Let the law bite

The collective study sessions of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China are reliable wind vanes of China's policy orientations, because the central leaders always take advantage of such gatherings to showcase accents on specific issues.

The latest, on the afternoon of last Friday, was on global climate changes and China's responses to them. Which illustrates a consistent focus on the need to reduce the nation's ecological footprints on its way toward prosperity.

If that sounds too abstract and far-fetched to individuals and their families, President Hu Jintao brought it a step closer by calling for a proposal to build a resource-saving and environment-friendly society to find its foothold in every household.