Bonsai

History It appears that the Chinese were the first to miniaturize container-grown trees around 200 AD. The art form may be derived from the practice of transporting medicinal plants in containers by healers. Its early focus was on the display of stylistic trunks in the shape of animals and mystic figures.

From China, the practice spread to Japan around the Heian period. During the Tokugawa period, landscape gardening attained new importance. Cultivation plants such as azalea and maples became a pastime of the wealthy. Growing dwarf plants in containers was also popular, but by modern bonsai standards the container plants of this period were inappropriately large.

The period term for dwarf potted trees was hachi-no-ki, "a tree in a pot." The term "bonsai" probably didn't come into use until the late 19th century during the Meiji period. Aesthetics

Japanese School The Japanese aesthetic is centred on the principle of "heaven and earth in one container", as a Japanese cliché has it. Three forces come together in a good bonsai: shin-zen-bi (真善美) or truth, essence and beauty.

Traditional subjects for bonsai include pine, maple, elm, flowering apricot, Japanese wisteria, juniper, flowering cherry, azalea and larch. The plants are grown outdoors and brought in to the tokonoma at special occasions when they most evoke the current season.

The Japanese bons are meant to evoke the essential spirit of the plant being used: in all cases, they must look natural and never show the intervention of human hands.

Techniques Shaping and dwarfing are accomplished through a few basic but precise techniques. The small size of the tree and the dwarfing of foliage are maintained through a consistent regimen of pruning of both the leaves and the roots. Various methods must be employed, as each species of tree exhibits different budding behavior. Additionally, some pruning must be done seasonally, as most trees require a dormancy period and do not grow roots or leaves at that time; improper pruning can weaken or kill the tree.

Most species suitable for bonsai can be shaped by wiring. Copper or aluminium wire is wrapped around branches and trunks, holding the branch in place until it eventually lignifies and maintains the desired shape (at which point the wire should be removed). Some species do not lignify strongly, or are already too stiff/brittle to be shaped and are not conducive to wiring, in which case shaping must be accomplished primarily through pruning.

To simulate age and maturity in a bonsai, techniques called Jin and Shari can be used. Jin is done by removing the bark in an area of a large branch or the trunk, while Shari is the stripping off of an entire branch. These techniques simulate scarring by nature and limbs being torn off. Care must be taken when employing these techniques, because these areas are prone to infection, and removal of too much bark will result in losing all growth above that area. Also bark must never be removed in a complete ring around the trunk as it will cut off all water and nutrient flow above that ring.

(Original Source : Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Other Photo Source : Google Images) 

Three Gorges Dam in China

World Water Council Director : Dams are necessary to solve "chronicle water scarcity" Daniel Zimmer was interviewed by the French daily Liberation on May 20, in an unusual position. The interviewer reminds that « many experts think that the fears about Three Gorges Dam or other large dams are rich countries fears. In the developing countries, ‘there are billions of people to feed it’s unthinkable to stop building large dams! If we do nothing, they will die out of hunger’ So explains one of the most famous French geologists, Ghislain de Marcilly. ‘If you take the Aswan dam, of course it had a disastrous environmental impact, but it enabled Egypt to double its population without famine.’” Here follows the interview Will the Three Gorges Dam be the last large dam of this type? Of course not! You just need to look at the situation in the developing countries to understand why. In Africa, for example, they store only between a few dozens and a few hundred of cubic meters per capita and per year. In the United States and in Europe, this figure is going up to 5000 cubic meters per year, when those regions need less water than Africa! There is a 1 to 100 proportion! We can therefore understand that developing countries want large dams and send us back to our own economic development when we talk about environmental risks! As for us, we have water for our consumption, for irrigation and even for leisure. Do the international institutions share this viewpoint? When the polemic began on large dams, the World Bank changed its infrastructural policy, refusing to launch other projects. Today, it recognizes this was an error. She renewed its estimation of the benefits from large dams and completely changed its strategy. For the Bank, if you want that the countries suffering from chronicle water scarcity get a minimum of water reserves to resist drought periods, it’s imperative to go back to those projects. On the condition, of course, that we take into account and we solve the social, human and environmental problems associated with them. Today, happily, we made big progresses on those points. But there are still very strong tensions around the Three Gorges Dam… Of course, there are always tensions around constructions like that. But once again, you need to keep in mind this colossal dissymmetry between the developing countries that need to store water to compensate for the hazards of climate, and the developed countries, where that need is less strong. That’s an injustice for which the countries from the South are reproaching us more and more and that we can no longer tolerate. Is there any alternative to large dams? In Western Africa, for example, we try to manage small reservoirs, more upstream, to delocalize water storage. Another possibility is underground storage rather than surface storage. That’s not always possible but if so, it is an interesting alternative.
(Original Source : ICOLD Official Site, Photo Source : upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/ThreeGorgesDam-China2009.jpg)

