Shark fin goes off the menu at Peninsula hotels

The move will affect the group's nine hotels, including those in China and Hong Kong, the center of the global shark fin market

guardian.co.uk, Justin McCurry in Osaka,  Thursday 24 November 2011

73 million sharks are killed yearly for shark fin soup.
Photograph: Paul Hilton/EPA

Environmental groups are claiming a significant victory in the campaign to save the global shark population, after the Peninsula hotel group said it would stop serving shark fin dishes from January.

Peninsula, one of Asia's most prestigious hotel chains, said on Monday it would no longer sell the dishes, considered a delicacy in Hong Kong and other parts of the region, "in recognition of the threat facing the global shark population and in line with the company's sustainability vision".

The move will affect the group's nine hotels, including those in China and Hong Kong, the center of the global shark fin market.

Hong Kong handles between 50% and 80% of the global trade in shark fins, bringing in catches from more than 100 countries, with Spain its biggest supplier. In 2006 it took delivery of more than 10,000 tonnes worth US$276m, according to the UN food and agricultural organisation.

Most is consumed in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but also in mainland provinces such as Guangdong, where its consumption has become a status symbol among China's nouveau riche.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, which owns the Peninsula group, said it would honour requests for shark fin soup made before 21 November, for consumption after 1 January.

The dish, which comprises pieces of rehydrated shark fin in a rich broth, is a popular staple at wedding parties and formal banquets, with a serving for 12 people costing around US$138.

In Hong Kong districts such as Sheung Wan, which specialises in dried seafood, premium shark fin can fetch up to US$1,280 per kilo. One Sheung Wan wholesaler recently told the Guardian, however, that the market price had dropped by about 20% in the past two months, partly as a result of the campaign.

About 73 million sharks are killed every year, and the appetite for their fins in places such as Hong Kong has taken one in three shark species to the brink of extinction.

"By removing shark fin from our menus, we hope that our decision can contribute to preserving the marine ecosystem for the world's future generations," the Peninsula group's chief executive, Clement Kwok, said in a statement.

"As Asia's oldest hotel company, we also hope that our decision will inspire other hospitality companies to do the same."

Other luxury hotel chains have attempted to reduce shark fin consumption by offering alternative menus for wedding banquets, sometimes with inducements such as a free night's accommodation for the newlyweds.

The push to remove the delicacy – prized more for its glutinous texture than for its taste – has gathered momentum after a slow start, according to World Wildlife Fund, which has seen 97 caterers and hotels sign up to its alternative shark-free menu in the past year.

A 2010 survey of eating habits by Bloom Association, a marine conservation group, found that despite the dish's central place in Cantonese cuisine, attitudes were shifting, particularly among younger people.

According to Bloom, 66% of Hong Kong diners said they were uncomfortable with the idea of eating an endangered species, and more than three-quarters said they would not mind if it was removed from banquet menus.

The Peninsula announcement came as the European commission called for a global ban on shark finning – the practice of cutting off a shark's fin and throwing its body back into the sea – by EU fishermen. EU countries are responsible for about 14% – the second-largest share – of the global shark catch.

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ANP says suspends Chevron drilling rights in Brazil

Reuters, SAO PAULO, Wed Nov 23, 2011

An aerial view shows oil that seeped from a well operated by Chevron at Frade,

 on the waters in Campos Basin in Rio de Janeiro state November 18, 2011. 

(Credit: Reuters/Rogerio Santana/Handout)

(Reuters) - Brazil's National Oil Regulator (ANP) said on Wednesday that it is suspending the drilling rights of U.S. oil major Chevron in national territory until it clarifies conditions of the recent oil spill in its Frade field.

The ANP also said it has denied Chevron's request to drill into ultra-deep subsalt areas, which hold huge deposits of oil off Brazil's coast.

(Reporting by Reese Ewing)

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He's behind you! Starlings form a flipping amazing dolphin in the dusky sky... being chased by an open-mouthed killer whale

Daily Mail, By DAILY MAIL REPORTER, 19th November 2011

When it comes to impressions, these starlings do a sterling job.

