Leaping Wolf Snatches Photo Prize - 2009 Veolia Wildlife Photography of the Year Awards

For those seeking to improve their wildlife images, this article includes the equipment each photographer used to capture the shot.

Jose Luis Rodriguez's haunting portrait of an Iberian wolf won over the judges

Wednesday, 21 October 2009
By Victoria Gill

Science reporter,

BBC news

A picture of a hunting wolf has won the prestigious Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009 award.

Jose Luis Rodriguez captured the imaginations of the judges with a picture that he had planned for years, and even sketched out on a piece of paper.

"I wanted to capture a photo in which you would see a wolf in an act of hunting - or predation - but without blood," he told BBC News. "I didn't want a cruel image."

With a great deal of patience and careful observation of the wolves' movements, he succeeded in taking the award-winning photograph.

Mr Rodriguez used a custom-built infrared trap to snap the wolf as it leapt into the air.

The WPY competition, now in its 45th year, is owned by BBC Wildlife Magazine and London's Natural History Museum.

The panel of judges looked through more than 43,000 entries to this year's competition.

This is the fifth year that wildlife photographer Mark Carwardine has been on the judging panel. He said of the winning photo: "It's captured thousands of years of human-wolf interaction in just one moment."

STORYBOOK WOLF

The image of a photographer's dreams

Mr Rodriguez won the Animal Portraits category and went on to win the top prize with this haunting image that the judges said captured the character of the wolf.

When he started planning the photograph, he feared that he might not be able to get close enough to the Iberian wolves.

This subspecies of the grey wolf lives close to human habitation in northern Spain. They are often persecuted by people who see them as a threat to livestock, and they are consequently very wary.

Watching the animals as they returned to the same spot to collect food each night, Mr Rodriguez decided on his dream shot.

He eventually captured it using a photographic trap that included a motion sensor and an infrared barrier to operate the camera.

He hopes that his picture, "showing the wolf's great agility and strength", will become an image that can be used to show just how beautiful the Iberian wolf is and how the Spanish can be proud to have such an emblematic animal.
Hasselblad 503CW with a 6x6 Fujichrome backing + Planar 80mm lens; 1/30 sec at f11; ISO 50; purpose-made Ficap infrared camera trap

CLASH OF THE YELLOWHAMMERS

The yellowhammer males fought over ownership of the oats

Fergus Gill, who was 17 years old when he entered the competition, won this year's Young Photographer of the Year award for his picture of a brief but dramatic clash between two of the colourful UK songbirds.

He started planning the image in summer, collecting oat sheaves from a local farmer specifically as winter food for the yellowhammers.

One evening in February, hearing that snow was forecast for the next morning, Fergus set up his hide in the garden of his home in Scotland and hung out feeders for the birds.

"At one point, I counted 32 yellowhammers feeding on the ground," he said.

When the snow fell, the birds jumped up on to the feeders and the males would occasionally fight over the oats.

"The spats were incredibly fast," he said. It took Fergus two days to capture the dramatic clash that earned him his award.
Nikon D300 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 lens at 220mm; 1/1000 sec at f5.6; ISO 500

RESPECT

Ryska the cat fiercely guarded her property

With the help of his feisty cat, Igor Shpilenok won the Urban and Garden Wildlife category with this shot.

He spent five months as a ranger in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve in Kamchatka in the east of Russia, and took his cat Ryska with him for company.

"It's a very remote place and there were lots of animals - bears, foxes, wolverines - living near my cabin," he told BBC News.

"The cat was really jealous about me. If I started to look at the animals, she would attack them. Just like a woman," he smiled.

"Maybe she thought I was her pet."

But the animals were curious about the area's new residents, and were drawn by cooking smells from the cabin. The foxes in particular would visit every day. "When they came within 20m, that was her boundary and chased them. It was really funny - foxes were climbing trees to get away from the cat."

Mr Shpilenok's wife, Laura Williams, selected the category-winning image. "It's ironic," she said. "He photographs the wilderness, but the two times he's won a category [in this competition] it's been the urban wildlife one. Because the wilderness is his back yard."
Nikon D3 + 300mm lens; 1/500 sec at f4.5; ISO 640

SPRINGTAIL ON A SNOWFLAKE

Snowflakes make difficult terrain for tiny springtails

Urmas Tartes won the Animals in their Environment category for this image of a springtail, otherwise known as a "snow flea" navigating its way through delicate snowflakes.

When the temperature drops below freezing, the insect climbs down through the frosty crevasses to the warmer soil below.

