China producing two new coal-powered stations every week

That's the scary news that came out of the BBC last night (see here). I wonder how many Brits have read the headline and decided that's as good a reason as any to stop trying to curb their own emissions? After all, do we want to dig beneath the headlines and accept that we're effectively transferring our own emissions to China by purchasing the vast bulk of our goods from the country instead of making them ourselves?

China is building two new power stations every week because the western world - always on the lookout for the cheap and easy option - has moved with lightning speed to outsource just about everything to the Chinese. And even if you forget the environmental cost, what's the cost in terms of human suffering? You can bet Chinese workers are paid a pittance for working long hours. And all because you and I seem to think we should pay less for everything while earning more in return. Mind you, it doesn't matter how much more we earn, we're still spending more than we bring in, as the latest figures on debt show (in the East, the average person owes 13K - and you can bet that figure doesn't include mortgages).