A Reuters News Service article distributed last week says the former communist states of East Europe and the USSR use up to seven times more energy than Western Europe does to produce one unit of Gross Domestic Product. The information is attributed to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The situation is said to be a legacy of days when the Soviet Union provided cheap energy to its satellites. Only the United States and China reportedly emit more greenhouse gases than these countries taken together. The article says the bankers see the situation as not only wasteful and bad for the environment but also bad business and poor strategy for the future. Josue Tanaka, EBRD corporate director for energy efficiency and climate change, is quoted as saying "it's cheaper to save a unit of energy than to have to generate it." The report is one of the lead articles on the Planet Ark, a daily guide to helping the planet.