"But they're only active a few degrees below zero," Mr Tartes told BBC News. "I had to 'ambush' the weather for just the right temperature and conditions.

"I was travelling with my wife and it started snowing slightly," he recalled.
"We came to a place where we thought it might be possible [to see the insects] and the thermometer in the car said it was just the right temperature."

Mr Tartes had waited for the perfect weather in which the snow fleas would be active, but the snowflakes would remain frozen.

His patience paid off, and he managed to take over 100 shots while the insects negotiated their way through the tricky terrain.

He believes he captured something truly unique and that this was largely thanks to his knowledge of his country and its climate.

"I think the best of the photos I take are in my homeland," he told BBC News.
"There's a saying in Estonia that in order to see new things, you have to follow common paths - paths you know."
Canon EOS-5D Mark II + Canon MP-E65 f2.5 1-5x Macro lens; 1/200 sec at f14; ISO 400

THE LOOK OF THE JAGUAR

The male jaguar sat on the riverbank calmly staring at the photographer

Tom Schandy won the Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Wildlife for this image, which he took while working on a book project in Brazil.

"We spent a few days on a boat along Rio Paraguay and saw four jaguars in the space of three days.

"It was really amazing, because it is such a difficult animal to find.
"This one was very relaxed - it just lay on the river bank staring at us for more than an hour.
"It was a glimpse into the eye of the wilderness."

At sunset, the jaguar rose, yawned and scent-marked. Then he faded back into the dense forest.

Canon EOS-ID Mark III + 500mm f4 lens; 1/250 sec at f4; ISO 400; beanbag

An exhibition of the best images from this year's competition opens to visitors of the Natural History Museum, London, on Friday, 23 October 2009.

Gabon and Nigeria elected to UN Security Council

Current U N Security Council Members

photographed at the U N Security Council Summitt, held

in New York and Pittsgurgh, Sept. 23 - 26, 2009

The image will change and the consciousness of the U N Security Council has an opportunity for transformation, when two respresentatives from African nations join the body in January 2010.

Afrol News, 16 October -


Gabon and Nigeria will join Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil and Lebanon to serve two-year terms on the Security Council starting next January after they won elections to the 15-member body yesterday.

The five countries were chosen after running uncontested races for the non-permanent seats, and they were duly elected by the General Assembly during a secret ballot at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

To be elected to the Security Council, candidate countries need a two-thirds majority of ballots of Member States that are present and voting. The seats are allocated on the basis of geographical groupings.

Nigeria, which received 186 votes for one of the two African seats available, has served three times previously on the Council, in 1966-67, 1978-79 and 1994-95. Gabon, which picked up 184 votes, served in 1978-79 and in 1998-99.

Lebanon, which was chosen after receiving 180 votes, is returning to the Council after a break of more than half a century. Its only other stint was in 1953-54.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, which won the seat allocated for the Eastern European States after receiving 183 votes, has never served before on the Council.

Brazil was chosen for the Latin American and Caribbean category after being awarded 182 votes. It has served on the Council on nine other occasions: 1946-47, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1963-64, 1967-68, 1988-89, 1993-94, 1998-99 and 2004-05.

The five countries will join Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda, whose terms on the Council end on 31 December 2010. The five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

By staff writer

© afrol News

So Fresh, So Clean: Ugandan Refugee Turns Soap to Hope

"So Fresh, So Clean"

Lyrics by OUTKAST

[Chorus:]Ain't nobody dope as me I'm dressed so fresh so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

Don't you think I'm so sexy I'm dressed so fresh so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

Ain't nobody dope as me I'm dressed so fresh so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

I love when you stare at me I'm dressed so fresh so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

Derreck Kayongo displays bars of soap he has stored in the basement of his Lawrenceville, Ga., home. Kayongo has collected five tons of lightly used bars through his Global Soap Project, which melts them down, sterilizes them and reshapes them before sending them to refugees back in Uganda.

updated 10:48 a.m. PT, Mon., Oct . 12, 2009
ATLANTA - Nearly two decades after he arrived in this country, Ugandan Derreck Kayongo is still bowled over by one subtle display of American wealth: the endless array of soaps available in stores.


In his African homeland, the cost of soap is out of reach for many, often with tragic consequences. In 2004, the World Health Organization found roughly 15 percent of deaths among Ugandan children under age 5 resulted from diarrheal diseases, many of which could be prevented through hand sanitation.


Now America's bountiful soap bars have prompted Kayongo to launch the Global Soap Project, an effort to help his country's poorest ― one used bar of hotel soap at a time.

