In The News

Bee Decline Threatens Our Dinner and the Countryside

Jimmy Lee Shreeve August 30, 2007
Imagine a food market with fewer apples, nuts, soybeans, asparagus, squash, tomatoes, citrus fruit, strawberries or melons. People may not notice small insects in the course of daily life, but alarm would emerge if species of bees suddenly vanished. Wildflowers and many agricultural plants depend on bees for pollination and production of seed. “It's hard to believe that one small creature...

Mystery of the Vanishing Bees

Norman L. Carreck August 30, 2007
Honey bees contribute much to agriculture and the delicious variety of foods we eat. But the social insects are under stress. The reasons could be many: Mites that attack bees increasingly become resistant to pesticides; researchers have also theorized about modern society’s reliance on cell phones, insecticides and genetically modified crops. Policies to protect bees are in order, argues Norman...

China’s Exports of Aluminum, Steel Soar

Richard McGregor August 24, 2007
Controlling a booming economy, pointing it in new directions, is no easy task. Attempts by China's central government to reduce production and exports of aluminum and steel – two energy-intensive industries that also create large amounts of pollution – have not worked. Despite an increase in export taxes, exports of the two products during the first half of 2007 have almost doubled from the...

“Made in China” Label Spurs Global Concern

Paul Mooney August 23, 2007
As lead exporter in many types of products, China takes pride in serving as factory to the world. But a spate of tainted products and recalls involving goods made in China gives many global consumers pause. China’s reaction includes denials, scapegoating and even the fast execution of one government official accused of taking bribes to allow production of shoddy goods. But the government has also...

Stoking Protectionism

August 20, 2007
Choosing cost-cutting over quality, Chinese firms are finally getting order recalls from some of the biggest US firms. Although China publicly denies quality control problems with exports, domestic markets have faced similar quality issues. However, despite recent high-profile execution of officials in charge of drug safety, China will find it hard to transform its political culture overnight....

The New Myth About Climate Change

Idean Salehyan August 17, 2007
Global warming is a serious problem and could result in a decline of basic resources such as water or food in some regions of the world. But Idean Salehyan rejects the notion that climate change will necessarily lead to civil wars, uncontrollable immigration and global violence. “Dire scenarios like these may sound convincing, but they are misleading,” writes Idean Salehyan for Foreign Policy. “...

Mattel Recalls About 9 Million Toys

Nicholas Casey August 15, 2007
Ingesting lead, even small amounts, can cause irreparable brain damage in young children. So the news that major toy company Mattel has embarked on yet another major recall of toys made in China, because some contain lead paint and others contain small magnets, disturbs both consumers in the West and workers in China. Manufacturers based in China, where speech is censored, are unaccustomed to...