Food Price Rise, Speculation in Commodities Market, African Land Grabs, Biofuels.. What a cocktail?!

It's amazing, how incredibly linked, different parts of the Earth's Ecosystems are!.. 
Equally amazing, how incredibly linked, different parts of the world's Economic systems are as well!
Interestingly, there are new studies going on, to try and evaluate the link between these two- by the impressive TEEB study..About The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity.. ( http://greenwich-times.blogspot.com/2011/04/talklse-economics-of-ecosystems-and.html)


I've been fascinated by the Ecosystems for long.. and have tried to get my head 'round the Economic systems.. and its impact on the former as well as their interactions..[ From that respect, the TEEB does a wonderful job of coming out with meaningful,practical data that can be used by governments, policy makers, local authorities etc. ]
The following is a result of collating related articles I had read in recent times; mostly from Economics point of view..


To start with, here is a brief 2-min audio: UN official explains, how gambling in food commodities market by finance companies is affecting prices for consumers..

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/audio/2011/jun/01/food-speculation-olivier-de-schutter-audio
Nearly 1 billion people around the world are going hungry each day and dozens of countries are facing food shortages in the near future. What role does food speculation play in this? Olivier de Schutter, the UN's special rapporteur on the right to food, explains )
 
Here is some interesting statistics from a related report (from http://bit.ly/forests-farming-food-land ),

• UN's food price index has risen 37% since Mar/2010- Basic cereal prices are up 60%, Wheat is up 63%, &maize 83%.

• ~1million people slide into extreme poverty for each 1% rise in global food prices, according to World Bank's analysts..

Apparently this gambling in food market is a phenomenon started in recent years, for which the US brought in some regulations,after subprime crisis/market crash..But happens blatantly in other markets: http://bit.ly/speculators-food-price-rise , http://bit.ly/cocoa-market-abuse

After the Real Estate/Sub-prime tornado that left the US 'Financial Landscape' in tatters,
ruthless investment companies(the perpetrators of much of it?),r spreading their vicious influence onto new fields-
Shifting focus from American housing market to Global Food market- more basic&wider needs!
Apparently,the guile of the wily spiders,thru their wider nets,has started affecting huge populations more directly..

(See: Hedge Funds 'Grabbing Land' in Africa:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13688683  )

After their increased Speculation/Manipulation/Gambling on Commodities market, reportedly causing food price inflation, in recent years..,
now onto African Land Grabbing!
Time will tell, whether these will ultimately cause more devastation worldwide than the sub-prime crashes..- and whether it will be delivered in doses sporadically across the globe and hitting like slowly affecting poison than one huge blow!

There has been a spate of reports on manipulating food prices recently- from last year:
O'course, Hedge funds may not be the sole reason for price rise, but they are making it much worse..(UN's FAO confirming this)

( http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/19/speculators-commodities-food-price-rises
independent investigations revealed, in 2010 Goldman Sachs made a profit of $1bn through gambling on the price of everyday foods..
While there were food riots due to price rise, in Mozambique last year [..and in Mexico and Haiti in 2008, said another report]

Such price inflation affects not only the starving population in poorer countries, but also those in developed nations..
--> cocoa prices jumped to a 33-year high, as it emerged that a London hedge fund had snapped up a large part of the world's stock of cocoa beans.
--> A 150% rise in cocoa prices over 18 months forced many chocolate-makers to raise their prices and often to use less cocoa.
)

( Some insights into how investors can make the price change faster than that caused by the demand-supply market dynamics of traditional consumers and producers :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/25/impending-global-food-crisis

World Development Movement -WDM in London warned that food speculation by hedge funds, pension funds and investment banks was likely to prompt further inflation.

Mounting anger has greeted food price inflation of 21% in Egypt in the last year, along with 17% rises in India and similar amounts in many other countries. Prices in the UK have risen 22% in three years.

Longtime hedge fund manager Mike Masters, who has worked with WDM, said: "Because there is already much more capital available in the world than hard commodities, speculators can increase the price of consumable commodities, like foodstuffs or energy, much higher than traditional consumers and producers can react.
)

..and related article on shortage of land for farming..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/18/forests-farming-food-land

Couple of years back,had seen documentaries/read of the Arabs doing a lot of Land Grabs of African farmlands, but that was more out of concern about their food security though!.

..and Finally:

Rush to Use Crops as Fuel Raises Food Prices and Hunger Fears..

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/science/earth/07cassava.html?_r=1 

Kentish Plover- Disappeared from Kent.. and Britain!

Ringed Plover.
@Dungeness Nature Reserve, Kent.