Don - The Chase Begins Again

(Original Sources : DON Official Site & Wikipedia Encyclopedia)

The year is 2006. The drug trade is booming. Trafficking between Asia and Europe is at an all time high. It is at this time that the Malaysian Intelligence and Anti-Narcotic Department are called upon for assistance by their indian counterparts. There are rumors that the gang have recently moved their operational headquarters to KL.

The cartel in is headed by the dreaded, singhania. But what many people do not know, is that the business is truly managed by his trusted lieutenant, Don (Shahrukh Khan).

A man who lives life on the edge, Don is constantly expanding the size of his empire while evading arrest or death at the hands of his enemies, both within and outside the law. Fearless, cunning and ruthless, he is unstoppable in his pursuit of absolute power.

His chief pursuer is an Indian Police Officer Narcotics, DCP DeSilva (Boman Irani). He is a man who has sworn to put an end to this nexus of evil and knows that in capturing Don lies the key to unlock this puzzle. And one day, he succeds. Don is captured and desilva puts his plan into action.

Unknown to even his own department, DeSilva has recruited and trained a man who is a spitting image of soon. His name is Vijay (Shahrukh Khan).

Vijay infiltrates the cartel and manages to give Desilva all the information he needs to bring it down. But in a bizarre twist of fate, desilvais killed during a raid and the secret that Don is in fact, Vijay, a police informer, is buried with him. The only people who realize that he is infact an imposter, are the members of Don’s cartel. And they want their revenge.

Vijay manages to escape and is now on the lookout for the one last piece of evidence that can get him out of this mess.

Helping him on this quest are two people. The first is Roma (Priyanka Chopra), a young woman, who was working in the gang but only to avenge her brothers death. He had been mercilessly killed by Don when he had decided to leave the gang.

The other is Jasjit (Arjun Rampal), the real father of Vijay’s adopted son, deeply, he owes Vijay for having looked after the boy while he was in prison.

Wanted by the police. Hunted day and night. Forever on the run….The chase has begun…

Directed by : Farhan Akhtar
Produced by : Ritesh Sidhwani
Written by : Javed Akhtar Salim Khan
Starring : Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Isha Koppikar, Boman Irani, Om Puri, Sushma Reddy
Music by : Shankar Mahadevan Ehsaan Noorani Loy Mendonsa
Distributed by : T-Series
Release date(s) : October 20, 2006Language : Hindi

Pura Besakih : Bali's "Mother Temple"

(Original Source : Greg Cruey, About : Asia for visitors., Photo Source : Google Images)

High on the slopes of Bali's Mount Agung sits Pura Besakih, widely referred to as the "Mother Temple" of Hinduism in Bali. Pura Besakih, or Besakih Temple in English, is the largest of the island's 11,000 or so Hindu temples; its 35 shrines and halls draw devotees from all over Bali in massive numbers each year.

The world is lucky to have Besakih. In 1963 Mount Agung, a volcano, erupted and destroyed several nearby villages. Besakih was untouched.

The temple is generally agreed to date back to prehistoric times in Bali. It is named for Naga Besukian -- the dragon-god thought by pre-Hindu Balinese to inhabit this, the highest mountain in Bali. But at the beginning of the 11th Century Besakih became the state temple at a time when Bali was no mean kingdom. It has remained the state temple in some form or another ever since and is state supported today.

