A working strategy has emerged. We must first understand that these environmental strategies are going to become a minimum admission to the global economy. Germany is the 500 pound gorilla of the European Community. It is quite possible that DFD may become an EC trade barrier. In like manner, we may expect Japan to set the rules for all of Asia.
Environmental concerns are certain to emerge as even bigger trade barriers.
Already, the Canadian ambassador has his hands full because German environmentalists have accused Canadian paper producers of having 'worse logging practices than a third-world country like Brazil' and are seeking to bar imports of Canadian paper. Better, if flagship industries make a commitment to waste reduction through redesign, can governments and the service industries be far behind. Of course, we Americans can do nothing, watch as the Germans and Japanese master and dominate 'green' technologies like they did everything else in the past 20 years, hope that we will only have to be good little consumers, and pray that they will keep lending us enough money to buy their technologies because they are tired of seeing us trash the planet. But don't count on it. After 50 years of useless American arrogance, the rest of the world is taking perverse pleasure in watching our economic collapse and loss of imperial pretensions.