The global economy is also booming for invasive, habitat-wrecking pests. The Asian long-horned beetle has been chewing its way through the forests of East Asia for ages, but it wasn't spotted in this country until 1996, apparently after hitchhiking here in wooden freight pallets from China. The bug experts fear a beetle plague that will make the notorious gypsy moths seem like ants at a picnic.
Gypsy moths favor oaks, which are relatively scarce here.
For environmentalist critics of US trade policy and the World Trade Organization, the Asian long-horned beetle points up all that can go wrong when economic and biological globalization intersect. We've got wood coming in from everywhere. Because it's not a WTO member, China couldn't appeal to have the US pallet rule overturned as an unfair trade restriction. Meanwhile, China has begun requiring that pallets from this country be sterilized because of a pine nematode that's already invaded Japanese forests. US officials say China has a point and they won't appeal.