There’s a sliver lining in every dark cloud, I think, but I’m not sure that this qualifies:

NICOSIA (Reuters) - A slowdown in the world economy may give the planet a breather from the excessively high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions responsible for climate change, a Nobel Prize winning scientist said on Tuesday.

Atmospheric scientist Paul J Crutzen, who has in the past floated the possibility of blitzing the stratosphere with sulfur particles to cool the earth, said clouds gathering over the world economy could ease the earth’s environmental burden.

I sometimes get the feeling that these environmentalists won’t be satisfied until we’re all sitting in dark rooms and breathing shallowly lest our activities have a negative impact on the environment.

Next they’ll be saying that we should abort our children for the sake of living sustainably.  Er...wait a minute.

Never mind.