Spare The Air Day

A lot of people would tell you that China is where it's all going on these days. They've got all the money, and they're starting to import their cheaply made toys. They recently unveiled a missile that could destroy one of our super-carriers. They have even considered dropping the death penalty for "economy-related, non-violent offenses." Progress, we assume, comes in stages.
Like the traffic jam outside of Beijing, now in its second week. It stretches sixty-some miles as cars are stuck behind cargo-bearing trucks and road construction exacerbates an already ridiculous situation. Welcome to the future.
It brings to mind Kurt Vonnegut's vision of China in his novel "Slapstick." In this book, China has closed its borders for a number of years, then an emissary appears who is only six inches tall. He explains that his country's scientists have solved most of its problems with the advent of miniaturization, and he has only appeared long enough to tell the rest of the world "farewell." Unfortunately, a plague develops when someone accidentally inhales one of the now microscopic Chinese, bringing about the end of the world as we know it.
Presently, a shadow economy has sprung up as an adjunct to the traffic jam. Unscrupulous vendors are circulating through the cars and trucks that sit idling outside of the capital city, selling food and water for highly inflated prices. No word yet on whether this will be a crime punishable by death. Or miniaturization.