Infrastructure is a Hot Commodity

"This summer, Canada's commodity scavengers have pulled plaques and crosses off cemetery plots, cut down aluminum light poles, removed manhole covers, pillaged air conditioning systems, raided trucks full of butter, stripped copper roofing off schools and churches, siphoned gallons of gasoline, and yanked hundreds of catalytic converters from SUVs.

The increased theft, first and foremost, is a product of a red hot commodities market, says Sharon Young, an economist at the University of Alberta. China and India's booming economy has triggered extraordinary demand for all types of raw materials, particularly those used to build infrastructure.

[Hot Commodities include copper]: It's accessible and in demand. Homes, construction sites, electrical stations and retailers have been targeted."