Like most Balinese temples, Besakih is not a closed building but a mostly open-air affair. It is made up of courtyards with altars and shrines devoted to a number of gods. And those gods have better things to do than just hang around a temple; the Balinese believe that the gods visit a temple on particular dates -- and on those dates the Balinese hold festivals to honor (or placate) the gods. Of all the temples on Bali six are "supremely holy:" Pura Besakih, Pura Lempuyang Luhur, Pura Gua Lawah, Pura Batukaru, Pura Pusering Jagat, and Pura Uluwatu. Of these, Besakih stands higher than the others -- not because it sits some 3000 or so feet above the ocean on the mountain's side, but because it is more sacred to the Balinese. It is said to be the only classless, casteless temple on the island where any Balinese Hindu can come to worship.

Bali's Hinduism is unique. Many scholars believe it gives us a view of Hindu beliefs much as they existed 1500 to 2000 years ago. Hinduism was once the dominant religion in much of Southeast Asia and empires in the region where ruled by god-kings -- empires like Funan, Sri Vijaya, Angkor, and Bali.

The Hinduism of Bali is less fragmented than that of modern India. Balinese are generally said to worship one god, Brahman, who manifests himself in various forms or personalities.

Lee Arnold, in his article on The Temples of Bali, quotes an anonymous Balinese who explains their views: "I am just one person; someday I might be a farmer, another a driver, yet another a cook, but I am still only one person." In the same way the Hindu "gods" Siva and Vishnu (Siwa and Visnu in Balinese) are really just different manifestations of the one god, Brahman, in Balinese theology. While this may be true, temples generally end up serving as places where one of Brahman's manifestations is worshipped; and Besakih is dedicated largely to Siva worship.

While the Hinduism of Bali may provide a glimpse into the religion's past it is by no means pure. Balinese religion has kept Islam at bay, but has absorbed aboriginal animism and Malay cultic ancestor worship along with aspects of Mahayana Buddhism.

The temple's anniversary, Odalan, is an excellent day to visit if you are looking for pageantry. But you should expect a crowd of several thousand people. That ceremony comes in the tenth month of the Balinese calendar, usually in April.

Pan's Labyrinth

( Original Source : Yahoo! Movies )

Set in 1940s Spain against the postwar repression of Franco's Spain, a fairy tale that centers on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father, who is a military officer tasked with 'ridding the area' of rebels. In her loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With Fascism at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation.

Also Known As : El Laberinto Del Fauno, El Laberinto del Fauno

Production Status : Release

Logline : A fairy tale, set in Fascist Spain, about a young girl who falls in love with a fawn that lives in the old ruined labyrinth behind her family's decrepit home.

Genres : Art/Foreign, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Thriller

Running Time : 2 hrs.

Release Date : December 29th, 2006 (limited)

MPAA Rating : R for graphic violence and some language.

Distributors : Picturehouse

Production Co. : Esperanto, Telecinco, Estudios Picasso, Tequila Gang, CafeFX, Sententia Entertainment, Anhelo Productions

Financiers : Telecinco

Filming Locations : Bariloche, Argentina
Madrid, Spain
Produced in: Spain

Borobudur : Pathway to Enlightenment

On the island of Java stands a mountain of a thousand statues... surrounded by volcanoes, shrouded in mystery. In 1814, two hundred men cross the lush Kedu plains of Central Java to search out this legendary mountain near the small village of Boro. For six weeks, they slash and burn the choking vegetation. They clear away tons of volcanic ash. Hidden beneath the debris, they find strange figures carved in stone – thousands of them.

The excavation of the monument, known as Borobudur, has been ordered by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the new British Governor of Java. Unlike the Dutch traders before him, Raffles is intrigued by the exotic stories and architecture of the Indonesian islands: "The antiquities of Java have not, till lately, excited much notice; nor have they yet been sufficiently explored. The pursuits of commerce have been too exclusive to allow there being much interest in the subject."

