V World Conference on Mountain Ungulates – Photography Contest on Mountain Ungulates

To mark the V World Conference on Mountain Ungulates, to be held from 10-14 November 2009 at the Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos de Granada (Granada Exhibition and Conference Centre), as part of the activities scheduled to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the declaration of Sierra Nevada as a Natural Reserve and 10 years as a National Park a Photographic Contest on Mountain Ungulates has been organised, sponsored by Nikon. Anybody can enter the contest; registration is free and the entry form is available at the conference website
(http://www.vworldconferenceungulates.org).

The photographs entered must reflect some aspect of biology and ecology of the different species of mountain ungulates and must be accompanied by a brief explanatory text.

There are three prizes for the best photographs.
1st prize: Nikon D60 + AF-S DX 18-55mm + AF-S DX 55-200mm + bag for the SLR + tripod. The winning photograph will be shown on the front cover of the journal of acts.
2nd prize: Nikon D40 + AF-S DX 18-55mm + binoculars + bag for the SLR + tripod.
3rd prize: Nikon D40 + AF-S DX 18-55mm + bag for the SLR + tripod.

Deadline for sending photographs is until 8 p.m. on 15 September 2009.

CONTEST RULES

1.OrganiserRegional Ministry of the Environment of the Junta de Andalucía


2.ParticipantsParticipation in this contest is open to any natural person. Registration is free, simply by filling in a form on this web page. Participation in the contest entails full acceptance of the rules.

3.Photographic theme: The photographs must represent some aspect of biology and ecology of the different mountain ungulate species together with a brief explanatory text (around 50 words) for each photograph.

Ethical code: To ensure more efficient preservation of nature, an ethical code must be followed that ensures and enhances photographers' relationship with nature. No irregular action that contravenes the protectionist spirit that governs all human contact with nature is permitted. Further information is available at: www.aefona.org.

4.Sending photographs: Participants must fill in the form and attached the photographs and send these to the following e-mail address (one form for each photograph): concursofoto@vworldconferenceungulates.org
Photographs that are received without including all of the details requested will not be allowed to take part in the contest.
Only digital photographs will be accepted. They must be sent in JPG format and be of a minimum pixel size of 1500 x 2000, horizontally or vertically, of a maximum size of between 500 KBytes and 6 MBytes and with a recommended resolution of 300dpi.
The photographs must be sent in colour and only basic adjustments to the photographs, such as levels, contrast, will be accepted. The photographs cannot have a border or a frame. The photographs sent must be unpublished and cannot have won prizes in other contests or have been used commercially for journalistic, advertising or any other purpose.

5.Deadline The deadline for sending photographs is until 8 p.m. on 15 September 2009.

The Sunning Chameleons- What are they really up to?

The myriad ways in which nature works never ceases to amaze me. I was reading the other day, a paper by Dr Kristopher Karsten and associates from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, about the behaviour of lizards basking in the sun. The paper fascinated me with its depth of observations.

Till now it was assumed that the lizards bask in the sun to thermoregulate their body temperature. But latest research by Karsten and associates has added a new dimension to what seemingly is a lazy action by the lizards. Dr Karsten discovered that the main function of sun basking by lizards is to acquire vitamin D from sunlight.

To test the assumption that chameleons alter their sunning behavior based on dietary vitamin D intake, Dr Karsten observed the behavioral pattern of two different groups of chameleons. One was fed crickets dusted with a vitamin D powder. The other group was fed on regular crickets and thus had low vitamin D content. The chameleons were then placed in individual outdoor enclosures that offered open area for direct sun, and a tree to offer filtered sun. The animals were free to move between sunny, UV-rich areas and shaded low-UV areas. Chameleons fed on low vitamin D diet readily compensated lack of Vitamin D by increasing their exposure to the sun’s UV rays. According to Dr Kristen “The chameleons were as effective as mathematically possible by our methods at regulating toward optimal UV exposure for their vitamin D profile,”

Scientists have not been able to find out the exact mechanism that enables the lizards to sense their internal vitamin D levels. Dr Karsten thinks there may be a brain receptor sensitive to the vitamin d levels which triggers the behavior of sun basking. Getting to know the intricacies of why lizards do what they do will certainly help people who manages animals in captivity.

