A few blog posts back, I reviewed When America First Met China by Eric Jay Dolin. In that review, I mentioned the import of sandalwood, furs, and opium by China in the 18th and 19th centuries and the scarcity issues surrounding the first two. Now for the second verse — importation of ivory obtained by the slaughter of African elephants.  Whether China’s 1 year moratorium on ivory carvings will do any good, it is a step in the right direction. The question becomes then what effect on the underground trade in ivory? For more information on this, see the New York Times article, available here.