ARTICLE: "Japan Sees A Chance to Promote Its Energy-Frugal Ways," by Martin Fackler, New York Times, 4 July 2008, p. A6.

The West got rich when resources were cheap. Now the New Core's stunning growth and the looming doubling of the global middle class as a percentage of world population forces us all to reconsider our use of all resources, but especially energy.

The good news, as Amory Lovins loves to point out, is that there are huge efficiencies waiting to be nabbed out there--serious money savers and thus money makers.

Watch Japan, long conscious of this reality because it's a microcosm of the future world with its crowded, resource-intensive lifestyle, step to the forefront, making tons of money as a result.