On Thursday, the Bush administration committed $3bn to projects tackling climate change issues. The following day, Richard Branson did the same.
Neither of these gestures is exactly philanthropic in nature; both Sir Richard and the United States of America need to find alternative fuels, and realise that heavy investing in this area probably makes long-term economic sense. But, as someone who can’t even afford a Prius, I can’t help thinking that it must be nice to wake up and think, “America’s doing this. Maybe I’ll do the same thing.”