The birds’ formation resembles a dolphin being chased by a killer whale with its mouth agape. Amateur photographer Paul McGreevy caught the mesmerising scene at sunset in Gretna Green, Scotland, this week.

The 55-year-old self-employed gardener from Carlisle said the birds went on to form the shape of a squid, then an octopus, then another whale. The father of three added: ‘It wasn’t until I got my camera home and started putting the images on my computer that I saw all these shapes.

Stunning: A flock of starlings in the shape of a dolphin being chased
by a whale make their way acoss the dusk skies above Gretna Green,
Scotland

Gretna Green is famous for these ‘murmurations’, when starlings fly back en masse to their winter roost in the Scottish village after a day’s feeding.

By the looks of things, they must be  partial to seafood.

Next Mr McGreevy captured the birds morphing into an octopus as they soared above the skies.

The self-employed gardener and keen amateur photographer made the half hour trip to Gretna Green, Scotland, to capture the starlings aerial acrobatics on Wednesday afternoon at sunset.

The father-of-three said: 'It wasn’t until I got my camera home and started putting the images on my computer that I saw all these shapes.

'I was really surprised to see the dolphin, then what looked like a killer whale chasing it.

'There’s an octopus too - but people can see lots of different things in the pictures. I suppose a psychiatrist could tell you a lot from what people see in the pictures.'

Seas of the sky: The starlings form the shape of an octopus. The birds
 come together every autumn to form one of nature's most impressive spectacles

The birds come together every autumn to form one of nature’s most impressive spectacles as they flock together above the Scottish village.

Mr McGreevy added: 'The starlings come to Gretna in late October and they stay until February.

'People come from all over to see them - one time I met a couple who had driven up from Stoke to see the starlings.'

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Abraham-Hicks on Channeling

This video clip was recorded at the most recent Abraham-Hicks workshop in Orlando, Florida on March 27th, 2011. In the clip, Abraham addresses the subject of channeling and discusses why Esther and Jerry don't prefer to use the word, and why Esther was ideally predisposed to translate for Non Physical Source Energy before Abraham came along.

An audio recording of the entire workshop is available through our website at http://www.abraham-hicks.com

"The New Paradigm of Reality" Part I/II – Feb 12, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Who/What is Kryon ?, Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel active involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" (without a manager hierarchy) managed Businesses, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)

Fishermen Sue ConocoPhillips Over China Oil Spill

Jakarta Globe, November 18, 2011

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Beijing. A group of Chinese fishermen is suing ConocoPhillips for damages allegedly caused by a huge oil spill at an offshore field operated by the US energy giant, their lawyer said on Friday.

The early-June spill leaked more than 3,000 barrels of oil and oil-based mud — a substance used as a lubricant in drilling — off China’s eastern coast, drawing widespread public criticism and warnings from Chinese authorities.

The group has filed a civil lawsuit in a court in the eastern city of Qingdao asking the Houston-based firm to pay 30 million yuan ($4.7 million) to more than 200 fishermen living there, Yi Jiafeng told AFP.

“In environmental pollution lawsuits, we follow the principle of ‘inverse responsibility of providing proof’ — the victims detail the damage and the respondent must provide counter evidence,” he said.

ConocoPhillips was not immediately available for comment.

Environmental groups and local fishermen have accused the US firm and its Chinese state-run partner CNOOC of initially covering up the spill, which was discovered in June but only made public nearly a month later.

But both firms deny the allegations. ConocoPhillips says it cooperated with authorities as soon as the accident occurred in Bohai Bay in northeast China.

“Any release of oil, no matter the size, is too great,” it said in a statement on its Web site.

CNOOC, meanwhile, said last month all the leaks had now been identified and sealed, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The fishermen involved in the lawsuit claim they lost a total of 164,000 yuan invested in clam seedlings and 17,000 undersea cages — only 3,000 of which had clams left alive after the spill, the official Beijing News reported.

The State Oceanic Administration — the government agency that supervises and manages China’s seas — has also said it will sue ConocoPhillips over the leak.

