Some time ago The Economist magazine noted that Clare Short, Labour MP, Britain’s Minister for Overseas Development and ex leftwing firebrand, had started to talk sensibly about the benefits of globalisation for the poor in developing countries. She continues to do so.

On 9 June 2001 on BBC Radio 4, while reviewing the newspapers, she drew listeners’ attention to an item describing how London’s air quality had improved over the last hundred years. She began badly by suggesting that this was counterintuitive given our increasing concern over respiratory diseases such as asthma, and failing to infer that perhaps the rise in asthma had other causes. Nevertheless she reassured listeners that the improvement was genuine, by recalling the much worse air pollution of her childhood and went on to draw some important lessons. Modern industry is cleaner and better for the environment and the developing world is polluted because its industries are old fashioned.  Speeding industrial development will improve the environment there too. Well done Claire! If you can get the iGreen message, there is hope for us all.