An Atlanta-based anti-poverty advocate, Kayongo has collected several tons of lightly used soap bars under a plan to melt them down, sterilize them and reshape the soap for shipment to refugees in Uganda to help curb disease.


For Uganda's destitute, soap is a luxury.


"Most people find it very hard to spend money on something like soap which could actually help them prevent diseases," Kayongo said. A bar of soap can run 500 Ugandan shillings ― about 10 American cents ― on a continent where many refugees have a dollar to live on daily.
Cleaning up with used soap sounds, well, dirty.


But Kayongo said soaps will be separated by hotel brand and gently washed to remove makeup and other surface dirt. Next, bars will go into a high-temperature oven where they will melt and transform into a soapy, sterile, slurry. Kayongo said the mixture will go into molds to harden and emerge as large bars of soap.


"All it needs is just cleaning and re-melting and remolding," he said.


Soap for charityEach day, in millions of American hotel roo0ms , the cleaning staff replaces soap and other toiletries.


Patrick Maher, a consultant to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, said hotels usually throw away used soap. But he said nonprofits have begun stepping up to recycle soap for charitable purposes.


"It's one of the new things this year," Maher said.


One such charity, Florida-based Clean the World, says it has collected about 17,000 pounds of used soap since February for distribution in impoverished countries worldwide.


For the Global Soap Project, Kayongo says he has gathered 10,000 pounds of used hotel soap from 60 hotels in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. Hotels collect lightly used bars which they place in bins. One of Kayongo's 10 volunteers takes the bars to a donated warehouse near Atlanta that he's using.


Kayongo's own family had once thrived off his father's business making soaps and running a printing press in Uganda. But Kayongo said they went from being members of the middle class to refugees, losing everything under the harsh rule of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.


The family fled to Kenya, where Kayongo said life without basics became the norm.


Now Kayongo wants to give other refugees a small item that can make a big difference. He plans to send off his first shipment in late October.


Kayongo, a senior advocacy field coordinator for CARE International, has committed about $5,000 of his own money toward the $13,000 cost to send the soap and is seeking donations to make up the rest. CARE International, a global anti-poverty group, is not sponsoring the project.
The luxury of soapSince June, just one Ritz-Carlton hotel in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood has turned over 3,000 pounds of soap which otherwise would have gone into the trash.
"When I heard Derreck speak about it, I thought it sounded really easy and why haven't we been doing this all along?" said Olivia Brown, a manager at the hotel.


Kayongo got the idea back in the mid '90s. He'd recently arrived in America and when he settled into his hotel, Kayongo was surprised to find packages of soap.


He used the bars, but was confused the next day when he found they'd been replaced.
"This went on for two or three days," said Kayongo, who finally called his father back in Africa and chuckled about it.


The men talked about how the soap could be melted down and reused. Kayongo sat on the idea for a few years, until his father recently brought it back up.


"If you live on a dollar a day," Kayongo said, "what are the chances you spend even one cent of that dollar on buying a luxury like soap?"

Here you are Beloveds~A simple way to connect and be a beneficial presence in our world.

Nobel jury speaks out in defense of Obama prize

In this Friday, Oct. 9, 2009 file photo,

Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee,

Thorbjoern Jagland, holds a picture of President Barack Obama,

in Oslo, Norway, after the announcement of Obama

as winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

I know you are aware of the many opinions being shared about President Obama's selection as this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner. The following article tells of the unusual act of the committee members to publicly defend their choice.

It notes that many both abroad, and even in his own party have asked what has he done to deserve the prize?

While reading the article, my Heart spoke out, that Obama easily qualified for the prize simply by the presidential political campaign that he waged and won.

His attitude, his tone, his intentions, and his responses, have all engendered a new America. And if America, had not begun to change, if we had continued with the policies, beliefs, and attitudes that fueled the Bush regime, which it was evident by the McCain and the Clinton campaign rhetoric, would be continued, the whole world would still be in a state of extreme anxiety. The bottom line is America's sense of herself and her actions effect every living being on the planet.

Perhaps some of his actions may not have met what our personal expectations demand, but his personality alone, has acted as a 'Balm in Gilead'. I am in no way asserting that Barack Obama is a messiah, or an enbodiment of my brother Jesus the Christ. But his campaign and election, and months in office have all amounted to steps toward the correction and healing that is necessary in this nation, and in the world. And only those individuals that are blinded by their mental illness are unable to see that, acknowledge that and respect that.

