It's really rather difficult to know whether to laugh or cry at this latest story. The subsidy junkies are now arguing against subsidies.

Chinese solar companies could soon find themselves bereft of some of their biggest foreign markets as Western manufacturers intensify a solar trade war and seek stiff anti-dumping duties on low-cost Chinese products. German group SolarWorld said on Thursday it was working on steps to curb alleged price dumping by Chinese rivals in Europe. This comes less than a day after its U.S. unit led a group of seven U.S. solar companies in urging the U.S. government to slap anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made solar energy products.

The various European and US solar power companies have been gargling subsidies since the very first day they were a gleam in a rent seeker's pocketbook. They're so voracious in their eating of such subsidies that solar produced electricity in the UK is four times the price of conventionally so. In Germany it costs $1,070 per tonne CO2 not emitted: some $990 more than the $80 cost of such emissions. The entire industry exists only because of the great gobbets of taxpayers' money that has been thrown their way.

And now they are complaining about other people offering subsidies?That there should be trade and tariff barriers to make sure that we the poor bloody consumers cannot get a piece of the action? Cheap solar panels subsidised by someone else?

I suppose I should laugh or cry at this rather than what I'm very tempted to do: shoot them all for Gaia will know her own.