But an earlier civil lawsuit connected to the spill was dismissed by a court in the northern port of Tianjin for lack of evidence, the Beijing News said.

Yi, who filed the lawsuit Friday, said it would take seven days for the Qingdao court to decide whether or not it would accept the case.

Agence France-Presse

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Brazil police probe Rio de Janeiro Chevron oil spill

Brazil police probe Rio de Janeiro Chevron oil spill

BBC News, 17 November 2011

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Chevron says 17 ships have been working to
clear up the oil sheen

Brazilian police are investigating an oil spill in an offshore field operated by the US company Chevron.

Ships are working to disperse the slick 120km (75 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, and Chevron says it has plugged the oil well.

Brazil's Energy Minister Edison Lobao has said the company will be "severely punished" if it is found to have failed in its environmental responsibilities.

In recent years Brazil has discovered huge oil reserves in the Atlantic.

The oil is leaking from a well in the Frade oil project, 370km (230 miles) off the Brazilian coast.

Chevron initially estimated that 400-650 barrels of oil had formed a sheen on the water after seeping from the seabed near the well.

But the international environmental group Skytruth said satellite images suggested the spill was many times bigger.

Brazilian energy minister Edison Lobao said the spill "was not as serious as had been announced" and was not moving towards the Brazilian coast.

But he said Brazil's oil agency ANP was monitoring the situation closely and would apply the full force of the law.

"If Chevron is not fulfilling its responsibilities, it will be more severely punished," he said.

ANP said underwater images showed Chevron's effort to permanently seal the well with cement appeared to have been successful, although there appeared to be a residual flow of oil from the seabed.

"The slick is continuing to move away from the coast and dispersing, as is desired," it added.

'Bad faith'

Police environment experts have been sent on navy helicopters to assess the scale of the spill.

Green Party members of the Brazilian parliament have called for a debate on the matter.

MP Sarney Filho said Chevron appeared to have underplayed the scale of the accident.

"What has alarmed us is the lack of transparency on the part of the company and the attempt to minimise the size of the disaster," he told the official news agency Agencia Brasil.

"This is a clear demonstration of bad faith," he added.

Chevron said on Thursday the flow of oil from the ocean floor has been reduced to "infrequent droplets" and the remaining oil sheen on the surface was estimated at less than 65 barrels.

"Chevron continues to fully inform and work with Brazilian government agencies and industry partners on all aspects of this matter," the company said in a statement.

In recent years Brazil has discovered billions of barrels of oil in deep water that could make it one of the world's top five producers.

So far there has been little public debate about the environmental dangers of offshore drilling.

Political discussion has instead focused on how future oil revenues should be divided between different states.

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Twelve New Species of Fish Found Near Bali

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, November 14, 2011

This handout picture released on May 13, 2011 by Conservation International
 Indonesia and taken on May 11, 2011 off the resort island of Bali shows a
 new species of fish named "Parapercis". Scientists from Conservation International
have discovered eight new fish and one new coral species off Indonesia's Bali island.
Indonesia is a massive archipelago of 17,000 island which are home to rich marine
biodiversity. (AFP Photo)   

           

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Denpasar. Scientists from the US-based Conservation International said they may have discovered 12 new fish species in the waters off of Bali.

“Right now the fish are being identified and classified. Hopefully by December, or at the latest by January, the names can be listed and formalized [as new species],” the group’s coral fish researcher Mark van Nydeck said on Sunday.

The unidentified species cover a number of genus and families, including the eels, damsels and coral fishes in the genus of Siphamia, Heteroconger, Apogon, Parapercis, Meiacanthus, Manonichthys, Grallenia and Pseudochromis.

Partnering with the local maritime and fisheries agency, the Bali Marine Rapid Assessment Program began in January with a survey of 33 marine locations around Bali covering depths of 10 meters to 70 meters.

The group said Bali had a high level of marine biodiversity, with more than 1,000 species of fish.

In May, Conservation International discovered eight new species of coral fishes and one new species of coral. The species were believed to be endemic to the area and had not migrated from other regions.

The study found that coral reefs in Bali had been well-preserved and their condition was significantly better than that reported in studies 20 years ago.