Obama's campaign and election effectively sidetracked the aims of that group of Americans (old wealth, oil industry, Industrial-war complex, etc.) whose delusions, ignorance and outright madness have them bent on enslaving humanity, and Earth's resources in their service. And all in the name of 'progress' and 'profit'. Their vision America as an empire!

I never voted that at any cost, I want America to be the most powerful nation on Earth. Did you? I don't even think like that. But our Constitution and we the people, have been co-opted, and detered from our pursuit of happiness, to the ends of someone else's. Finally, the masses of the dominant culture here, are awakening, and feeling the negative effects of their years of following such folly.

Within this nation, Native Americans and African-Americans have been almost destroyed by these philosophies and mores that have led people further and further from their true selves. A caste and class system has pervaded, that alloted certain roles, income levels, neighborhoods and different levels of justice to everyone and group that was not White and heterosexual male.

We have long been sick of this sweep, as the people of this nation have been molded into caricatures of some madman's ideal of 'paradise'. Because it took destroying all of our humanity to create it. It took, dehumanizing our brothers and sisters that looked different than we did. It took decimating the land and covering it with asphalt and structures, that now lay empty. Our food is so full of chemicals that it kills us instead of nurtures our bodies. Water and air both poisoned. And it took wiping out the precious wildlife that graced this land.

Obama's campaign, election, and days in office have been about raising to othe forefront the harmonizing factors that must be embraced if this nation, and humanity are to survive. His significance is that his enbodiment is a step towards de-emphasizing the inequalities in the necessities of living that man has erected and imposed upon us all.

That's why people are pissed. Here and abroad. There are too many issues, that are just simply unjust, favoring a few, overtly wrong, and most importantly ---unnecessary. And these are correctable. He speaks to that. He inspires hope, because he says...Yes We Can. And it's evident, that the majority of the people here and abroad want a real change.

Obama 'gets it'. Because he has lived in other places in the world, because he comes from a multiethnic family, because he is intelligent, because he has lived an ordinary life, and because he is part of those disenfranchised by those in power. He 'gets it' also because he is educated, and because he has good values that he listens to and lives by. Most importantly, unlike the Bushes and all of their cabinent members, he is an humble man, and realizes that humility is a valuable character trait to be cultivated throughout one's life.

All of this, when he lives it, ACTS as a balm. A balm is an aromatic salve or oil. It has a soothing healing, comforting agent or quality. A balm is a healing compound, where herbs, oils other natural organic matter are brought together to synergistically do their work. And again, this clarifies what I mean that he, himself is no messiah. It's not about or just him, but all that his presence enbodies and brings together. We, are a part of the balm that he is.

So if we can see Obama's presence in the White House as that -- as a healing compound of various qualities perfectly suited to the needs of this moment, that when applied to some of the ails of current human civilization, ---already has and can continue to begin to bring together the elements and circumstances, that will allow the organism of Life --the One Life of this Planet that we all are -- to purge, rest, rejuvenate, restore and renew Itself, we should have no problem with the decision of the Nobel committee to nominate and select him as the 2009 Peace Prize winner.

There's a message following the article, and as always I appreciate your comments.

By IAN MacDOUGALL and KARL RITTER, Associated Press Writers Ian Macdougall And Karl Ritter, Associated Press Writers – 46 mins ago

OSLO – One judge noted with surprise that President Barack Obama "didn't look particularly happy" at being named the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Another marveled at how critics could be so patronizing.

In a rare public defense of a process normally shrouded in secrecy, four of the Nobel jury's five judges spoke out Tuesday about a selection they said was both merited and unanimous.

To those who say a Nobel is too much too soon in Obama's young presidency, "We simply disagree ... He got the prize for what he has done," committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland told The Associated Press by telephone from Strasbourg, France, where he was attending meetings of the Council of Europe.

Jagland singled out Obama's efforts to heal the divide between the West and the Muslim world and scale down a Bush-era proposal for an anti-missile shield in Europe.

"All these things have contributed to — I wouldn't say a safer world — but a world with less tension," he said.

For nine-year Nobel committee veteran Inger-Marie Ytterhorn, Obama's demeanor spoke volumes when he first acknowledged the award during a news conference Friday on the lawn of the White House Rose Garden.

"I looked at his face when he was on TV and confirmed that he would receive the prize and would come to Norway, and he didn't look particularly happy," she told the AP by telephone.

"Obama has a lot of problems internally in the United States and they seem to be increasing. Unemployment, health care reform: They are a problem for him," she said.

