While the challenges in New York are daunting, the 9, 700 communities in America with kerb-side recycling programmes are making considerable progress in providing this relatively new public service in the most cost-effective manner possible.

ECONOMIST: Making states accountable

Its immediate objective should be to validate and bring to bear automated techniques for addressing in the most cost-effective and least time-consuming manner possible the most daunting challenge: Making the Nation's civilian (government and private sector) and military mainframe computers Year 2000-compliant.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Protecting against the 'millenium bug'