There’s often the perception that more globalization and free trade will mean more pollution and more exploited workers.  But according to a fascinating article by Pete Geddes of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, removing trade barriers is actually the quickest way to both boost living standards, and improve environmental quality.  In Mexico City, for instance, the air today is cleaner than that of Los Angeles 30 years ago due to economic progress and a more open political system.  And in the Pacific region of Asia, the number of people living on less than a dollar a day was nearly 500 million people in 1990, but just ten years later, that number was reduced by nearly half. Global good news, indeed.