But some species of fish are becoming increasingly hard to find, such as sharks and groupers. The finding indicates that there has been over-fishing in the area.

More than 100 sharks are captured and killed each day in Bali, the group said, particularly the long-finned shark, which is prized for its fins.

Trading in shark fin is legal in Indonesia and can fetch up to Rp 2.5 million ($280) per kilogram.

22 Sperm Whales Die in Australia

Jakarta Globe, November 14, 2011

A handout photo taken on Sunday shows the Parks and Wildlife Service
 tagging deceased sperm whales on Ocean Beach near Strahan on Tasmania's
 west coast. Wildlife staff are battling wet and windy conditions as they try to
save four sperm whales stranded in shallow water. (AFP Photo/Tasmania
Parks and Wildlife) 

Sydney. Rescuers were racing against the clock on Monday to save two huge sperm whales stranded on a Tasmanian sandbank after 22 others died, the Parks and Wildlife Service said.

Marine mammal specialists were on site in Macquarie Harbour at Strahan on Tasmania’s northwest coast, but the rescue bid was hampered by rough weather.

Twenty-two of the whales — each weighing two tonnes and up to 12 meters long — washed ashore on Saturday at Ocean Beach near Strahan, and all of them died.

Four others came into the harbor and became stranded on a sandbank. Two of these were successfully refloated and swam back out to sea, but the other two remain stuck.

Rescuers said two minke whales also got into trouble nearby and died.

Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife incident controller Chris Arthur said the sperm whales were so big that they could not simply be pulled into deeper water by volunteers, instead requiring a more complicated rescue operation.

“A specially-developed net attached to two boats has been designed to slip under a whale, enabling it to be hauled from immediate danger,” he said.

“This method can be used for large animals and is very effective.”

But conditions were worsening, with high winds and seas, and attempts to refloat the whales had to be postponed until Tuesday.

“Although we were unable to move the surviving whales into open water today, we are hoping conditions will improve over the next few days,” Arthur said, adding that the whales were tired but still flapping their fins and blowing water.

“The weather conditions are against us at present, but managed properly, these animals can survive at least a few days.”

Another problem in Strahan is its treacherous narrow channel, known as Hells Gates, through which the whales must pass to get back into deeper water.

“Pushing a large whale against sea surging through the 25-meter passage is like pushing a cork into a bottle,” added Arthur.

But he expressed confidence given that seven sperm whales were saved after a similar stranding in the harbor in 2007.

The Parks and Wildlife Service said that samples had been taken from the 22 dead whales, which will remain on the beach until they decompose because they are too large to move or bury.

Explaining why they died, Arthur said: “People seem to forget that these animals breathe air. When they are caught in the surf and they are being rolled around, they are in the sand — they can’t get their blowholes up to get oxygen.”

Whale beachings are relatively common in Australia and they usually occur in the summer months, particularly around Tasmania, but scientists do not know why they happen.

Agence France-Presse

Shark fin soup disappearing from the menu at Chinese weddings

Couples marrying in Hong Kong and mainland China swayed by conservation groups' campaign to ban shark trade

guardian.co.uk, Justin McCurry in Hong Kong,  Thursday 10 November 2011

A fisheries worker carries shark heads in Zhejiang province in China.
 Shark fin soup has long been considered a delicacy by Chinese people,
but that could be changing. Photograph: Chinafotopress/Getty Images

Chinese couples who have chosen Friday – 11/11/11 – one of the most auspicious days of the year to exchange their wedding vows, could be among the last to mark the occasion by feasting on shark fin soup, if environmental groups get their way.

As the wedding parties scoop pieces of the slippery, glutinous flesh from bowls of broth, they will not just be respecting tradition; they will also be defying a growing campaign to ban the trade in shark fin that has now spread to its most lucrative market, Hong Kong.

It is easy to see during a short walk through Sheung Wan, a Hong Kong neighbourhood specialising in dried seafood, why the campaign to ban the trade worldwide has set its sights on the city.

Shark fins fill shop windows, ready to be hydrated and boiled before being added to a rich broth, a gastronomic preserve of wealthy Chinese since the Song Dynasty in the 10th century.