I was hoping to see a related species here, the Kentish Plover, but it was not around at the place which seemed like its kind of habitat, and came to know it has DISAPPEARED from Britain! - It no longer breeds in these islands. I had first seen Kentish Plover back in Kerala!.(2005), while volunteering for a bird survey of Kole Wetands, in Thrissur near Guruvayur. 

[ Dungeness, on the English Channel, 25km from the Channel Tunnel area, has a special geographic feature.. Ness= Headland or 'Cuspate Foreland' jutting out from shore.. It is found on coastlines and lakeshores that are created primarily by longshore drift. This area on the southcoast of England was also an island in Roman Maps!.. It got connected to the mainland around 1000years ago due to alluvial deposits..]

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/r/ringedplover/index.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentish_plover

Ironically, after this birding trip now, came to know that the 'Kentish' Plover is no longer seen in Kent or anywhere in Britain!. Though it "breeds in a wide range, from southern Europe to Japan and in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, the southern USA and the Caribbean", it's no longer seen in Britain!..

But, it was heartening to read the recent news from Kerala, that the Project to protect the Kole Wetlands is taking shape
(It has 30,000 acres of wetlands including farmlands and paddyfields). 
The data we were collecting during the bird survey
was used to provide supporting arguments as to why the area needed more protection for its wildlife and habitats,
and to help plan the Project.

Related news this year from Kerala:
http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/08/stories/2011010860470300.htm

Agriculture Minister in Kerala is handed over the project — Biodiversity Conservation Plan for Kole Wetlands High Value Biodiversity Area-- to the Forest Dept, which will submit it to the central govt .

Project was prepared after consultations with farmers, people's representatives, scientists and officials.

It proposes to pay an incentive of Rs.1,000 per acre to kole farmers every year as a recognition for protecting the kole lands for over the years.

Romeo and Juliet, by The Royal Ballet!

Watched the 'first night performance' of "Romeo and Juliet", ballet by The Royal Opera House- first time being performed at the O2 Arena, in front of around 12000 audience.. 
Though not a good venue for a ballet, u cud b too far from the stage to get the expressions (I took out my birding binox once in a while!;) ..there were some sublime dance moments..(their 1st Night also part of it!;)

This trailer is of the same troupe/production of Royal Ballet: 

‎"Romeo and Juliet", The Famous Balcony Scene.. 
*ing top ballet dancers in the world who performed in the Royal Opera House/Royal Ballet production in London.. Multiple award winning lead dancers, Carlos Acosta from Havana,Cuba as Romeo and the Spanish dancer from Madrid, Tamara Rojo as Juliet..

..and some related stuff:

Video: Carlos Acosta, on BBC HardTalk last week: Talking about his transformation into the top ballet star in the world from the humble beginnings on Havana's streets..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9508321.stm

Article: Ballet star Carlos Acosta about challenges staging Romeo &Juliet at the O2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13728737

Videos.. about the training/preps:
http://www.roh.org.uk/video/index.html?bcpid=1733261711&bclid=1740131613&bctid=956754065001

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13801416

People & Birds: A Spiritual Bond. Through History to The Present..

Even though many people might dismiss birds as not having much to do with what is happening to them or to the wider world, (other than may be the chicken-n-egg helping to feed the world;)

those who spy the goings-on in the bird world would tell you.., if you'd care to listen,

that Birds are also important as they are one of the best indicators of the overall health of, or changes in the environment..
[Also see, from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Q&A:
To a question posed by a general user, 'Which birds are most beneficial to mankind?', this was what the The Cornell Lab staff came up with as a consensus practical answer:  Red Junglefowl -aka the chicken! ;) In a way intuitive, they chose it 'because of the huge number of people who benefit from their eggs and meat.'

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1277 ]

Birds are still very tied to some religious beliefs and rites in India even today..

• In Hindu mythology, The hamsa , swan, is the vahana, the mount or vehicle, of the god Brahma, the creator. In the Vedas and the Purânas it is a symbol for the Soul- of purity and transcendence. ParamaHamsa (The Supreme Soul) is a title applied to the self-realized spiritual masters who are considered as liberated souls.
• The Parsis (Persian Zoroastrians who immigrated to india in 10th century AD to avoid persecution by Muslims in Persia) in Mumbai, is a small community which the Tata family belong to. They leave their dead out in the open in the "Towers of Silence" (in Mumbai, located at Malabar Hill) to be consumed by vultures. According their belief, earth, fire and water are all considered as sacred elements, which should not be defiled by the dead.. (They worship fire in Parsi Fire Temples).  Therefore, burial and cremation have always been prohibited in Parsi culture.

