Race you to the FINISH.

Photo: http://lijiangsong.blogbus.com/files/1128568470.jpg

An article in a recent hardcopy edition of the IHT http://www.iht.com/ reported an impending deal between Aluminum Corp. ( or Chalco) of China and the Queensland government of Australia to mine a 650 million metric ton Aurukin bauxite deposit. It will be the single largest investment in Australia and secure much needed material used to make aircraft and car bodies.

The Chinese government owns 70% of Chalco and it is companies like this that have been ordered by their government to scour the world for raw materials in order to meet the nation's demand for cars, homes and appliances. The Queensland bauxite deposit could produce enough aluminum for 2.5 million Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

Photograph: Charles Dharapak/AP

Bush has just left India, leaving the Indians in no doubt that the US is keen to speed up business and trade between the two countries, even throwing the nuclear question into the wind. This has been read as an attempt to counter-balance the growing Chinese power in the region, even though it is largely the Americans who have courted business dealings with China over the last 20 years.

The race is on to snap up the resources of the world for the big development push of the 21st Century....the race to the finish. Concerns over climate change will not be allowed to get in the way of this orgy of power and struggle for supremacy.