Quickie Fact of the Day II

New York Times:

There are plenty of reasons to fear rats. They carry diseases like typhus, leptospirosis, hanta virus pulmonary syndrome, rat bite fever, salmonella poisoning, and of course bubonic plague, and they are ravenous Remys every one of them, feasting on our grains and meats, chewing our ratatouille and destroying as much as a third of global food supplies each year.

Quickie Fact of the Day I

New York Times:

The vast majority of the $1 billion or so the government spends each year on invasive species goes to managing existing problems, with about 10 percent, according to a recent government report, going to prevention. In the meantime, the government estimates that invasive species cost the economy $100 billion a year.