But in recent years, there has been drastic vulture population decline (extensive urbanization, as well as the other main reason sited being, due to poisoning by the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac which is often given to cattles.. the carcass of which the vulture often feed on). Some years back I was reading about the Parsi community working with Bombay Natural History Society for a vulture breeding program, to address the crisis affecting their funeral ritual.   

•  [Note: The item below is not related to my personal view/belief, but of some devout people. From anecdotes of the behind-the-scene 'secrets' I've heard, and my personal view as well, of the  is that the authorities are defrauding the devotees there with staged events, considering the huge amount of money in revenues from millions of people visiting every year!! ;) ]               On the most special day of Makara Sankranthi at Sabarimala temple pilgrimage in Kerala, a major auspicious event during peak pilgrimage season is appearing of a Brahminy Kite (Holy Garuda, an eagle, the vehicle of Lord Vishnu in Indian mythology).. Apparently, Sabarimala with a huge devotee-base across South and India and beyond, has "the largest annual pilgrimage in India with an estimated 45–50 million devotees visiting every year"

From Sabaraimala.org:

On Makarasankranti every year without fail, miraculous events occur. Firstly as the jewels (Thiruvaabharanam) of the Lord are transported from the Old Pandalam Palace to Sabarimala, a Krishnaparunth (holy Garuda - an eagle - the vehicle of Lord Vishnu), circles above the precious jewels (in fact guarding them), like a protector. This rare eagle is rarely seen in the midst of people for a long period of time, yet the auspicious bird follows the Thiruvaabaranam procession, finally circling above Sannidhanam at Sabarimala nine times as it pays its respects to Lord Ayyappan. During this time, there is not a single star in the sky except for a special Nakshatram. As the beautiful jewels are placed on the golden body of the Lord within the temple, the several hundred thousand devotees outside, crammed into any available free space, chant "Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa". When the jewels are finally all adorned on the Lord, the Nakshatram in the sky miraculously disappears. Within moments after the Lord being adorned with the Thiruvabaranam, an effulgence (Divya Jyoti) appears in the opposite hills of Shabarimala, shining 3 times. This hill is called Ponnambalamedu.

In some other parts of the world as well, Birds are still part of the lives of people..

• One of the most enchanting bonding by Birds I've ever watched on screen.. was the Spiritual bonding between man and birds..
  From the centuries old tradition..among the Kazakh Nomads of Altai Mountains in Mongolia, with their Golden Eagles. The vast open spaces make hunting for animals almost impossible. The Kazakh nomads use Golden Eagles to hunt.. for their survival in the harsh mountain climate..
  This was featured in the episode on Mountains, of the BBC Series HUMAN PLANET:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/humanplanetexplorer/environments/mountains#p00dwd5x

It's a  millenium-old tradition of the nomad's deep bonding with nature, using Golden Eagles to hunt.. they take the fledging eagle from the nest before it could fly, and keep as pet and use it for hunting.

In between they also release them and the birds come back. In the end, after years, they release them into the wild and don't call them back..

Have watched a movie based on this as well, that was screened at the London FilmFest/2009 

The Eagle Hunter's Son. 

Made by Swedish director;  with real Nomads of Altai Mountain and their Golden Eagles

In fact, history tells, Birds had a lot to do with the courses of action people took, in the ancient world, through their association with ancient religious rites and beliefs..

• In ancient Rome, very powerful priests, called "Augur" who could read omens from observing the birds, had a huge influence on the society.. They were central to the society of Roman Republic and the Empire.

Augurs were consulted by the commonfolk and the rulers,

for deciding whether to go ahead with their intended actions or not..

"including matters of war, commerce, and religion.."

[The Greeks called this bird-divining, as 'Ornithomancy']

..An Augur's main role was 'to interpret the will of the gods' (=Augury, from latin for it, 'Augurium'), 

by 'studying the flight/behavior of birds' (Latin Auspicium , literally "one who looks at birds", from 'aves spicere', Latin for 'looking at the birds')..

This was called "taking the auspices" and the words

' auspicious' and 'inauguration' are derived from these rites in Rome!

Ancient Roman Mosaic floor, in the "Domus of Birds" (House of Birds),

 Italica, north of modern day Seville, In Spain's Andalusia region.
[Photos from Dec 2007 trip]

The city of Italica was founded in 206 BC by the Romans.

Italica is the birth place of Roman Emperors Trajan[AD 53-117], and (his adopted son) Hadrian.

 ..

 ..

