to import certain items that could be of use to them, and it also affects the countries that are trying to export these items.

Modern transportation relates to the themes raised by Jared Diamond in my previous blog post: "Why Did Human History Unfold Differently on Different Continents for the Last 13,000 Years?".  As previously discussed, certain continents have advantages due to the types of crops and domesticated animals they have.  This is attributed to whether or not the continent is east/west or north/south.  North/south orientation limits the crops and animals from migrating in different directions due to the difference in climates.  If countries or continents have the means and location to develop transportation or means of trade, they will thrive and advance.  Certain countries that are located in a disadvantageous area, such as Brazil or Argentina, have less of an advantage when it comes to worldwide trade.  Their coastlines are easterly and therefore are faced away from the common route through the Pacific ocean.