Details of the research appears in the May/June issue of journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

Arabian Tahr gets Increased Protection

The United Arab Emirates has established the Wadi Wurayah Fujairah, the habitat of endangered Arabian Tahr as the country’s first protected mountain reserve. The 129 km-square protected area occupies the northern reaches of Fujairah between the towns of Masafi, Khor Fakkan and Bidiyah. His Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Fujairah, issued a decree this week that officially established the mountain reserve. The Arabian Tahr (Arabitragus jayakari) is highly endangered, with fewer than 2,500 adults in the wild.

Under the proposed protection plan reviewed by the royal court protection will be intensified and steps will be taken to educate the visitors. Visitors will be fined for leaving litter behind, polluting the water and painting graffiti.

The move comes at a time when there is international concern about the welfare of Arabian Tahr. Tahrcountry salutes the architects of the new initiatives.

Grey Whale conservation -Sakhalin Energy consortium heeds to the call of the environmentalists

Heeding to the call of environmentalists Russia’s Sakhalin Energy consortium has agreed to suspend oil operations during the breeding season of Grey Whales (Eschrichtius robustus). The main feeding area of the whales is in the Piltun Bay at the northeastern part of Sakhalin shelf. Conservationists the world over are delighted. Once declared extinct, the Western Pacific Gray whale was rediscovered in the late 1970s.

The Western Grey Whale is one of the world’s most endangered whales, with only 25 breeding females remaining. The whale feeds only in the summer. The whale is listed as "critically endangered" by Russia and is on the redlist of International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Recent research had shown how oil exploration could alter the behaviour of grey whales. Noise from oil and gas exploration has driven the whales into deeper waters making it hard for their calves to feed and thrive.

Things are not very rosy however. BP, Exxon and Rosneft operating in the area have ignored the appeal from conservationists so far. Conservationists the world over are making repeated appeals to the erring firms to heed to their call. Let us hope that wiser counsel would prevail.

Good News from Afghanistan on the Environment Front

What we hear regularly from Afghanistan is depressing news about bombings, ambushes, excesses of Taliban and suffering of the common man. Here is something that will give you cheer. On the occasion of the Earth Day, Afghanistan has declared its first National Park. This is an event for the entire world to rejoice.

The newly declared Band-e-Amir National Park near Bamyan Valley is a spectacular region of deep blue lakes separated by natural dams of travertine, a mineral deposit. If Bamayan Valley rings a familiar tone for you, you are smack on target. Yes, it was here that Taliban destroyed 1,500-year-old giant Buddha statues.

Next on the agenda of the Afghan administration is efforts directed towards acquiring the World Heritage Status for the park. This will give a tremendous boost to the park. It will also bring in foreign tourists. Even though foreign tourists have given the place a wide birth after the eruption of violence in 1979 thousands of afghans visit the place every year

Much of the Park’s wildlife has been lost in the continuing violence. But Ibex and Urial still survive there precariously. The region also boasts of Afghan Snow Finch which is a bird found only in Afghanistan. The conservation community the world over is watching with great interest the happenings in Afghanistan

Imminent Danger- Forests as Sources of Greenhouse Gases

Forests are considered to be a great source of carbon sinks. But this rosy picture is likely to change with the global warming. The warning has come from International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO).

The latest report of International Union of Forest Research Organizations titled "Adaptation of Forests and People to Climate Change – A Global Assessment" and authored by 35 forestry scientists, made a detailed analysis of the likely impacts of climate change across the world's major forest types and their capacity adapt to climate shifts. The report will be formally presented at the next session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) taking place from 20th April to1 of May 2009 at the UN Headquarters.

Dr Risto Seppälä, a professor at the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) and Past President of IUFRO, who chaired the expert panel that produced the report says, “We normally think of forests as putting the brakes on global warming, but in fact over the next few decades, damage induced by climate change could cause forests to release huge quantities of carbon and create a situation in which they do more to accelerate warming than to slow it down”. A 2.5-degree-C rise in temperatures would eliminate the net carbon sequestering function of global forests. Presently forests worldwide capture about a quarter of carbon emissions.

The study observes that as climate change progresses over the next decades:

1) Droughts are projected to become more intense and frequent in subtropical and southern temperate forests, especially in the western United States, northern
China, southern Europe and the Mediterranean, subtropical Africa, Central
America and Australia. These droughts will also increase the prevalence of fire and predispose large areas of forest to pests and pathogens. .

