Word: demands
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...part to a falloff in demand from the ailing U.S., China's export growth is slowing sharply. Manufacturing contracted in July for the first time since at least 2005, according to China's Purchasing Managers' Index, resulting in reduced hiring by the sector. Meanwhile, a 50% drop in China's stock markets from their peak last October is creating a reverse wealth effect, some economists believe, leading both consumers and companies to be more cautious about their outlays. Tao Wang, an economist with Bank of America in Beijing, says China's GDP growth will slow to 10% this year, down...
...concern. As children from the country's expanding middle class come of age, universities are being blitzed with new students. In fields such as engineering and economics, there simply aren't enough high-caliber teachers to go around. "China lacks the educational infrastructure to keep pace with the frantic demand for education," says Tang Min, chief China economist at the Asian Development Bank. A human-resources executive who helped produce a report on the subject for the American Chamber of Commerce in China puts it more bluntly: "the vast majority of [Chinese] kids go to second- or third-rate schools...
...question is uncomfortable, Lucas writes correctly, in part because Russia is a huge energy exporter at a moment when demand for oil and gas has skyrocketed, driving prices up and filling the Kremlin's coffers. Eastern and Western Europe are heavily dependent on gas from state-owned giant Gazprom (whose former chairman happens to be Dmitri Medvedev, Putin's puppet President.) Russia's oil exports are critical at a time when the world has no spare capacity for crude. How tough, seriously, can the West be with an aggressive Russia at this moment in history...
...started with a tree in need of a trim. At 3:05 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2003, a 345-kV transmission line in northern Ohio began to sag. This happens commonly, especially during hot summer days, when the demand for power created by all those air conditioners can cause power lines to slacken. Trees near transmission lines are supposed to be pruned regularly - but this one hadn't been. When the line sagged too close to the tree, it faulted and tripped off-line. This is also something that happens pretty frequently on the U.S.'s massive electrical grid...
...much of our infrastructure, the grid is overdue for an overhaul. "Government funding has been pretty modest in scale," says Daigle. He notes that last year's federal energy act contained authorization for smart grid investment - but no money has been appropriated yet. That needs to change. As electricity demand increases in the U.S. and we become ever more networked, the consequences of a major power loss worsen as well. The blackout of 2003 cost some $6 billion, but it could have been far more costly. A smarter grid can also help improve energy efficiency - if customers and utilities know...