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)

Monday, March 22, 2010

World Water Day: Why business needs to worry

BBC News, VIEWPOINT, by Peter Brabeck-Letmanthe, Chairman, Nestle S.A.

Global water requirements ... will be 40% greater than what can currently be sustainably supplied

Monday is World Water Day, but I suspect relatively few will have noticed.

While the world is rightly moving to address the challenges presented by climate change and depleting supplies of fossil fuels, the same awareness and consensus does not exist when it comes to addressing our usage of water. Yet the harsh fact is that we will probably run out of water long before we run out of fuel.

We need to act fast, now.

Most people equate water consumption with what they use in their homes and places of work, but the challenge facing the globe goes much, much further than that. The 2030 Water Resources Group, a collaboration between the private and social sectors to discover solutions to combat water scarcity, estimates that global water requirements will grow by over 50% over the next 20 years. Such levels of usage will be 40% greater than what can currently be sustainably supplied.

Of course this global figure is an aggregation: at a more local level the situation is far worse. For example, by 2030 one third of the global population, mainly concentrated in developing countries, will have only half the amount of naturally renewed water available they need.

More than tap

Efficiency in water usage is not improving fast enough

What most consumers might not be aware of is that agriculture accounts for 70% of global water usage today, and how the need to feed the growing population of the world will put an even greater strain on already scarce water resources.

And in recent years food and water supplies have also been significantly affected by the use of agricultural land and resources on the production of biofuels.

The 2030 Water Resources Group also predicts that industrial use of water will almost double by 2030. It currently accounts for 16% of total usage - more than half of it for energy production - and this will grow to a projected 22% by 2030 with China alone accounting for 40% of the additional demand.

The challenge facing governments, businesses and - arguably - all of us, is how to close the gap in supply in a way that is both environmentally sustainable and economically viable. At the moment we are coping by 'borrowing' water supplies from non-replenishable aquifers or from water reserved for environmental needs, an approach which is clearly not a long-term solution.

Crop per drop

Efficiency lies at the heart of debate, just as with climate change. Yet while great strides have been made around carbon, the track record of water efficiency from both agriculture and industry does not inspire confidence: between 1990 and 2004 the annual rate of efficiency improvement in both sectors was approximately only 1%.

Agricultural productivity has the potential therefore to play a fundamental role and increasing the "crop per drop" is vital, particularly in the developing world.

There are measures such as no-till farming, improved drainage and utilisation of the best seeds that may even have a positive return for farmers. The water cost curve of the 2030 Water Resources Group shown in this document provides the tools for comprehensive, cost effective strategies.

Microfinance

Within an overall strategy, the buyers of the farmers' produce can also play their part by offering their suppliers training, technical assistance and even microfinance to help them improve water efficiency. This is an approach we have taken at Nestle where, for example, we provide more than $30m worth of micro-credit loans yearly to more than 600,000 farmers worldwide.

Just as microfinance can help farmers, policymakers, financiers and the private sector can do more to ensure that those willing to improve their water footprint at the macro level are given the opportunity - and capital - to do so.

Efficiency must also be a focus for industry and those responsible for planning and managing economic development. Companies and governments are often quick to trumpet their energy efficiency achievements, but too few have taken the same approach with water.


Water shortages are more pressing than climate change

The sooner governments, industry and consumers start to see the links between energy, food and water security, and how policies in one area affect another, the more likely it is that water scarcity will get the profile it deserves and that we start acting decisively to assure the sustainability of humankind's most precious resource, water.

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