2) In some arid and semi-arid environments, such as the interior of the American
West, forestry experts’ worry that climate change could be so dramatic that timber productivity could “decline to the extent that forests are no longer viable.”

3)  Decreased rainfall and more severe droughts are expected to be particularly stressful for forest-dependent people in Africa who look to forests for food, clean water and other basic needs. For them, the scientists predict climate change could mean “deepening poverty, deteriorating public health, and social conflict.”

4) In certain areas, climate change could lead to substantial gains in the supply of timber. The combination of warming temperatures and the fertilizing effect of increased carbon in the atmosphere could fuel a northward expansion of what is known as the boreal forest, the coniferous timber lands that run across the earth’s northern latitudes and include forests in Canada, Finland, Russia and Sweden. Research from the report indicates that climate change could cause more than a 40 percent increase in timber growth in Finland. However, over the long-term, if climate change continues at the current pace the boreal expansion eventually will be offset by an increase in insect invasions, fires, and storms.

Ameliorative strategies

The report says that sustainable forest management practices could help ameliorate some of the impacts of climate change, but such efforts may only be a temporary reprieve in the face of rising carbon emissions.

Professor Andreas Fischlin of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, who is one of the lead authors of the study says "Even if adaptation measures are fully implemented, unmitigated climate change would, during the course of the current century, exceed the adaptive capacity of many forests," "The fact remains that the only way to ensure that forests do not suffer unprecedented harm is to achieve large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions."

The report concludes by saying more research is needed to better understand precisely how climate change will impact forests and how effective different adaptation responses will be. The challenge to policy makers is that they must act even in the face of imperfect data because “climate change is progressing too quickly to postpone action.

Sidamo Lark on the Way to Oblivion?

The Ethiopiaian Sidamo Lark (Heteromirafra sidamoensis), one of the most ancient types of larks, is in parlous state. Unless efforts are made on a war footing to conserve the species it will have the dubious distinction of being the first recorded bird extinction on the continent. The forebodings are the outcome of a survey of the bird's habitat done by zoologist Claire Spottiswoode of the University of Cambridge. The associates for the study were the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society, Birdlife International and the University of East Anglia. The study found that Sidamo lark is now restricted to a single patch of grassland of 35 square kilometres. The survey also revealed that a maximum of 358 Sidamo Larks remain. The lower estimate is just 90.

Scientists discovered Sidamo Lark only in 1968. The bird was only seen once during the course of last 25 years.

The main reason attributed for the sorry state of affairs is the depredation of highland savannah. The savannah used to be maintained by fire and by the grazing of large herbivores. Borana pastoralists also played a part in the past. They used to walk their cattle across the plain in the course of their migration between different wet and dry season grasslands. The situation is completely changed now. The numbers of Wild animals have dipped and the present numbers is too low to stop shrubs from invading the grasslands. The pastoralists have abandoned their old time tested ways. The new fad is intensively reared livestock and agriculture, which impacts the birds quite badly.

Factors outside Ethiopia also contribute to the woes of the bird. The conflict in neighbouring Somalia is driving armed nomads to cross the border and move into the region to graze their cattle. Increasing droughts and climate change also are threats that loom over the survival of the bird.

The researchers have advocated control of grazing by domestic cattle. They have also advocated that the shrubs that have sprouted in the grassland should be removed. A careful watch over expansion of agriculture in to the habitat of the critically endangered bird has also been advocated.


Based on the researchers recommendations Lark is being uplisted to Critically Endangered – the highest level of threat – in the 2009 Red List of birds. The new list will be released on May 14th.

Newly Discovered Lichen Named after President Obama

A California researcher, Kerry Knudsen from the University of California-Riverside (UCR), has named a new species of Lichen discovered by him after President Barak Obama. The name given is Caloplaca obamae. The researcher says this is intended to show his appreciation for the president's support of science and science education.

The new species is Endemic to Santa Rosa Island, the second largest island off California’s coast. The new discovery is a shot in the arm for public support for preserving public lands as ecological sanctuaries. Cattle ranching had nearly wiped out the species. Fortunately a lawsuit by the National Parks Conservation Association in 1996 put an end to rampant uncontrolled grazing. But for this action the species would not have been discovered. Knudsen says this is a stark reminder that many species are disappearing without ever being known to science.