So, in a way, birds had such huge influence, and who knows--

 by affecting the decisions of wars and such, in the most powerful empire in the world,

 they might have even changed the course of human history!! ;))

Legend has it that even the founders of Rome- Romulus and Rimus, were bird diviners,

 who consulted the gods through birds, for even the founding of Rome!

• Also see, the blog about the Ancient Greek comedy play: 'THE BIRDS' by Aristophanes [414 BC] : http://greenwich-times.blogspot.com/2011/03/ancient-greek-comedy-play-birds-by.html

They might be a lil 'flighty' at times, but they are not to be taken too lightly!.. ;)

If you pondered on the decline, climate change and all the rest.. the OMENS are pretty clear..

The writing is on the wall, for us as a whole!.. ;)

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augurs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auspice

Cambridge -The Historic, Atmospheric University Town

View from a Bridge on River Cam.. Willow trees, and The traditional punts moored  Outside the Trinity College, Cambridge

The very atmospheric university town with a very historic feel to it..

with institutions like Trinity College where the likes of the illustrious 'apple-head', Mr Isaac Newton studied.. ;)

• University of Cambridge was founded circa 1209 by scholars leaving Oxford after a dispute caused by the town execution of two scholars in 1209 
• It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world, and the seventh-oldest globally. 

• In the latest 2011 ranking of World'd Top Universities, "By Reputation", Cambridge is #3, behind Harvard and MIT...In overall general ranking, Oxford and Cambridge both are placed at #6

The library of Trinity College, Cambridge, has Newton's own copy of the first edition of his book Principia Mathematica, published in 1687.. with handwritten notes for the second edition. The original Latin title of the book is 'Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica' (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), in which he described his famous laws of motion, laws of gravitation etc.. and it is "justly regarded as one of the most important works in the history of science"!.

But that title sounds a bit intimidating  with a mix of Science, Math and Philosophy.., ;) so let's move on.. to something lighter, a bit of simpler History, ...the origin of modern university concept!. 

One of the gates to the Trinity College

 

The Origin of Modern Concept of  University 

• 1088 : University of Bologna, Italy is the first university in the sense of a higher learning, degree awarding institute, the word university being coined at its foundation. It is also the oldest continually operating university in the world. (Although there were older ancient institutions of Higher Learning in other parts of the world, especially India, China, Arabia..  "these aren't generally regarded as being universities as they largely didn't offer degrees or they were culturally dissimilar from the European universities where the ideas of the modern university came from." No other European institution has spread over the entire world in the way in which the traditional form of the European university has done. The degrees awarded by European universities – the bachelor's degree, the licentiate, the master's degree, and the doctorate – have been adopted in the most diverse societies throughout the world. )
• The word university is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, roughly meaning "community of teachers and scholars". The term was coined by the Italian University of Bologna, which, with a traditional founding date of 1088, is considered the first university.The origin of many medieval universities can be traced to the Christian cathedral schools or monastic schools which appear as early as the 6th century AD and were run for hundreds of years as such before their formal establishment as university in the high medieval period.
  Rooted in medieval society, the university as an institution was intrinsically linked to Christian faith

 

'Great Gate' of the Trinity College

The Trinity college, Cambridge was founded by Henry VIII in 1546, from the merger of two existing colleges: Michaelhouse (estd in 1324), and King’s Hall(estd in 1317)..

Like its sister college, Christ Church, Oxford, it was traditionally considered the most aristocratic of the Cambridge colleges — and it has generally been the academic institution of choice of the Royal Family.

Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows .

Trinity has many notable alumni (it has educated six British prime ministers and several heads of other nations) — but its most distinguished include Isaac Newton,Bertrand Russell etc.

A student in the library next to Trinity College

It's not just all study and no play at Cambridge!.. ;)

For instance,  The first formalised version of the rules of football (soccer), known as the Cambridge Rules, was drawn up by Cambridge student representatives of leading boarding schools at Trinity College in 1848.

River Cam behind King's College

 ..And now looking at India, here are some damning remarks or practical assessment if you will, about the mediocrity of india's best-known institutions..when compared to the world's best.. (Even though there may be considerable number of students who come out from those institutions, who go on to the world's best..)

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2066308.ece

Well-known scientist and chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister C.N.R. Rao

“The saddest thing is that not even a single research institute in India matches the best in the world, or MIT and Cambridge.”

--

References:  [The above text is not really a 'write-up',  but mostly just collated info, with much of the text selected verbatim from these links! ]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleges_of_the_University_of_Cambridge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_College,_Cambridge

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_universities_in_continuous_operation