According to Matt Egan, a writer for CNNMoney’s market and investigating team, “it’s shaping up to be the crummiest year for U.S. stocks since the implosion of Lehman Brothers.” As unfortunate as it is, it’s hard to disagree after looking at the factors involved in Egan’s (and many others’) claims. The biggest of these factors is China’s economy taking a recent dip. Wall Street should be very concerned about this, as China’s problems may end up plaguing the global economy, not just America. As explained by an article in the Wall Street Journal, “there is too much debt, too many factories and too many vacant apartments.” China’s depleted economy has caused the American stock market to take a dip as well; and a large foreshadow of decreasing numbers is looming on the horizon for Wall Street.

As we know, the magnitude of China’s influence is far greater than just Wall Street. The American economy, as well as Canada’s, both rely heavily on the success of the world’s second largest economic superpower (only behind America). A constant domino effect is occurring between China and the countries involved in its affairs. When China is in economic surplus, it radiates onto the global economy; however the same thing occurs for the opposite. As China sinks in its woes, so does everyone being carried by China’s economy.

China’s current economy suffers from many open wounds, one being that its output of goods has declined drastically. “You can see this in a sharp contraction in shipping through Singapore, a general decline in the volume of world trade, and the falling price of the Australian dollar, all of which are ripple effects of China importing fewer raw materials and seemingly exporting fewer finished goods,” explains Matthew Yglesias, executive editor at Vox. On top of that, China is in a great deal of debt, resulting in a longer recovery time for its impaired economy. It is in America’s and the rest of the world’s best hopes that the Chinese economy is able to bounce back as fast as possible, in order to escape an economic depression.

References

Brace for Worst Year on Wall Street Since 2008

China’s Middle-Class Dreams in Peril

China’s economic slowdown: 11 things you should know

The still-recent breakthrough of genetic engineering has opened up an entirely new spectrum of opportunities for mankind, as well as ethics. What parts of the genetic structure should be allowed to be altered? And how much can they be altered before it becomes unethical? Genetic engineering carries the potential to rid the genetic structure of congenital disease in developing babies, and even prevent the risk of certain diseases after birth altogether. On another note It can also allow future parents to genetically “design” their baby to look and grow however they desire. This idea on its own raises a lot of ethical controversy, and could change the game of baby-making entirely.

The Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) is putting these questions to the test, however, not with humans. An article was published on IFLScience on October 1, 2015, titled, “Scientists Have Genetically Engineered Micropigs To Sell As Pets.” As explained by author Kristy Hamilton, the BGI initially began genetically engineering and breeding what they call “micropigs” for the purpose of conducting medical research. Pigs seem to share similar biology to humans in organ and tissue composition, and by breeding smaller pigs, BGI is able to be more efficient with their resources. “According to BGI, these little pigs have already proved helpful in studies concerning stem cells and gut microbiota. Smaller pigs are also more manageable test subjects, as they require less lab space, drug doses and upkeep costs” (Hamilton).

Animal testing is a completely separate issue in itself, one far larger than genetic mutation of animals is in the current day. The ethics of genetically engineering these pigs are questionable. Although BGI claims that the pigs suffer no health detriments from the mutation of their size, nobody can be too sure quite yet. On the other hand, many people see this form of breeding to be on the same level as breeding say, dogs or cats for their personality traits.

What we do know is, the truth of the matter is simple; the science of genetic mutation is still too new of a concept to the world for people to have undoubted faith in. Regardless, it will be no surprise that many people will purchase micropigs as pets. And it’s not hard to see why. I mean, look at them.

(Link to References in the Article Above)

The European Union has taken the initiative in forming an on-road automobile pollution testing policy, rather than only testing in labs. Author Danny Hakim explains in his article, “under the new plan, cars in Europe would for the first time be tested on the road, using portable monitoring equipment, in addition to laboratory testing.” The recent announcement has caused many notable automobile companies such as Volkswagen, BMW, and Toyota (and more) to beg for leniency in testing if the results reveal higher emissions than previously tested. This is due to the fact that many of these large automobile conglomerates have been cheating the tests by using technology that alters the result of the tests in their favour.

Hakim quotes later in the article, “suspicions about Volkswagen began when an outside testing firm did its own road tests on the company’s cars, using portable equipment. Emissions from Volkswagen cars were found to be as much as 40 times higher than what is allowed under the Clean Air Act in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency has said.” It is believed that various other automobile companies also use methods that alter the test results of nitrogen oxides produced by their vehicles. Volkswagen, in particular, is being pointed at, as it is the largest car company in the world. It was found that roughly 11 million of their vehicles use nitrogen oxide traps, which essentially capture nitrogen oxides in the system’s chamber, resulting in decreased emission numbers. The following graphic highlights the nitrogen oxide trap – along with the car’s computer – in orange.

Because the policy was only recently proposed and has only been used by a private organization. However, after hearing about Europe’s new testing policy idea, automakers have requested that if the policy falls through, that Europe allows “a 70 percent increase in the nitrogen oxides their cars emit.” This is because it is not just large car companies that can’t keep under the emissions limit; more astoundingly, it is the entire auto industry that faces this problem as a whole. In fact, automakers have found ways to cheat emissions tests since they were first regulated in the early 70s. The truth can be frightening; in this case, it is the willingness to sacrifice the global environment for an edge over competition and a gain in profits that is so astonishing. But now the entire auto industry has been caught red handed.

In realization of the magnitude of this issue, “European policy makers had proposed allowing for a 30 percent increase in nitrogen oxide emissions as a cushion, in their own acknowledgment that the new tests would be more demanding,” (Hakim). Of course, they cannot enforce the current regulations, as most cars would not be allowed to operate on the road given the current standards. Although permitting lee weigh in auto emissions testing, the results will – for the first time in nearly half a century – be accurate. The first world should be tipping its hat off to Europe in acknowledgment of its efforts to help preserve the environment, and follow in its footsteps.

References

Main Article: Automakers Ask Europe for Leniency in Emissions Testing

Supporting Articles: Clean Air Act, Environmental Protection Agency, How Volkswagen Got Away With Diesel Deception,