I live in China, and I don't think I've ever seen a DVD that wasn't pirated. I also have bought many pirated DVDs that I never would have considered even renting back in the states. I guess we should believe the expert guy and his numbers, but I wonder how it could be that Britain costs the movie industry more money. Perhaps the price of a legit DVD is so much higher (especially with the strength of the pound) that smaller numbers of pirated DVDs represent more money lost?

This sentence seems a little questionable: "Indeed, the EIA's own data have carbon dioxide emissions attributable to "renewable fuels" rising from 11.6 MMT to 11.9 MMT."

I love your blog, and, from reading the letters, it seems like your readers are generally pretty smart, but, obviously, it could be that the increase above might not mean a net increase in CO2, as the .3 MMT increase in CO2 from "renewable fuels" could have generated energy that would have resulted in greater CO2 output had it come from coal or oil or something. Then again, "renewable fuels" probably includes biofuel, which is not exactly low-carbon, from what I understand. All the same, data that nebulous seems unworthy of inclusion when your point was made convincingly without it.

Sure, hypocrisy is lame, but I totally agree with C.S. Lewis about faking it 'til you make it, and am reminded of the case of the United States. "All men are created equal (as long as they're white, and of course not women)" rang pretty hollow for many people in the beginning, but I think having it written as an ideal helped the country move closer to making it true. Walmart and Gates should certainly be commended, and doing so won't make us any less thoughtful about how we impact the world. We should commend ourselves, as well, for pushing at least Walmart in this direction--maybe the Gateses would be doing what they're doing even without what seems to be people's rapidly growing interest in responsibility, for lack of a better term.

They're going to get literally run over by a train? But who, with such high energy prices, is going to buy the fuel for this murderous train rampage?