When Raffles comes to inspect the progress of his expedition, he finds a colossal pyramid, rising to a huge bell-shaped pinnacle. Lacking adequate historical records, Raffles is unable to determine the exact date of Borobudur's construction, but he does have some insight into the purpose of the structure: "The resemblance of the images which surround this monument to the figure of Buddha, has introduced an opinion that Borobudur was exclusively confined to the worship of that deity." But there is no central altar or sanctuary in this temple. Instead, the galleries that ring the structure are covered with nearly three thousand bas-relief panels carved into the stone. As word of the discovery spreads, scholars of Asian religions visit. They recognize Borobudur as the largest Buddhist temple in the world... and the most unusual. The panels depict the teachings of the Buddha, each familiar story a step in the pilgrim's progress. The galleries are designed to guide the faithful on a spiritual journey as they move upward from terrace to terrace, each level representing a higher plane of consciousness. In ancient times, pilgrims may have come from all over Southeast Asia to study the sacred texts full of mystery, meaning, meditation and morals. Borobudur is a three-dimensional guide to Enlightenment. But despite Raffles' best intentions, uncovering Borobudur has placed it in grave danger, as reports of the exotic temple attract a new breed of pilgrim. The local villagers are no longer superstitious of the monument, and now view it as a constant source of building materials. Souvenir hunters decapitate many of the Buddhas and ship them to mansions and museums throughout the world. For the weary tourist, a teahouse is built high on the crumbling central stupa. According to Asian art historian, Jan Fontein, "Many of the Europeans who came to Asia, and many of the Asians themselves, because they had been converted to Islam, regarded these monuments as the work of heathen, and this prevented them from appreciating their true beauty."

But in 1885, an accidental discovery rekindles interest in preserving this ancient treasure. J. W. Ijzerman, a Dutch architect involved in a restoration project, walks along the high processional path that surrounds the base of Borobudur. "And he noticed that the moldings of the wall continued underneath a crack that he saw in the floor," says Fontein. "This meant that all these stones must have been added at a time when part of the building was already finished."Ijzerman excitedly calls for a section of the path to be removed. When sixteen layers of stone have been pulled away, Ijzerman discovers another tier of panels quite unlike those of the upper galleries. These are portrayals of hellish tortures mixed with scenes of sweet pleasure. In all, one hundred sixty panels are uncovered. A few scenes had been left unfinished, with instructions to the stone carver inscribed in Sanskrit, and the style of lettering is so distinctive that it can be dated specifically to the middle of the 9th century. Experts conclude that Borobudur must have been built by the Sailendra kings who ruled in Central Java at that time. Further efforts at restoration by Europeans throughout the next century are well meaning, but ultimately do more damage than good. The sediment and plant life that had shrouded Borobudur for so long had also protected it from the elements. As the galleries are cleared, the porous volcanic stone is exposed to Java's relentless heat and torrential downpours. Throughout most of the 19th century, Borobudur suffers more damage than in the thousand years before. In 1968, the Indonesian government and the United Nations, working through UNESCO, launch the "Save Borobudur" campaign. Over the next fifteen years, twenty million dollars are raised to support a bold plan: the complete dismantling and reconstruction of the lower terraces of the monument – stone by stone. Professionals from twenty-seven countries join their Indonesian counterparts to carry out the project. Over one million stones are moved during the course of restoration, and set aside like pieces of a massive jig-saw puzzle. Thirteen hundred carved panels are taken apart and individually cleaned, catalogued and treated for preservation. And Borobudur becomes a testing ground for new conservation techniques – new procedures to battle the microorganisms eating away at the stone. Experts in engineering, chemistry, biology and archaeology all share their skills to solve the multitude of problems. The restoration takes eight years of labor and unprecedented international cooperation to complete.

In the words of Professor Soekmono, the Indonesian archaeologist who directed the Borobudur Restoration Project: "Borobudur has resumed its old historical role as a place of learning, dedication and training. We might even conclude that the builders of the monument hoped and planned for such continuity. An excellent training program, either for the pilgrim-devotee or for the field technician, is always based on a wish, a fervent wish, that the trainee will achieve what is projected. For the ardent Buddhist it is the Highest Wisdom that leads to the Ultimate salvation, and for the technician the highest degree of expertise that leads to the appropriate fulfillment of his duty. In both cases, Candi Borobudur is the embodiment of such a deeply felt wish. It is a prayer in stone." (Original Sources : PBS Website, Copyright © Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). All rights reserved., Photo Source : Sabudi Prasetyo) 

Cendrawasih/Raggiana Bird of Paradise (paradisaea raggiana)

(Original Source : Indonesianfauna Website)

Cendrawasih is the Indonesian word for the bird of paradise. The Raggiana bird of paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) is the national bird of New Guinea, and its figure graces everything from money to stamps to taxi cabs. Because they have such rare and beautiful plumage, birds of paradise have been hunted for centuries, and their feathers have been used for decoration and their supposed mystical properties. They are currently listed as endangered and trapping and export are illegal, but all species of the bird of paradise are still being traded illegally on the black market.

