Issue

Trade

Behind almost every product we buy and the GDP numbers we worry over, there is a story whose trail crosses the globe. Every physical product starts as raw material somewhere, from the gold in our jewelry to the shrimp at our favorite restaurants and the minerals within our mobile phones and laptops.

The rapid industrialization of countries like India, China, and Brazil and a voracious consumer culture in Europe, the United States and Japan mean ever greater demand for these raw materials—and ever greater pressures on the individuals, communities, and environments that bear the cost of providing them.

These local costs too often remain hidden. They are obscured by companies and governments that put a premium on production and exports. They are little understood by consumers, whose concept of "price" and "value" does not include damage done to people and places far away.

Trade is an effort to make those connections plain, to show the true costs of producing the commodities that have become essential to our lifestyles but that we mostly take for granted. These reports touch on goods and challenges across the globe that share a common theme: the implications of a vision of endless prosperity set against the reality of a finite planet.

Trade

Rhinoceros Poaching in South Africa

South African wildlife sits on the brink of disaster as rhinos continue to be poached. With so much at stake, villagers fight to protect the keystone species, resources, and the tourism industry.

The Black Death of Kabwe

Years of unmitigated contamination from Zambia's largest lead mine have created a toxic nightmare for the residents of Kabwe, the country's second largest city.

Exploring Myanmar's Conflicted Future

As Myanmar emerges from half a century of isolation to join the globalized world, Doug Bock Clark and Corey Pattison will report on the forces struggling to shape the country's future.

India: Migrating Into Slavery

Each winter hundreds of thousands of Indians migrate north to man the world's second largest brick industry. They're promised opportunity, but many are bonded into debt.

Getting the Word Out About Food Waste

Students analyze reporting about food waste in D.C. and South Korea. They then create their own media plans on reporting food waste issues in their communities.

Who Makes Your Clothes?

This week: the dark history behind modern day cotton production, Saudi Arabia's religious exports, and the violent pursuit of sand.