A thunder from China has woken up Uncle Sam, like Rip Van Winkle, from a 20-year nap, to a different world. This world is in the midst of a Green Revolution. It is the biggest sea change since the Industrial Revolution, and Uncle Sam has slept too long to take the lead in this new movement.

It may sound strange that China, a developing country and the world's largest emitter of the greenhouse gases that contributed to global warming, is seen as a major player in this revolution in trying to make our planet green again after 200 years of pollution by industrialization.

China is in the forefront of developing "green energy"- nuclear, wind, solar - as a way to cut emissions and to reduce dependence on imported oil.