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I, Dirt
Potting mixes often contain sphagnum peat moss from bogs in Canada or Ireland. Bark fines might come from a sawmill in the Deep South. Coconut "coir," a peat moss substitute, gets shipped all the way from Asia.
A common ingredient in potting mixes is perlite, which makes the soils airier while also retaining moisture. In its final form, small white pellets, it appears to be something synthesized in a factory. In fact, it comes from a volcanic sand mined on the Greek island of Milos. Shipped to the United States, the ore is heated to 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit, at which point it pops into kernels.
The always-interesting Joel Achenbach writing in the Washington Post.
Posted by Alex Tabarrok on August 18, 2008 at 07:19 AM in Economics | Permalink
Comments
Amazing, I wasn't aware of any of that.
Posted by: Speedmaster at Aug 18, 2008 7:33:58 AM
“Products that are […] heavy and bulky […] are particularly vulnerable to rising freight costs.”
…like, for example, big screen plasma/LCD TVs all the way from Japan, right? Oh, I’m sorry – completely forgot – price drops reporting is not on the “we are all going to die” agenda…
“Pricier dirt is what consumers want, says Bob LaGasse, executive director…”
Did I get it right? Prices are rising and consumer still vote with his wallet for the most expensive product? Great Depression surely is around the corner
And look at this face on the photo! Just an epitome of the dog-tired business owner falling apart under inflationary pressures!!!
Posted by: Ozornik at Aug 18, 2008 9:24:21 AM
Nice work Ozornik. Way to leave out the whole "cheap" thing and then go right into a comment about televisions..
"Products that are cheap, heavy and bulky, such as bags of soil, are particularly vulnerable to rising freight costs."
Posted by: Nobrainer at Aug 18, 2008 11:04:29 AM
And look at this face on the photo! (yada)
Yeah, no chance he is the typical human who smiles for photos, no sir.
Unbridled optimism aside, potting soil is another product that has arisen from cheap energy, esp perlite. I, personally, do not buy anything made from peat, except seed-starting pots, as this product is not sustainable.
But the good news is that perlite and peat are easily substitutable, using local wood waste. There is a growing number of cities in the US that recycle their yard waste into compost - they bag it up and sell it for a fair price. Easy to make (except for the energy-intensive added nitrogen), easy to bag, easy to sell. Palo Alto, CA comes to mind as having high-quality compost. There are gel products out there, too, that replace perlite, but they are energy-intensive as well and simply having decent soil and paying attention to your plants (a lot to ask for from many, surely) will help overcome not having perlite or other water-holding materials.
DS (B.S. Env Hort UCD)
Posted by: Dan Staley at Aug 18, 2008 11:10:24 AM
Alex help! Why won't anyone ever call Dean Baker out on his ridiculousness? And Brad Delong gave him a high five and a link for it!
http://prospect.org/csnc/blogs/beat_the_press_archive?month=08&year=2008&base_name=_washington_post_misleads_read
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