Robber fly - Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Nature by Numbers (Video)

"The Greater Akashic System" – July 15, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: Lightworkers, Intent, To meet God, Past lives, Universe/Galaxy, Earth, Pleiadians, Souls Reincarnate, Invention: Measure Quantum state in 3D, Recalibrates, Multi-Dimensional/Divine, Akashic System to change to new system, Before religion changed the system, DNA, Old system react to Karma, New system react to intent now for next life, Animals (around humans) reincarnate again, This Animal want to come back to the same human, Akashic Inheritance, Reincarnate as Family, Other Planets, Global Unity … etc.)

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle
American zoologist played by Sigourney Weaver in the film Gorillas in the Mist would have been 82 on Thursday (16 January 2014)

Friday, February 1, 2008

Furniture companies seek wood certification

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government and furniture associations have begun to promote wood certification in response to a movement among many global buyers to procure products derived only from legally cut logs.

"Recently, we received massive orders for window and doorframes from abroad and we had difficulty in finding companies with wood certification after the buyers asked for it," Ali Imron, an official with the Export Development Agency (Nafed) at the Trade Ministry, said Thursday.

Wood certification, usually performed by internationally recognized agencies, gives assurance to buyers that the products are derived from sustainable forests and not from illegal logging, which is common in Indonesia.

Ambar Tjahyono, chairman of the Indonesian Furniture and Handicraft Association (Asmindo), said certification would help the industry by improving its competitiveness in the global market.

"We should gear up to catch up with wood certification if we do not want to lose our potential market.

"I believe certification will support the export growth of the furniture industry in Indonesia because it will raise the country's competitiveness and widen potential global markets," said Ambar.

He said many potential buyers, especially from Europe and the U.S., now required certificates guaranteeing the legality and sustainability of the source forests for their wood.

"We should catch up with their demand to keep and expand our global market," he said, adding that certification would also prove the country's willingness to combat illegal logging.

Asmindo estimated that Indonesia's exports of wooden furniture last year reached around US$897 million, or a some 10 percent increase from $816.03 million the previous year.

Certification refers to Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), Verification of Legal Origin (VLO) and Chain of Custody (CoC). The VLO and CoC prove the legality of the wood, while the SFM certifies the wood was legally felled and came from a sustainable forest.

An exporter can choose either of the three certificates.

Ambar said only a few of some 2,000 exporters under his association already obtained certification.

Dini Rahim is a regional manager at Senada, a four-year project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that hopes to improve the competitiveness of manufacturing industries in Indonesia.

She said that producers equipped with the CoC or VLO had more bargaining power because their products were from legally cut trees.

She said it was normal practice now for furniture producers with a wood certificate to raise their products' prices by up to 30 percent.

Dini said that four out of 40 furniture and handicraft companies that her office assisted had successfully received VLO certification from Technischer Uberwachungs-Verein (TUV) Rheinland.

A project manager at TUVRheinland, Cecep Saepulloh, said an SFM or CoC certificate is valid for five years, and the VLO for three years. He said each certificate cost Rp 10 million to Rp 30 million (US$1,075 to $3,225). (ind)

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