She acknowledged there was a risk the prize might backfire on Obama by raising expectations even higher and giving ammunition to his critics. "It might hamper him," Ytterhorn said, because it could distract from domestic issues.

Still, she added: "Whenever we award the peace prize, there is normally a big debate about it" so the Obama controversy was not unexpected.

It was unusual, however, for the Nobel jury to speak out so candidly about their selection.
Even the most seasoned Nobel watchers were surprised by Obama's Nobel — they hadn't expected the U.S. president, who took office barely two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline, to be seriously considered until at least next year.

Jagland said that was never an issue for the Nobel committee, which followed the guidelines set forth by Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite who established the prize in his 1895 will.

"Alfred Nobel wrote that the prize should go to the person who has contributed most to the development of peace in the previous year," Jagland said.

"Who has done more for that than Barack Obama?"

Aagot Valle, a left-wing Norwegian politician who joined the Nobel panel this year, also dismissed suggestions that Obama was undeserving of the honor.

"Don't you think that comments like that patronize Obama? Where do these people come from?" Valle said from the coastal city of Bergen. "Well, of course, all arguments have to be considered seriously. I'm not afraid of a debate on the Peace Prize decision. That's fine."

World leaders have reacted positively to Obama's Nobel in most cases, the committee said, with much of the criticism coming from the media and Obama's political rivals.

"I take note of it. My response is only the judgment of the committee, which was unanimous," Jagland said.

In announcing the award Friday, the committee, whose members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament, applauded the change in global mood brought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation. They also praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease U.S. conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change.

The White House declined comment on the Nobel judge's latest statements.
However, Obama expressed surprise and humility at Friday's news conference, saying the prize should be considered not a "recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations."

Nobel Peace Prize selections have often been surrounded by fierce debate. Controversial awards include the 1994 prize shared by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli leaders Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin for Mideast peace efforts, as well as the joint prize to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho for a 1973 cease-fire agreement. The Vietnam War continued for two more years.

So the Nobel jury "expected that there would be a discussion" about Obama's award, said Kaci Kullman Five, a former Conservative Party parliamentarian and longtime Nobel committee member.

Valle said the criticism shouldn't overshadow important issues raised by Obama's Nobel.
"Of course I expected disagreement and debate on ... giving him the prize," she said. "But what I want now is that we seriously raise a discussion regarding nuclear disarmament."
___
Ritter reported from Stockholm.

If I can, I'd like to share the song, "Balm in Gilead."

You must however, remove the religious aspect. You can put in Obama's name instead of my brother Jesus', your name, or any name you deem appropriate. This is not about Christian proselytizing in any way AT ALL.

You know I've always wanted to include music and more images to make your visit and time with me more fulfilling and nourished. I want you to leave here feeling like you're ready to go forth, whether for a dynamic workout, or to spend time with those you love most, meet those that oppose you, or to relax even further in the sweetness of inner communion and deep contemplation. I want you to feel like you've just had the greatest meal, delicious, beautiful on the plate, light in your stomache, and firing you the highest level of food value possible for your body, mind and soul.

As you watch, I want you to pay attention to the people in the cathedral-- the diversity. I want you to enjoy the singer's voice, and her spirit. I want you to attach all of that to what I've written above, and feel empowered by the fact that such a man does lead this country now.....that is....if we will let him Be himself.

I want you to feel that you are strengthened and assisted at this time, to be bolder, and take leadership, and be the Balm in your environments. Be the healing compound that brings together a variety of people with great, different and even unusual ideas to apply to the ails of our time.

You ....Be the Balm in Gilead.
loveu~
Kentke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-nTeHQKVIg

Some vain airhead may've said, 'Let them eat cake' ...Well this is what I have to say...

Elinor Ostrom

American professor, first woman to win a Nobel Prize in the field of economics

Elinor Ostrom stands out in human history today as she joins the ranks of those honored by winning a Nobel Prize.

In all the years that the prizes have been awarded (1901 to 2009), she further distinguishes herself, because of the 41 women so honored, she is the first to earn the prize in the field of economics.

Prof. Ostrom once and for all, has now put to rest, the myth that women are not 'good with money'. Despite the numerous examples of women running successful households, organizations small businesses and major corporations we are still plagued with this myth.

Never again will a man that is intelligent and informed be able to make the generalization that women do not understand finance or intricate economic systems, for Prof. Ostrom was honored for analyzing economic governance --- the rules by which people exercise authority in companies and economic systems.