Interesting Fact: After trading plumes of birds of paradise with early European explorers, local tribes told them that the birds were the birds of the gods and never touched earth, feeding only on dew. This story accentuated the value of the birds for over 100 years, and the feathers were in such high demand that it almost killed off the species.

The cendrawasih is only found on the island of New Guinea. There are at least 37 other species of the bird of paradise that also make their homes on this island. The males are known to gather in a specific tree together in the morning and will engage in mutual display, where they fluff out their extensive colorful feathers to try and attract a female. They live in the tops of trees and in the underbrush, making nests in tree branches and holes.

Cendrawasih, or Birds of Paradise, are considered by many to be the most beautiful birds on the planet. The females are a relatively drab, dull brown, which helps them take cover when they are nesting and raising the young. They average about 13 inches in length (33 cm), about the size and build of a crow. The males are covered with different sizes and shapes of feathers in every conceivable color, and they often have patches of skin without feathers that are wild, shocking colors as well. The Raggiana has very long, orange, trailing tail feathers. His head and the nape of his neck are yellow, and he has a green chin.

Cendrawasih are primarily fruit eaters, but they will also eat berries, leaves, and small animals, such as lizards and frogs. Their flight is slow and ponderous, contrary to their graceful appearance, and they stay in the same area all year, not following any sort of migratory pattern.

Courtship is the main purpose of the cendrawasih’s gaudy appearance. The females outnumber the males, so the males must compete with each other to win favor of a female when she is ready to mate. The Raggiana especially is known for his overly energetic courtship dance. There are, however, some bird of paradise species that mate for life, and the males have drab brown feathers like the females and will help raise the young and tend the nest. Of the species that are polygamous, however, the female takes care of all nesting and raising duties, usually laying two eggs at a time.

The Wayang Golek Theater of Java

(Original Source : Marla Mallett Website)

The painted wooden puppets on the preceding page are old examples from the still thriving and important folk art puppet theater of Java in Indonesia. Although tourist shops now sell imitations of wayang golek puppets, the puppets illustrated on these pages were actually used for many years in theater productions--in presentations of Hindu epics, Javanese history plays and the Islamic Menak cycles. These performances were given in towns and villages on holidays and for a variety of festivals, as were the distinctive shadow-puppet plays. A dalang, or puppet master, manipulated the puppets, spoke their parts, and coordinated the puppets' actions with music from a gamelan orchestra.

Anne Richter has described the stories as follows: "The most frequently performed narratives derive from the Hindu epics. The Arjuna Sasra Bahu and Ramayana cycles concern the affairs of the noble Rama himself and his ancestors. Favorite stories concern Rama's marriage to Sinta; their banishment to the forest together with his brother Laksmana; Sinta's abduction by the monster king Rahwana; and her subsequent rescue, with the aid of the monkey king and after numerous battles, from the kingdom of Sri Lanka. The Ramayana contains many episodes from the lives of these characters which are emphasized in varying degrees to form separate plays in their own right.

The Mahahharata tells of the conflict between the superior Pandewa brothers (Judistra, Bima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sadewa) and their hundred jealous and mendacious cousins, the Kurewas, who drive them away from their home at the court of Astina, to wander in the wild. In the forest the Pandewas build the lovely and idealized kingdom of Amarta where the majority of the plays are set. The heroic quests, battles with vile ogres and scenes of romantic love are made all the more poignant by the knowledge that the glory and beauty are fleeting. Events are presented as taking place in Java rather than India, and the heroic Pandewas, descendants of Vishnu, are the ancestors of the Javanese kings. Many episodes have simply been invented by puppeteers over generations.

The court scenes also allow scope for the comic misadventures and intrigue of the Pandewas' clown servants, the Punakawans: Semar the wise, whose identity is thought to have evolved from that of the pre-Hindu Javanese god Ismaya and his sons. The inane and melancholic Gareng, with his round drooping nose, is the butt of jokes and tricks played by the sharp Petruk. Philosophical and mystical speculations made by the refined characters provide an intellectual and spiritual dimension for members of the audience with a taste for high seriousness."

