This week I wrote a post for BlogHers ACT Canada about reducing the auto footprint. What comes hot on the tail of this discussion is a sad symptom of the state of the economy, both in Canada and the United States.

It’s no secret that the cost of fuel is on the rise. This makes it nearly impossible for regular working families to afford gasoline for some vehicles. Vehicles like trucks.

Do you know where most of the pick-up trucks in North America are manufactured?

Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Read the rest of this entry »

This YouTube video is just a portion of this awesome film. It’s actually Chapter 5. But believe me, chapters 1-4 are also totally worth watching and if you go here, you can watch the whole thing from start to finish.

It’s about twenty minutes but it will be some of the most illuminating, eye-opening minutes you’ve ever spent watching any indie documentary. Show it to your kids and send the link to friends and family. Everyone in America should watch this film.

This article was quite interesting….an opinion from the other side. Some snippets:

The Chinese government on Thursday blamed changes in international safety standards, rather than a problem with local manufacturer

On Wednesday, the [Chinese] government said it had found substantial quality-related problems with soyabean shipments from the US, some of which contained weeds and pesticide residues. Earlier in the week, China sent back a shipment of pacemakers, which it said did not meet quality standards.
With about half of Chinese exports counted under the “processing” trade, in which foreign companies use the mainland as the final point of product assembly, Mr Wang said the fallout would spread beyond China.

“If ‘Made in China’ is damaged, then to a certain degree, all countries in the world will be damaged,” he said.