China has a shortage of free markets, not chopsticks

Oh China, there you go again.

The Chinese government is claiming that heavy consumption of wooden chopsticks is depleting the communist nations supply of wood and the public needs to stop burning through so many in the interest of the environment.

It reminds of a scene in the Karate Kid remake where Dre thinks the apartment is out of hot water and Mr. Han shows him how they heat just the water they use, then adds that it will "save the planet."

Oh come on, they aren't motivated by environmentalism. They just do it that way because they are poor.

Lumber is a renewable resource and if China truly embraced capitalism there would be no shortage of wood for chop sticks.