Could California’s model beverage container recycling program be in jeopardy of collapsing? According to a lawsuit brought by several local recycling companies, that’s exactly what will happen if the state doesn’t repay into the fund money previously borrowed for other expenses. This just shows the difficulty of recycling plastic economically when a state with the volume of plastic like California struggles to make it work.

If a government is going to commit to back the recycling of plastic, they better stay in the game. Without the local recyclers and the redemption fund as a subsidy, where will all that plastic go? Outside companies aren’t going to want to be involved because they would already face higher transportation costs and the prospect of not getting their money from the state. Arnold better think carefully about this issue or he could become really unpopular very fast.

The good thing about a truly global market is that it raises the standard of living all around. Richer countries get goods at a cheaper price and poorer countries create more jobs and more competition in their countries and thus, over time, better paying jobs and a better educated people. So, why not just open up all borders of all countries for unrestricted trade? Wouldn’t that in the long run make us all better off? In a world where everyone plays fair, yes.

Unfortunately, some end up taking advantage of the situation and engage in the practice of “dumping.”  China tends to be one country that resorts to dumping, the practice of over-producing goods and selling the excess on the open market at prices well below the competing nations’ products. Their cost of goods is significantly less because they pay their people so much less, which makes competing with them on price on a commodity product impossible.

That’s why, at times, it is good to have a government agency impose duties or tariffs on imported items such as was recently implemented by the United States International Trade Commission against Chinese oil country tubular goods (steel pipe used primarily in the oil and gas industries). Hopefully, the firms affected by this will be able to leverage this decision in constructive ways to build their businesses to be more competitive in the international markets.

The states of Wyoming and Montana have huge tracts of coal which, under the current fervor of climate change have started to look less appealing both environmentally and economically. Right now, a huge percentage of the population of eastern Wyoming and Montana owe their economic viability to the existence of coal mining. Now, with new technology on the horizon, the future of those communities and the people in them  is beginning to look a little brighter. Turning coal into a clean fuel alternative would have huge implications to that region as well as to the environment around the world. I just say, more “power” to them – play on words intended.

At the end of last summer, Ford announced four new electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Now, it has provided a deeper look into its plans for rolling out a fleet of electric cars over the next few years – finally. It seems automakers (in general) have been slow to react to demand for “greener” vehicles. I think a lot of that can be attributed to the bureaucratic process they seem to have for designing and building new product lines – but that’s a story for another day.

One thing I like about Ford’s plans is their focus on a niche with the Transit Connect. I think that is smart – not only is that niche wide open, but they showcase small businesses in a very attractive way. The vehicle seems to solve a problem many small service businesses face today by putting a complete office and shop all together in a very mobile, “green” vehicle. Good niche, now stay focused on it.

I wrote an article earlier about convenience being an important factor to determine a recycling program’s effectiveness. I’d also like to add getting some sort of financial benefit. Successful recycling operations will provide both. And in case you think that there are a lot of people willing to “do the right thing” by recycling no matter what, here is another article that says otherwise. The scary thing with this one is the finding that people under 40 are less likely to recycle old cell phones unless there is an incentive – I thought it would be the other way around.