Rising prosperity since the 1970s has made the delicacy affordable to the middle classes, first in Hong Kong and now on the mainland. Eating it is so closely associated with new wealth that to say someone is "eating shark fin with rice" is to refer to their prosperity.

Hong Kong handles as much as 80% of the global trade in shark fins, bringing in catches from more than 100 countries, with Spain by far its biggest supplier.

In 2006 it took delivery of more than 10,000 tonnes worth $276m (£173m), according to the UN food and agricultural organisation. Most is consumed in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but also in mainland provinces such as Guangdong.

Campaigners say it is next to impossible to verify the fins' provenance, as they are dried and bleached, and often treated with ammonia, before reaching Hong Kong.

"The catches are not tracked at all, and there is no species monitoring or labelling," says Stanley Shea, a campaigner with the marine environment group Bloom Association, which last year conducted the most comprehensive survey to date of shark fin consumption in Hong Kong.

"We don't even know how much of it is eaten here or ends up in mainland China."

Many shark populations have plummeted by 90% in recent decades, according to campaigners, who warn that if over-fishing continues at the current rate, the most commonly targeted species will be extinct in a few years.

DNA analysis showed that 40% of shark fin auctioned in Hong Kong comes from 14 species, all of which appear on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's "red list" of endangered species.

After years of fierce opposition from traders and retailers, campaigners in Hong Kong say the local population is finally waking up to the ecological catastrophe.

Several hotels offer discounts, cheaper room rates and other incentives for couples that choose not to serve shark fin at their wedding celebrations.

One online campaign calls on wedding guests to reduce cash gifts by about a third for couples who select the dish.

Last year campaigners persuaded Citibank Hong Kong to withdraw a promotion offering new credit card holders discount on a shark fin dinner.

On the mainland Yao Ming, the Chinese NBA star, has appeared in a well-received campaign to end finning, the practice of removing a shark's highly valued fins and dumping what is left into the sea.

But there are pockets of resistance, particularly among older people, who still regard eating shark fin as a means of expressing their Chinese identity.

"At weddings you have different people sitting around the same table," says Shea. "Young people understand the problem and want to do something about it, but at some point their parents stop them."

The manager of one Sheung Wan wholesaler, who asked not to be named, said traders were beginning to feel the impact of the environmental campaign.

"Sales are dropping and I think that is down to the campaign," he said. The manager's firm sells between three and four tonnes of shark fin a month.

"The wholesale price has dropped by about 20% over the past two months, although there are always fluctuations so it's too early to tell if this is a lasting trend."

Charlie Lim, a shark fin trader, is receptive to the message on sustainable fishing but accuses some campaigners of hypocrisy.

"The Chinese tradition of eating shark fin will be maintained, but will increasingly come from sustainable fisheries," says Lim, a prominent member of Hong Kong's marine products association.

"Chinese people and traditions do make an easy and readily identifiable target for largely western campaigners.

"But many western campaigners who are seriously interested in promoting the sustainable use of sharks should look more closely at their home fisheries and the 'boneless' fish products that their children may be eating from the supermarket."

Despite its early successes, the campaign has yet to challenge shark fin's place at the heart of Cantonese cuisine.

Bloom's 2010 survey revealed that 89% of the territory's 7 million people had eaten the dish at least once in the past year, with more than half saying they did so to observe tradition. Another poll found that only 5% of couples had opted for shark-free wedding banquets.

But 66% said they were uncomfortable with the idea of eating an endangered species, and more than three-quarters said they would not mind if it was removed from banquet menus.

Shea believes Hong Kong will be viewed as a pariah as long as it fails to introduce measures to protect shark populations similar to those introduced elsewhere.

"Hong Kong has always been a role model for the rest of China, and this issue should be no different," he says.

"Our message is that eating shark fin is unsustainable. At some point, the market is going to crash."

US to stop providing maritime equipment aid to RI

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Fri, 11/04/2011

The United States has decided to stop providing aid in the form of maritime equipment to Indonesia due to economic considerations, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo said Friday.

