Low water on the Rhine is exposing how much industrial redundancy exists only on paper — from German chemical plants to gold mines on the other side of the world.
These great analytical pieces you are writing are a welcome smack in the face to the Orwellian dissemination of infantile fairy stories in the mainstream media and beyond featuring individual actors set up as heroes and villains and apparently, like Uber mensch, they shape our world. This is infantile theatre.
Here in your work is the complex reality in which we live and that most people are not encouraged to think about. Thanks for you work.
I'd like to add to your reseach from the polymer regulatory lens.
DINP is currently restricted in use in the EU to 0.1% under REACH SVHC, REACH Annex XVII and RoHS.
DPHP is not, but the EU regulators have it on the chopping block.
What this means is, DINP used as a raw material above the 0.1% in a homogeneous mixture, is to be declared, and most companies try to work declarables out if their supply chain.
Our EU compounding plants scrubbed DINP and other plasticisizers from our supply.
But the corporations you mention, which I am VERY familiar with, can make the substances and sell them to other markets.
But...how do they get there when you can only ship them via water?
The EU is fabulous with passenger rail transportation. Freight? Not like the USA. Freight takes precedent on our rail system over passenger travel. Always has, always will, likely.
Also, many of these companies have Asian and American factories. This diversification might help them overall, but my beloved EU will be in a pickle, and the EU constantly restricting what can be used in polymer plastics is greatly retarding the supply chain.
Very informative article thanks. Yes, agree Mr. Tindale, fragile. We have created fragile economic systems in the name of efficiency. As we know this came from the economics financial guys who used this efficiency mindset to enhance profits. They were correct and successful. But this world is now different and changing very quickly from that old world order. We now have to weight efficiency with anti-fragility in this new world unfolding. Your excellent write up here on this illustrates it perfectly. No theory's here, just hard real-world facts.
"I'll take "hemp cars" for $1000" entered as search term (TV game from ages ago)
"...Although historical figures like Henry Ford experimented with hemp-based car bodies and modern entrepreneurs like Isiah Thomas and Bruce Dietzen have created prototypes, these vehicles are unique one-offs or concepts. Current automotive applications of hemp are limited to niche interior components, such as door panels in premium brands like BMW and Mercedes, rather than full vehicle construction..."
These great analytical pieces you are writing are a welcome smack in the face to the Orwellian dissemination of infantile fairy stories in the mainstream media and beyond featuring individual actors set up as heroes and villains and apparently, like Uber mensch, they shape our world. This is infantile theatre.
Here in your work is the complex reality in which we live and that most people are not encouraged to think about. Thanks for you work.
Great analysis - thank you for sharing it.
I'd like to add to your reseach from the polymer regulatory lens.
DINP is currently restricted in use in the EU to 0.1% under REACH SVHC, REACH Annex XVII and RoHS.
DPHP is not, but the EU regulators have it on the chopping block.
What this means is, DINP used as a raw material above the 0.1% in a homogeneous mixture, is to be declared, and most companies try to work declarables out if their supply chain.
Our EU compounding plants scrubbed DINP and other plasticisizers from our supply.
But the corporations you mention, which I am VERY familiar with, can make the substances and sell them to other markets.
But...how do they get there when you can only ship them via water?
The EU is fabulous with passenger rail transportation. Freight? Not like the USA. Freight takes precedent on our rail system over passenger travel. Always has, always will, likely.
Also, many of these companies have Asian and American factories. This diversification might help them overall, but my beloved EU will be in a pickle, and the EU constantly restricting what can be used in polymer plastics is greatly retarding the supply chain.
Look up the new EU packaging law PPWP.
It will be interesting.
Or, how my vacation river cruise became a long bus trip
Very informative article thanks. Yes, agree Mr. Tindale, fragile. We have created fragile economic systems in the name of efficiency. As we know this came from the economics financial guys who used this efficiency mindset to enhance profits. They were correct and successful. But this world is now different and changing very quickly from that old world order. We now have to weight efficiency with anti-fragility in this new world unfolding. Your excellent write up here on this illustrates it perfectly. No theory's here, just hard real-world facts.
You read like Fat Tony from Talib.
What’s a basket of equities to consider? Covestro looks like bad Karma on Simply Wall Street…
I
choke points is another term that comes to mind
what price modernity?
"I'll take "hemp cars" for $1000" entered as search term (TV game from ages ago)
"...Although historical figures like Henry Ford experimented with hemp-based car bodies and modern entrepreneurs like Isiah Thomas and Bruce Dietzen have created prototypes, these vehicles are unique one-offs or concepts. Current automotive applications of hemp are limited to niche interior components, such as door panels in premium brands like BMW and Mercedes, rather than full vehicle construction..."
Thanks! Roche, Novartis, Syngenta call Basel home