Pharmaceutical companies "are turning to the developing world as profits stagnate in the West. But regulation in these countries is weak," writes Jeremy Laurance.

After "several highly publicized recalls of Chinese-made toys that contained hazardous levels of lead," the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has come under increased scrutiny.

A study in the September 2007 issue of the journal Ecological Complexity claims that concerns of global warming's impact on polar bears are "highly premature." But the study wasn't peer reviewed, and it was funded by ExxonMobil.