Do you wonder why China’s carbon emissions are suddenly all over the scare newspapers of the USA, or why the United States government are starting to talk about China’s human rights record. This article over at The Earth Blog explains the truth behind the sudden change of heart.

It is often said that the greatest fear of both the politician and the businessman is that somewhere, someone is doing something that he has no control over. Witness the remarkable drive to acquire cheap oil sources by the USA (Iraq – by war, Chad – by bribery, Venezuela – by engineering a coup) and China (Sudan – by bribery, Indonesia – bribery again). Witness the rush to file new patents in everything and anything: 1.7 million in 2005, up from less than 1.1 million in 1995. Anyone would think that something bad was about to happen to the global economy.

I jest, of course. The economy is fine: the rich people are still getting richer and the effects of continuing political repression, and the climate change due in the next couple of decades will only hit those poor people with flies on their eyes, and mud on their feet. Isn’t capitalism grand?

But something is changing, and it only becomes obvious when you listen to the messages very carefully indeed.

[Read the rest at The Earth Blog]