“[The US government] has said it will temporarily stop providing equipment aid in November because of an economic deficit problem, so ship aid will be stopped,” Sharif said at a press conference after meeting the US ambassador to Indonesia, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

In September 2007, Indonesia and the US signed an agreement to cooperate through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) foundation, in the fields of research and technology and applications in maritime affairs and fisheries.

Since then, the US has provided Indonesia with sophisticated equipment including ships that can photograph and observe underwater life.

The US has not officially announced the decision as yet, but is likely to do so before the end of the year, Sharif said.

The US’ technical maritime assistance to Indonesia is worth up to US$35 million, he said.

Related Article:

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Whales putting on a show near Santa Cruz beaches

SFGate, Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer, Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Kayaker Alan Brady is surprised by two humpback whales Oct. 25. 

Biologists believe whales have followed food closer to shore, leading them to

feed just a mile from land this year. (Paul Schraub / AP)

A 200-pound man in a kayak has nothing on a 40-ton humpback whale hunting for breakfast, but that's not stopping dozens of sightseers from getting cozy with a pod that has strayed unusually close to shore near Santa Cruz.

So far, no one's been hurt, but at least one sailboat was damaged this week when it struck a whale in the warm waters of Monterey Bay, according to the National Marine Sanctuary there.

Both the sanctuary and the U.S. Coast Guard issued warnings Tuesday advising the public to stay at least 100 yards away from the animals or risk a hefty fine - minimum $2,500 - for whale harassment. The Coast Guard plans to have vessels in the area today to keep people a safe distance from the whales.

"The sheer number of folks crowding around the whales is not only an issue for the whales themselves, but also public safety," said Paul Michel, superintendent of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, who estimated that 100 people, most of them on kayaks or paddleboards, were in the waters last weekend.

The pod in question is on its annual migration down to Mexico, where the whales will start breeding during the winter months. The whales typically stop along the California coast to bulk up on anchovies, sardines and krill, but their feeding grounds are usually several miles from the shore.

Following the fish

This year, biologists believe, weather conditions drove the anchovies closer to shore and the whales followed the food, leading them to feed just a mile from land. The whales got national attention last week when a photographer with the Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council got a lucky shot of a kayaker surprised by a pair of them breaching just a few feet away.

Aside from the fact that the humpback whales are wild animals and really, really big - they're about as long as a school bus - biologists said it's especially important that people stay away from them now, while they're engaged in what's known as "lunge feeding." That's when the whales drop their lower jaw 90 degrees and fly through the water just below the surface, catching huge mouthfuls of fish and whatever else gets in their way.

"Whales are pretty darn good at knowing where people are, even while they're feeding," said biologist Don Croll, a professor in ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz. "But that doesn't mean a kayaker couldn't get wrapped up in the commotion. You could get yourself really hurt if you've got several tons of an animal on top of you."

Good time to watch

Still, it's not like people need to avoid the water altogether. In fact, whale enthusiasts said now is a particularly good time for whale-watching - as long as it's at least 100 yards away.

Michel said he's worried that, aside from the potential danger to humans, all of the people crowding the whales might interrupt their feeding patterns, depriving them of the energy they need to continue to Mexico. He said most of the whales were suspiciously absent on Sunday, and he wondered if they hadn't grown wary of the people.

But Croll said he doubts all of the human attention will cause any physical or psychological damage to the whales. He's gotten close to hungry humpbacks while researching them, and "once whales lock into food, there's not much that can persuade them from eating," he said.

He hasn't gone out to watch them recently, although during an interview from his office overlooking Monterey Bay on Tuesday, he mentioned he could see them outside his window. Sounding a bit sheepish, and careful to warn that people should keep their distance, Croll said amateur whale-watchers have a pretty rare opportunity right now - and one that won't last long, since the whales will almost certainly be gone in a few weeks.

"Lunge feeding is probably one of the largest biomechanical events on the planet. It's a really, really great thing for people to see," he said. "They could get hurt if they get too close. They also could have the thrill of a lifetime."

E-mail Erin Allday at eallday@sfchronicle.com.

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"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)