Peter May wrote in a message to Roy J. Tellason:

 PM> Roy J. Tellason wrote in a message to Peter May:

 PM> You cant keep digging ore out of the ground and turning it into
 PM> "things" for almost free, so where are the costs of the raw
 PM> materials?

 PM> What is this doing to other, well thought out industries in other
 PM> countries, where natural resources still have some value attached
 PM> to them?  

 RJT> Good questions,  those.

 PM> Maybe the electronics industries in China are subsidised by the
 PM> state, so profit is not an issue, all the same eventually things
 PM> catch up with them. It's a real worry, I wanted to get some old WW2
 PM> walkie talkie parts over to here from the USA and it was going to
 PM> cost almost the same amount as the part was worth in shipping to
 PM> get it here.

 PM> How much does this stuff cost to ship over here from China? OK it's
 PM> by the container load but it surely that cost cuts into things.

Not all that much,  apparently.

 PM> Theres already concern in Pollution Control circles (such as where
 PM> I work) that the Chinese quality of life is getting better.
 PM> Subsequently, they all desire to buy and run petrol or diesel
 PM> powered cars, 

They all don't have enough of an economic base to be able to afford to do so.

 PM> the big question is what will that do to worldwide air quality and 
 PM> how will existing oil reserves be impacted?

The increase in demand,  such as it turns out to be,  will drive the prices up.

 PM> You have to consider the size of the population thats currently
 PM> getting around on bicycles suddenly graduating to automobiles.

It won't be all that sudden a transition.  Even well-to-do there is not
that well off compared to what we're used to.

 PM> Resources are not infinite anymore.

And never were.

 PM> I've just seen a brand new DVD player advertised on the TV for only
 PM> $78 australian - amazing!
 PM> I thought mine was cheap!

I've seen some pretty inexpensive stuff.  The last VCR I bought was $53 on
sale,  and that was 2-3 years ago!  I know that DVD players are getting
cheap too,  but haven't priced them lately.

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