Richter describes the puppet making itself: "Like so many other crafts in Indonesia, making wayang golek is a skill handed down through families. The master puppet-maker usually makes the head because it expresses the personality of the puppet. Ceremonies are performed before commencing a deity or a demon. A piece of light, local softwood, which is easy to carve and not too heavy to hold up during a performance, is sawed or chopped down to the right size, and the main features are roughly chiseled. After sanding, fine decorations such as the parts of a crown are carved in with more care and sanded. The smooth surface receives a coat of glue-based paint, which will enable subsequent coats to adhere well. Lips, flowers and some bits of jewelry are painted red, as are the irises of angry characters. Blue is also used for eyes and sapphire jewelry. Fine black lines are painted for eyes, eyebrows, moustaches and wisps of hair....Bodies are often made by younger members of the family, and arms are attached at the elbow and shoulders with string so that they move easily. The shapes of hands also express character and role; those of nobles stretch out gracefully, but servants and commoners have large open palms. A rod passes from a hole in the base of the puppet's head and down through the body to form a handle. Costumes are usually made by wives. ...Since the stories portray historical and human rather than divine affairs, the puppets, like those used for history plays, are always fully clothed in Central Javanese traditional dress with batik sarongs.

Puppet body types can be identified across a spectrum which ranges from alus (extremely refined) to kasar (extremely rough and crude). Refined, virtuous characters have small dainty bodies, slitted oval eyes with pupils shaped like rice grains, pointed noses and a modest downward gaze... Vigorous or turbulent characters have a more direct and confrontational stare. As the personality of the puppet becomes less refined, there is an increase in size; the nose becomes heavier and blunter; eyes and pupils become larger and rounder and the gaze more aggressive; teeth and gums may be exposed in a snarl or a foolish sneer. The more refined middle-sized puppets may represent courageous but impetuous kings and heroes; the coarser ones suggest an uncontrolled or evil nature. The largest puppets are used for those whose greatest attribute is physical strength." Richter concludes, "It is the mixture of courtly, mystical and popular elements that allows traditional theatre to be so loved by so many people."

Beluga Whales (delphinapterus leucas) faltering in Alaskan waters

(Original Source : By Yereth Rosen, Tue Jan 16, 4:53 PM ET Yahoo! NEWS & Yahoo!Images)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Beluga whales were once so thick in the waters along Alaska's biggest city that boaters had to take care to avoid bumping them.

But now Cook Inlet's population of small white whales, beloved by locals and tourists, may be headed for extinction, according to a report from government biologists last week. A new count by the National Marine Fisheries Service puts the Beluga whale population at 302, less than half the number in 1994 and well below the 1,000 to 2,000 believed to have been swimming in earlier years in the glacier-fed channel that runs from Anchorage to the Gulf of Alaska.

"There's basically a one in four chance that this population is going to become extinct in 100 years," said Bruce Smith, a National Marine Fisheries Service biologist studying the belugas.

The Cook Inlet belugas, a genetically distinct population already listed as a "depleted" and meriting special management under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, are candidates for new safeguards under the Endangered Species Act.Biologists say the reason for the precipitous decline since the 1990s was simple -- overharvesting by the area's Alaska Natives, mostly Athabascan Indians, who are entitled by law to pursue their traditional whale hunts.

Native groups agreed to curb hunting until stocks return to higher levels, but that does not appear to be helping the whales recover, according to Smith.
Environmentalists say it should be no surprise that belugas are faltering in Alaska's most industrialized waterway.

OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
Oil drilling, associated bustle and noise, vessel-traffic pressures from thriving cargo-shipping and commercial fishing activities, sewage and storm water runoff from Alaska's most densely populated region and other industrial factors are likely hurting the belugas, according to environmentalists.

Particular scrutiny should focus on the oil and gas industry, with its constant marine disposal of wastewater and its reliance on loud seismic surveys that disrupt the underwater whale communications, said Bob Shavelson, executive director of the environmental group Cook Inletkeeper.

"Everybody said, 'OK, it was the hunting.' Everybody said, 'OK, once we get a handle on the hunting the problem will go away.' Lo and behold, we're not seeing any increase; we're seeing what's likely a decrease," Shavelson said.