The Tale of the elephant from the Tail

I was fascinated to read about this new technique developed by Professor Thure Cerling and associates to decode eating habits of the elephants from its tail. It is amazing. Professor Thure Cerling used Global Positioning System and analyzed carbon and other isotopes in the tail hair of elephants to monitor their movements and varied diet in the Buffalo Springs national reserves in northern Kenya.

Clear cut evidences of elephants gorging on grasses during rainy season and switching over to trees and shrubs emerged from the isotope based study of elephants ‘ tail.
There are enough reasons for the elephants to gorge on grass. This is a ploy intended to bulk up for pregnancy. 22 months after conceiving, the elephants gave birth to healthy babies.

Use of water also came under the scanner. According to Professor Cerling in the dry season, rivers tend to be quite evaporated and have different isotope ratios than in rainy season, when they are flowing. The elephants drink the water, and it actually changes the isotope composition of their blood, which is reflected in the isotope composition of the hair.

The research brought to the fore the impact of overgrazing by cattle on the typical wet season diet of elephants. Competition with cattle results in poor access to high-quality grass forage as the cattle keep the grass very short by its distinctive feeding habits, thus our competing elephants in the rush for prime forage.The study warns that as Kenya's population continues to explode, and as global warming brings in more droughts, the competition for grass with domestic cattle might threaten the elephants' ability to bulk up for pregnancy.

The advantage of the new method according to Professor Cerling is that we get a continuous record of elephants’ diet even though we don't have anyone on the ground watching them. This will be of great help to the mangers of wildlife in devising their strategies.

Details of the study appears in the on line edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Kenyan Inventor Develops Cheap Efficient Solar Cooker and Wins an Award

I was delighted to hear about this news about a new solar cooker with enormous potential. A Kenyan inventor has won the $75,000 prize for his solar cooker made from cardboard. The cooker is made from two cardboard boxes, which use reflective foil and black paint to maximise absorption of solar energy. The temperatures inside the pot can reach at least 80C. The device can be used for cooking and for sterilising water.

The competition was organized by the organization Forum for the Future in association with Financial Times newspaper and technology company HP. The aim of the competition was to support concepts that have "moved off the drawing board and demonstrated their feasibility" for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but have not gained corporate backing.

The inventor says the device will help to reduce dependence on firewood thereby putting a brake on deforestation. According to him it will also give a boost to health as it has the potential to reduce the ill effects of smoke. Nearly two billion people in the world use firewood as their primary fuel. So the potential is enormous.

I did not give you the name of the inventor. Here it is. He is Jon Bohmer, who founded the company Kyoto Energy in Kenya. Hats off to him for developing a simple device that has the potential to reduce deforestation in developing and under developed countries.

Virus Powered Batteries are On Its Way

Virus powered batteries? Sounds a wee bit far fetched but it is true; they are in its way. A team of scientists from MIT in the US led by Professor Angela Belcher has come up with this seemingly impossible feat. Professor Belcher used viruses to build both the positively and negatively charged ends of a battery and it is working. A lithium-ion battery has been constructed, where generically engineered viruses were used to create the negatively charged anode and positively charged cathode. The beauty is that virus is harmless to humans.

The batteries have the capacity and performance of rechargeable batteries that is used to power plug-in hybrid cars. The prototype battery is the size of a coin but Professor Belcher believes that the technology developed can be used to create flexible batteries that can take the shape of their container. This meets the requirements of mobile and other small devices to a dot. Right now the virus battery can only be charged and discharged about 100 times, but Professor Belcher says improved versions with linger life are on its way.

Conservationists would be delighted to learn that the process to build the batteries uses no harmful or toxic materials. What we need is things like this, development of technologies that does not harm the environment. Tahrcountry salutes Professor Angela Belcher. Full details of the research appear in the journal Science

Leaf-Cutting Ants Help Develop New Drugs

In a spectacular case of symbiosis leaf-cutting ants have been cultivating fungus gardens that provide a safe home for the fungi and a food source for the ants for the last 50 million-years. It was only 10 years back that Cameron Currie, a microbial ecologist then at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, discovered that leaf-cutting ants carry colonies of actinomycete bacteria on their bodies. This bacteria produce an antibiotic that protects the ants' fungal crops from associated parasitic fungi.

