Here's another innovation portending a more sustainable future:

Chinese researchers say they have invented a cheap and eco-friendly way to keep city-dwellers warm in winter and cool in summer — using untreated sewage.

Their device extracts heat from raw sewage that has been temporarily diverted on its way to the processing plant. It can also make air conditioning units run more efficiently, and absorb the heat they remove from buildings.

The device can reduce the cost of heating and air conditioning systems by 20 per cent, says lead researcher Sun Dexing, a professor in the environmental science department at Harbin Institute of Technology. It is also environmentally friendly as it produces no pollution and uses no chemicals.

Here's the link: www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm

So what do you think: Are the Chinese going to surpass American and European ingenuity?

I'm a Canadian living in Hong Kong, and everyday I see how neccessity is the mother of invention when it comes to sustaining large populations. The Chinese will be the technology leaders of the future becasue they HAVE to be if they want to lead better lives.

I blog lots of stuff like this everyday at www.portension.com