Economic globalization is creating a world marketplace that provides greater opportunities for many, but it is also increasing risks, reports the British newspaper The Guardian. The interdependence of nations in the emerging world economy makes it possible for an apparently isolated event—such as the devaluation of the Thai baht in 1997—to spark financial panic worldwide. “Thirty years ago,” notes The Guardian, “the gap between the richest fifth of the world’s people and the poorest stood at 30 to 1. By 1990 it had widened to 60 to 1 and today it stands at 74 to 1. . . . Among the biggest beneficiaries of globalisation are criminals, who can now exploit worldwide markets for drugs, arms and prostitutes.”

During 2004, Australians threw away 5.3 billion dollars ($4.1 billion, U.S.) worth of uneaten food, reports The Australia Institute, a research organization. This is more than 13 times the amount Australians donated for overseas aid in 2003. Overall, the total amount Australians waste on goods and services that are never or rarely used amounts to over $10.5 billion ($8.1 billion, U.S.) annually—more than that country spends on universities and roads.

▪ “While technology has helped shrink the average U.S. workweek over a century by 38%, employees have no more leisure time, thanks to longer commutes, more adult schooling and increased household chores.”—FORBES, UNITED STATES.

▪ Emissions of greenhouse gases in industrialized nations rose 1.6 percent between 2003 and 2004, reaching “the highest level in more than a decade.”—REUTERS, OSLO, NORWAY.