I particularly love that her work focuses upon Earth's natural resources, and directs the management of these gifts, back into the hands of citizens, as opposed to large companies and the government.

Go get 'em gurl! (I also love that like me, she's a political scientist...)

And since I'm wearing my "Destroyer of (unwholesome) Myths Crown" today~

We might as well set another record straight---

That quote 'Let them eat cake!' long attributed to Marie Antoinette to express her disdain for the starving people of France was also reputed to have been uttered by many female leaders before her.

As a matter of fact, French philosopher and writer, Jean-Jacques Rousseau mentions it in his "Confessions" in connection with an incident that occurred in 1740. Poor Marie Antoinette, defamed by the quote had not even been born!

Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France

Gautier-Dagoty, 1775, Versailles, oil on canvas.

The actual quote was "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" which is not cake, but a fluffy round bread. During the Flour Wars, when the French had no bread, Marie Antoinette wrote "It is quite certain that in seeing people who treat us so well despite their own misfortune, we are more obliged than ever to work hard for their happiness..."

In fact, Lady Antonia Fraser, herself the wife of the late Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter spoke on the subject at the 2002 Edinburgh Book Fair. Lady Fraser, a prolific writer is an acclaimed historical biographer. She is the author of nine books that have gone on to become international best-sellers. Among those is "Marie Antoinette The Journey" which was published in 2001.

Referring to the infamous quote, "It was said 100 years before her by Marie-Therese, the wife of Louis XIV," Fraser explains. "It was a callous and ignorant statement and she [Marie Antoinette] was neither."

...Just... food for thought my Dears....

Could make you wonder what else you might have been believing all these years, about other folks,.... about economics,.... our national resources....hey
about yourself....that... also ...isn't ...true?

My inner sound track is hearing that unforgettable song from Porgy and Bess, and whether you love Sammy or Carmen singing it, the message is the same. A lot of what we've been told and taught, well..It ain't necessarily so....

Sound track changes here. The beat picks up, and we're back in 1990, groovin' to C & C Music Factory. Now here comes Arsenio's face again...finger tappin' the cheek bone ....hmmm...
women winning Nobel prizes for economics! Marie Antoinette didn't say that?!?......yep! Crank it up! Things that make you go Hmmm..!


WASHINGTON –
October 12, 2009

Elinor Ostrom became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in economics, honored along with fellow American Oliver Williamson on Monday for analyzing economic governance — the rules by which people exercise authority in companies and economic systems.

Ostrom was also the fifth woman to win a Nobel award this year — a record for the prestigious honors.

It was also an exceptionally strong year for the United States, with 11 American citizens — some of them with dual nationality — among the 13 Nobel winners, including President Barack Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

Ostrom, 76, and Williamson, 77, shared the 10 million kronor ($1.4 million) economics prize for work that "advanced economic governance research from the fringe to the forefront of scientific attention," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

Ostrom, a political scientist at Indiana University, showed how common resources — forests, fisheries, oil fields or grazing lands — can be managed successfully by the people who use them, rather than by governments or private companies.

"What we have ignored is what citizens can do and the importance of real involvement of the people involved — versus just having somebody in Washington ... make a rule," Ostrom said during a brief session with reporters in Bloomington.

Ostrom said it's an honor to be the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in economics — and promised that she won't be the last. She said people discouraged her from seeking a Ph.D. when she applied for graduate school but she loved studying economics.

Williamson, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, focused on how firms and markets differ in the ways that they resolve conflicts. He found that companies are typically better able to resolve conflicts than markets when competition is limited, the citation said.

The academy did not specifically cite the global financial crisis, but many of the problems at the heart of the current upheaval — bonuses, executive compensation, risky and poorly understood securities — involve a perceived lack of regulatory oversight by government officials or by corporate boards. The Nobel awards on Monday were clearly a nod to the role of rules, institutions and regulations in making markets work.

"There has been a huge discussion how the big banks, the big investment banks have acted badly, with bosses who have misused their power, misused their shareholders' confidence, and that is in line with (Williamson's) theories," prize committee member Per Krusell said.

Ostrom, also the founding director of Arizona State University's Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity, devoted her career to studying the interaction of people and natural resources. One notable publication she wrote in 1990 examined both successful and unsuccessful ways of governing natural resources — forests, fisheries, oil fields, grazing lands and irrigation systems — that are used by individuals.

Ostrom's work challenged conventional wisdom, showing that common resources can be successfully managed without privatization or government regulation.