Currie was fascinated by his discovery and wanted to know the nitty gritty of the entire symbiosis.On 29 March, Currie, Jon Clardy at the Harvard Medical School in Boston and their colleagues reported that they had isolated and purified one of these antifungals. They named the new antifungal dentigerumycin. The story does not stop here. This newly discovered antifungal was found to slow down the growth of a drug-resistant strain of the fungus Candida albicans, which causes yeast infections in people. An excited Currie has described the ants as walking pharmaceutical factories. Different ant species cultivate different fungal crops, which in turn is affected by different parasites. So researchers are hoping to find and develop new drugs.

Another spin off of the research is the discovery that fungi associated with ants are very efficient at breaking down cellulose. Unravelling the process might allow us to make more efficient biofuels. than those made from sugary foods, such as maize.

Details of the study appears in Nature Chem. Bio (D.-C. Oh et al. Nature Chem. Bio. doi: 10.1038/nchembio.159; 2009).

Have a look at what Currie has to say about his research by clicking here


The new discovery points to the urgent need to protect our biodiversity. Everything is interlinked and mans’ folly is destroying the cornucopia before we get a chance to study them properly.

Now a Contraceptive Pill for Desert Rats

For some time now exploding Gerbil population in their Xinjiang region has exasperated the Chinese officials. Gerbils have threatened the fragile desert ecosystem of Xinjiang. Only few plants can survive in this harsh and arid region. Ceaseless burrowing by Gerbils is destroying even this sparse vegetation.

Chinese authorities tried various options like traps and biological control. Predatory birds were introduced in the region. But the problem persisted. Forestry officials are now trying a new way to control Gerbils. They are using contraceptive pills. The pill is mixed with feeds and placed in strategic locations.

The pills prevent females from getting pregnant and cause abortion in those already pregnant. The Chinese authorities consider this to be much more humane option than poisoning Gerbils. The new experiment seems to be working. If it becomes a real success the authorities are planning to introduce the system in other areas also.

Two New Greenhouse Gases Accumulating in the Atmosphere

According to the latest research spearheaded by Climate scientist Dr Paul Fraser two new greenhouse gases, one emitted by the electronic industry and the other used in pest control, are rapidly accumulating in the atmosphere. The gases are Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and Sulfuryl fluoride (SO2F2). NF3 is used by the electronics industry in the manufacture of circuit boards in liquid-crystal flat-panel screens. SO2F2 is used as a fumigant.

The scientists have made a fervent plea to include these two gases for control in the revision of the Kyoto Protocol. Kyoto Protocol has set emission targets for six gases, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, PFCs, hydrofluorcarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. Even though the quantity SO2F2 and NF3 gases are low right now, the danger signals are already there and the time is ripe for control. NF3 is 17,000 times more potent than CO2, while SO2F2 is 5000 times more potent. NF3 persists for hundreds of years in the atmosphere. The gas accumulation is growing at around 5% a year. This is faster than any other greenhouse gasses included in the Kyoto Protocol.

Details of research appears in the 12 March edition of the Journal of Geophysical Research

Chemical Warfare by Plants

Professor Byron Lamont from Curtin University of Technology Australia, and his colleagues, has come up with some surprising findings regarding the defence mechanism of plants. The Australian native plant Hakea is using chemical warfare to prevent its bright red flowers being eaten by animals. This goes against established beliefs. The belief till now was that flowers evolved as a way for plants to attract birds and animals for cross-pollination.

The team studied 51 species of Hakea, and found that they could be easily divided into two groups, insect-pollinated species and bird-pollinated species. Insect-pollinated species have predominantly tiny, white flowers surrounded by spiky, dense foliage. This stops animals such as emus and cockatoos from eating the flower. Bird-pollinated species have soft open leaves and bright, easily accessible, usually red, flowers where birds can easily land. This makes the plant vulnerable to being eaten by emus and cockatoos.

Professor Byron Lamont and his colleagues macerated the flowers on-site and then used an enzyme and a strip of paper that was sensitive to cyanide to test for its presence. They found that plants with red flowers contain 10 milligrams of cyanide per gram. This was enough to make an animal sick. It is presumed that animals that eat the red Hakea flowers may learn to associate the colour with the bitter taste produced by the cyanide. The colour red acts as a warning to herbivores like emus, parrots and kangaroos sending the message that the flower contains distasteful cyanogenic compounds.

Details of the study appear in the latest edition of journal New Phytologist.

