In The News

Safety Last

Robert X. Cringely September 6, 2006
When it comes to technology, businesses and consumers prioritize power over safety. With fierce global competition in the computer and mobile-phone markets, firms move products to market quickly, regardless of risks. Apple Computer and Dell Computer recently recalled lithium-ion batteries, which produced high power, but were also prone to explosions. In the competitive markets, the companies...

Helping Those Devoured by the Dragon

Andreas Lorenz September 5, 2006
China’s economic boom has improved the lives of millions in its most prosperous cities, often at the expense of the environment, public health, and worker’s rights. A growing number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) help those left behind. Among their diverse causes, the groups fight for better working conditions, environmental protection, and an improved legal system. While even...

Fruit of the Boom Threatens to Push China's Economy Out of Control

Jonathan Watts August 31, 2006
China has had spectacular growth, so spectacular that consumers cannot keep up. Luxury apartments in Shanghai remain vacant. Overbuilding and overvaluation, combined with increased debt, have contributed to an overheated economy. Not accountable to voters, provincial governments compete to create building booms and demonstrate accomplishments. Supply exceeds demand for about 70 percent of China’s...

Precious Wetlands Rapidly Disappearing

Hiroaki Sato August 30, 2006
Some deride wetlands as swamps, and others regard them as invaluable habitat providing a buffer during floods, a system that contributes to climate moderation and a habitat for diverse wildlife. The US Clean Water Act was supposed to prevent the discharge of pollutants into rivers, lakes and coastal waters of that nation – and later expanded to include wetlands. In 1988, US Congress devised a...

China Puts Price on Head of Rare Animals

Jonathan Watts August 24, 2006
The economic law of supply and demand makes no exception for endangered species: Price goes up as the population declines. The Chinese government is selling permits to foreign tourists, giving them the right to hunt yak, wolves and argali in five of the nation’s poorest provinces. Chinese are not eligible for the permits. The government suggests that the expensive hunts will aid conservation...

Natural Resources Are Fueling a New Cold War

Erich Follath August 22, 2006
The modern world depends on oil and other natural resources for survival – and the most powerful countries travel the globe, searching for supplies. China, surpassed only by the US in oil-consumption levels, has blocked UN sanctions against Sudan to secure oil shipments and increasingly becomes friendly with Iran. When it come to oil, the US and China have policy differences, leading some...

Water, Water Everywhere?

August 22, 2006
One third of the world’s population is already short of water, according to a UN report to be released in November 2006. A main culprit behind the increasing scarcity is agriculture – it requires about 3000 liters of water to grow enough food for a person to eat one day. With an increasing global population, agriculture’s demand for water will double by 2050. World water supplies could be...