Oil and gas industry representatives fear new restrictions will unfairly burden them.
"There's a lot of interest in being able to use the inlet the way it's been used by the people, bringing all the groceries in and all the cars in as well as the oil and gas, and still protect the belugas at the same time," said Judy Brady, a former state natural resources commissioner who heads the Alaska Oil and Gas Association.
Past tests have shown that belugas and other sea life in Cook Inlet are untainted by industrial pollutants, Brady said.

Smith said it may be the nonpollution factors, such as noise, inadvertent harassment, large-scale beach strandings, disease outbreaks and the occasional predation by killer whales that are keeping the beluga population low.

Those factors might have been easily absorbed in the past, but not anymore."It could be now that the population is reduced to the point where some threats and impacts that weren't threatening to the whole stock, now are," he said.

Rafflesia Arnoldii : World's largest flower evolved from family of much tinier blooms

Molecular analysis shows giant rafflesia flower grew 79-fold over millions of years. The plant with the world's largest flower - typically a full meter across, with a bud the size of a basketball - evolved from a family of plants whose blossoms are nearly all tiny, botanists write this week in the journal Science. Their genetic analysis of rafflesia reveals that it is closely related to a family that includes poinsettias, castor oil plants, the tropical root crop cassava, and the trees that produce natural rubber. The team from Harvard University, Southern Illinois University, the Smithsonian Institution, and the University of Wisconsin was led by Harvard's Charles C. Davis. "For nearly 200 years rafflesia's lineage has confounded plant scientists," says Davis, an assistant professor of organismic and evolutionary biology in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. "As a parasite living inside the tissue of a tropical vine, the plant lacks leaves, shoots, or roots, making it difficult to compare to more conventional plants. Most efforts to place plants in the botanical tree of life in the past 25 years have tracked ancestry using molecular markers in genes governing photosynthesis. Rafflesia is a non-photosynthetic parasite, and those genes have apparently been abandoned, meaning that to determine its lineage we had to look at other parts of the plant's genome." Davis and his colleagues determined that over an estimated 46 million years, rafflesia's blooms, which now weigh up to 15 lbs., evolved at an accelerated pace. However, after increasing in size by a factor of roughly 79, the plant then reverted to a more sedate evolutionary pace. This evolutionary spurt is one of the most dramatic size changes ever reported among eukaryotes; if humans were to undergo comparable evolutionary growth, Davis says, an average man would end up some 146 meters tall, roughly the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Because rafflesia lacks the genes most commonly used to trace plant ancestry, the scientists delved deeper into the genome, looking at some 11,500 base pairs of DNA to determine that the giant flower's closest relatives are in the Euphorbiaceae family, many of which have blossoms just a few millimeters in diameter. "The power of nucleic acid comparisons is revealed as well as ever in this stunning deduction," says noted botanist Peter H. Raven, president of the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, about his fellow scientists’ discovery. "The massive increase in flower size is one of the most significant among living organisms, and could never have been deduced by conventional methods." Found growing on the jungle floor in parts of southeastern Asia, rafflesia is unusual in more than just its flower's size. A parasite, it derives its nutrients from a plant in the grapevine family and lacks leaves, stems, or roots. More dramatic is the plant's carcass-like appearance: Its blooms are a mottled blood red, reek of decaying flesh, and in some cases even emit heat, much like a recently killed animal. These traits help the flower attract the carrion flies that pollinate it. "While it's surprising to find this giant plant evolved from a family typified by much smaller blossoms, rafflesia is unusual enough that it's frankly been difficult to imagine it fitting neatly into any plant family," Davis says. "Many botanists had refused to even speculate on where this botanical outlier might fit into the tree of life." Rafflesia was first discovered in the Sumatran rain forest some 180 years ago by Sir Stamford Raffles, governor of the East India Company's establishments in Sumatra, and Joseph Arnold, a naturalist and physician. Shortly before Arnold died of malaria on the same expedition the flower was discovered, he described rafflesia as "the greatest prodigy of the vegetable world," adding, "To tell you the truth, had I been alone, and had there been no witnesses, I should think I would have been fearful of mentioning the dimensions of this flower, so much does it exceed every flower I have ever seen or heard of." Photo : Rafflesia Arnoldii, Batang Palupuh, Sumatra, Indonesia. (Original Sources : By Steve Bradt, FAS Communications, Copyright 2006 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, Photo Source : id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkas:Rafflesia_Arnoldii_Batang_Palupuah_Indonesia.jpg

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