Globalization has been very good for South Carolina. External investment as played a key role in revitalizing the economy of our state. Several years ago The State newspaper reported that one in five South Carolinians work for a foreign-owned company.

But many South Carolinians have learned that globalization comes with a price. When business owners are not part of the local or regional community, they may have few ties "that bind". When profits are the only consideration, company leaders move the plants when it becomes clear that they can make their products elsewhere at lower cost. After all, that's how the plants and the attached capital got to South Carolina in the first place.

The current rapid rise in vehicle fuel and lubricant costs is a classic example of one of the downsides of globalization. South Carolina has no fossil fuel "oil and gas" resources within the state boundaries. If no other alternatives are considered, South Carolina will remain totally dependent on others, operating at the global level, over whom we have little or no control other than free market forces, to provide the fuel and lubricants we need to operate the 4 million vehicles in our state.

There are currently numerous possible "local, home-grown" alternatives to "global, big oil", and the purpose of this feasibility study is analyze these alternatives and determine which are credible in the near and long term. There are five criteria each alternative must meet to succeed. They must be:

• Viable Technology
• Environmentally acceptable
• Socially acceptable
• Economically sound
• Politically acceptable

A Brief Summary of Localization Versus Globalization

Recently there has been a marked rise in the "rediscovery" of "Localization". Localization, as defined for Greenway Labs purposes, simply means local people meet local market demands using "home-grown" products and services. There is a growing uncertainty regarding "The Global Economy" and how events abroad, over which South Carolinians have virtually no control, can and are impacting our economy and our way of life.

Key assumptions underlying this study are:

• Localization, and not Globalization should have the highest priority when it comes to developing and strengthening our communities.
• Localization is NOT a stand-alone alternative to Globalization
• Globalization Optimizing the Combination of Localization and Globalization in South Carolina Localization where possible.

It is currently believed that the combination of Optimizing the Combination of Localization and Globalization in South Carolina, working in harmony, offers the best choice for South Carolina. The best combination should always "make or buy" decisions that are market-driven.

So what does all this have to do with the fuels and lubricants needed by South Carolina vehicles? Currently virtually 100% of these products come from Global providers outside South Carolina. This project will explore the feasibility of changing the current total dependence on "foreign" oil, where the term "foreign" means manufactured outside the borders of our state, to the maximum possible use of locally produced products, with the long-term goal being total "local" independence.

To learn more see the SC Vehicle Energy Independence Analysis.