To explain her ideas, the academy cited an example about dams in Nepal that Ostrom used in her 1990 book "Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action."

Local people had for many years successfully managed irrigation systems to allocate water between users, but then the government decided to build modern dams made of concrete and steel with the help of foreign donors.

"Despite flawless engineering, many of these projects have ended in failure," the academy said.

That was because the new, modern dams cut out communications and ties between the users. The new dams required little maintenance whereas the earthen local dams forced users to work together to keep them functional.

Ostrom told the academy by telephone that she was surprised by their choice.

"There are many, many people who have struggled mightily and to be chosen for this prize is a great honor," Ostrom said. "I'm still a little bit in shock."

Ostrom doesn't know exactly how she will spend her share of the $1.4 million in award money, but she said she will invest it in her students and "wonderful" colleagues.

Williamson said he was "gratified" by the honor and hoped that in the future "organizations will play a more prominent role in the study of economic activity."

"The organization of the government itself is something which we ought to examine in a more self-conscious way — the Federal Reserve and the Treasury and the Securities Exchange Commission," Williamson said. "The mission that each of them has is mainly economic, but should be informed by good organizational practices."

Williamson previously was a consultant to the U.S. Federal Trade commission from 1978-1980 and a special economic assistant to the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust at the U.S. Department of Justice in 1966-1967.

He was cited for his studies on how organizations — including companies — are structured and how that affects the cost of doing business. According to his theory, large private corporations exist primarily because they are efficient.

"Large corporations may, of course, abuse their power," the citation said. "They may for instance, participate in undesirable political lobbying and exhibit anticompetitive behavior."

But Williamson found it is better to regulate such behavior directly rather than with policies that restrict the size of corporations, the academy said.

Paul Krugman, a Princeton University scholar and a columnist for The New York Times, won the prize last year for his analysis of how economies of scale can affect international trade patterns.

The Nobel prizes, with the exception of the economics prize, were established by Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, in his will in 1895. The Economic Sciences prize, the last Nobel award to be announced this year, was created in 1968 by the Swedish central bank in memory of Nobel.

In addition to the prize money, Nobel winners will receive a gold medal and diploma from the Swedish king on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.

The choice of Obama, meanwhile, was the biggest surprise of this year's awards.

In other awards, American scientists Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak shared the Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer.

The physics prize was split between Charles K. Kao, who helped develop fiber-optic cable, and Americans Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith who invented the "eye" in digital cameras.

Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath of Israel shared the chemistry prize for their atom-by-atom description of ribosomes.

Romanian-born German writer Herta Mueller won the literature prize for her critical depiction of life behind the Iron Curtain.

___

Ritter and Moore reported from Stockholm. AP Writers Malin Rising in Stockholm and Martha Raffaele in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

http://www.nobelprize.org

Foraminifera Bringing Climate Message from the Past

Beloveds~
You know I try to not engage in the habit of many Earth loving and Cosmically conscious people, of presenting you with information in an manner that would be alarming and just sensational.

Most of humanity is now aware of the ecological and social effects of the ways some of the Family have lived their lives. It has been a huge source of suffering, and a burden for all of us for a long time.

Finally, our Mother, the Earth is speaking out for us....

I find this turn of events really interesting, and quite lovely.

Throughout time individuals and groups have stepped out from the masses to call attention to the violent, unwholesome and ignorant ways man has been in relationship with his Earthly relations. Many have considered themselves, "speaking out " for animals, trees, the air and the waters of the planet. This circle of love and protection has also been extended for people, cultures and ways, that the 'march of progess' gobbled up, eradicated and spit out, as it pursued it's ideals based upon deeply erroneous understandings of Life, and the way this whole things works.

A 'blind'/ignorant, stubborn, hellbent, human being is a force of nature.

Tgenius and creative productivity of women and men have been diverted to the service of maintaining the dominance and power of these mindless, ignorant and selfish people, so that as they have all along, they could continue to poison, destroy and kill in the pursuit of profit and possessions. And all the while, their ears closed to the bidding of others for them to stop and consider other ways.

In my Book of Wonders....what we are seeing now as an ecological response, is the power of the feminine in full force. The duality of the Natural world is being demonstrated as the benevolence of Mother Nature who has given us every good thing to exist, now shows us in full force, her displeasure with our abuses. We are witnessing the power of the feminine to give Life, nurturance, be beauty and gentle, but oohh...you know what they say about a woman scorned. Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned. (Do they say that? I think they say that...).

