Free Trade is Not Free

The blunt logic of free trade cannot be denied, but neither can the complexity of the issue. It can be very efficient for each country to specialize in what it does best. These efficiencies become a little less clear when "true costs" are considered.

Free trade requires transportation, and transportation generates greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases in turn generate extreme weather events. Extreme weather events cause damage to homes, infrastructure, and crops. (We are not even beginning to calculate the damage of rising sea levels.) Damage from extreme weather events is costly.

On the other hand many environmentalists might find it difficult to accept that driving across town in their hybrids to buy "locally grown" foods might cause more damage to the environment than going to a big box store in their neighborhood to buy imported foods. It's complex!

Across the political spectrum people have mental blocks limiting their thought. We should all work towards a better understanding of all of the complex issues and act accordingly.