Plastic Trash in the Oceans and the Plight of the Turtles

Plastics ingestion by leatherback turtles is taking a heavy toll of the critically endangered species. This is the result arrived at by Dr. Mike James and colleagues from Dalhousie University after detailed analysis of post-mortems report of leatherbacks for the past four decades. Over one third of the turtles had ingested plastic. Ingestion of plastic leads to partial or complete obstruction of gastrointestinal tract, which in turn leads to starvation and death.

Leatherbacks often confuse plastic trash with one of their favorite prey, jellyfish. Unfortunately both jellyfish and plastic trash are often found in areas where oceanic water masses meet.

The only way out of this tragic situation is use of biodegradable materials and recycling. Leatherbacks have inhabited the earth for over a hundred million years and it would be a shame if they disappear due to the folly and profligacy of man. As the old saying goes little drops of water makes the mighty ocean. Each one of us has a bounden duty to do whatever is possible to save this critically endangered turtle. Concerted action will certainly pay rich dividends in the long run.

Details of the study appear in Marine Pollution Bullentin.

Mrosovsky et al. Leatherback turtles: The menace of plastic. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2009; 58 (2): 287 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.10.018

5th World Congress on Mountain Ungulates- Online Registration

Online registration is now open for the 5th World Congress on Mountain Ungulates. Log on to the conference website www.vworldconferenceungulates.org for details. You can click here and go to the website

Tropical Forests’ Carbon Sink Function Affected by Drought.

Tropical rainforests act as important carbon sinks.These forests have been continuously giving us a subsidy. Latest research indicates that with global warming this important function cannot be taken for granted any more.Drought is affecting the capacity of tropical forests to act as carbon sinks. This has far reaching effects for the global community. It is even feared that they could turn to be carbon ‘source’. The report appears in science today magazine

The assumption is based on a study of, 2005 drought, of Amazon basin. The drought has turned some of the affected areas of the Amazon from a carbon sink to carbon source. Research plots that were monitored regularly before and after the drought revealed that forest patches subjected to a 100-millimeter decrease in rainfall released on average 5.3 tonnes of carbon per hectare as trees in the area died.
Scientists have estimated that mature tropical forests, which cover about 10% of Earth's land, absorb around 1.3 billion tonnes of carbon per year. This is the equivalent of around 20% of carbon emissions from fossil-fuel burning. This works out to around 40% of the total global terrestrial carbon sink

The need to protect tropical rainforest has acquired great significance. A global initiative is what is needed. Countries acting alone and out of sync with others will not deliver the goods.

Want to marry? Plant trees

Indonesia has long been troubled by deforestation. It has the unenviable reputation of having the highest rate of deforestation in Asia. Palm oil lobbies have played havoc with the environment. Environmentalists have been going hammer and tongs at the Government for its lackadaisical ways in enforcing forest laws.

Against the background of the above mentioned facts I was delighted to hear this piece of news from my Indonesian contacts. In an innovative move Garut district administration in Indonesia has come out with the rider that if the marriage is to be legally Okayed, the couple panning to get married must give ten trees to district administration for reforestation drive. In an adjunct move the administration has also decreed that divorces will be granted only after the supply of one tree. The latest move from the Garut administration comes in the wake of financial difficulties. Central administration had recently launched a scheme to plant million tress across Indonesia. Garut does not have the wherewithal to pursue the programme. The dovetailing of marriage registration to tree planting was a clever move to overcome the difficulties experienced.

The man who came up with the idea for the administration deserves fulsome praise. Hats off to him.

Bottled water Guzzles Energy-Think Twice Before You Buy One

Do you really need that bottle of packaged drinking water? The latest research on bottled water has confirmed what the environmentalists have charged all these years. Weighed against tap water bottled water consumes between 1100 and 2000 times more energy on an average.

Environmental scientist Peter Gleick and Heather Cooley of the Pacific Institute did the study. Details like how much energy goes into making a plastic bottle; processing the water; labeling, filling, and sealing a bottle; transporting it for sale; and cooling the water prior to consumption went in to the research. Manufacturing the bottle and transportation were found the most energy hogging activities.

Startling details have emerged from the study. The global demand for bottle production alone uses 50 million barrels of oil a year. Drinking an imported bottle of water is about two-and-a-half to four times more energy intensive than getting it locally. This often surpasses the energy needed to make the bottle. Bottled water has now surpassed milk and beer in sales.

So think twice before you grab that next bottle. If you are in a position to bring a bottle of water from home do plumb for it.

Details of the research appears in the latest issue of journal Environmental Research Letters.