So this is the Mother, speaking up for her children ---all the species, that have been ignored, that are being murdered, imprisoned, decimated, driven extinct. It's as if she's saying...."As if the examples of all the diverse species living in harmony was not enough, I gave you loving intelligent, sensitive, articulate people that could simply and clearly tell you what you have been doing. You would not listen to them. Now you will hear me!"

And so, I present to you this article below which describes the latest scientific findings on the issue of the current (political) path we are marching on, to hopefully, save ourselves as a species. The bottom line ~ we are still taking using, abusing too much. We're still not willing to be adult, about this situation. We are still like spoiled children that want what we want and that's all there is to it. We are not being still or conservative enough.

Obama Wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

I present this one day after the announcement that President Obama is this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner. One of the reasons the nominating committee is honoring him with the award, directly relates to the subject of this article. They lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease U.S. conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen its role in combating climate change.

Please read the article in it's entirety, so that you can be one of those voices, that today, speaks for all the species of the Earth. Please do your part to say that we need to do even MORE, and be one of those that takes the steps to do so.


In my opinion, MAN is Earth's most harmful invasive species.

In our consciousness, we must release old ideas that domination of other Life forms and their exploitation is correct and appropriate. We have got to start to imagine and feel our way into knowing that we are connected to every Life form on the planet.

We must ask INwardly, to feel how we lovingly and joyfully fit in with all Life on the Planet. Because if we can feel that, our whole way of seeing and acting will change. We must, close our eyes and ears to society's drum beat, and the cheerleader's promptings. Because sometimes, someone up on the soapbox that talks loudly, may appear to be offering ideas we should follow. But what's critical at this point in history is realizing that we have accepted centuries of programming that directs us NOT to THINK DEEPLY for ourselves.

We let television and news producers, religious leaders, politicians, patricians (social and wealthy elite), celebrities, academics.... we let anyone and everyone...think for us and lead us!!!

When each of us has a Divine Indwelling aspect that is our part of the Whole of Life. This aspect loves us and will always inform us in ways to keep us in harmony with the Whole of Life....if we will listen..... (my Goodness I'm going on here...Forgive me Please! Let them get to the article Candy!) Taking time to be still and listen inwardly, we will hear clearly, our own highest guidance, that only is for good of All.

We must step back, and with bigger steps to be even less harmful in our presence here on Earth. I am moved to be more vigilant in my efforts to be humble and grateful, so that I/we can blend, ....and harmonize ourselves, our families, communities and our species with the Life ~ The One Life, that we All really simply are ~ of this wonderful planet.

loveu and appreciate you much~
Kentke

'Scary' climate message from past

By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website

A new historical record of carbon dioxide levels suggests current political targets on climate may be "playing with fire", scientists say.

Researchers used ocean sediments to plot CO2 levels back 20 million years.

Levels similar to those now commonly regarded as adequate to tackle climate change were associated with sea levels 25-40m (80-130 ft) higher than today.

Scientists write in the journal Science that this extends knowledge of the link between CO2 and climate back in time.

The last 800,000 years have been mapped relatively well from ice cores drilled in Antarctica, where historical temperatures and atmospheric content have left a series of chemical clues in the layers of ice.

But looking back further has been more problematic; and the new record contains much more precise estimates of historical records than have been available before for the 20 million year timeframe.


Sustained levels
The new research was able to look back to the Miocene period, which began a little over 20 million years ago.

At the start of the period, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere stood at about 400 parts per million (ppm) before beginning to decline about 14 million years ago - a trend that eventually led to formation of the Antarctic icecap and perennial sea ice cover in the Arctic.
“ If anyone still doubts the link between CO2 and climate, they should read this paper ” Jonathan Overpeck University of Arizona

The high concentrations were probably sustained by prolonged volcanic activity in what is now the Columbia River basin of North America, where rock formations called flood basalts relate a history of molten rock flowing routinely onto the planet's surface.

In the intervening millennia, CO2 concentrations have been much lower; in the last few million years they cycled between 180ppm and 280ppm in rhythm with the sequence of ice ages and warmer interglacial periods.

Now, humanity's emissions of greenhouse gases are pushing towards the 400ppm range, which will very likely be reached within a decade.

"What we have shown is that in the last period when CO2 levels were sustained at levels close to where they are today, there was no icecap on Antarctica and sea levels were 25-40m higher," said research leader Aradhna Tripati from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
"At CO2 levels that are sustained at or near modern day values, you don't need to have a major change in CO2 levels to get major changes in ice sheets," she told BBC News.
The elevated CO2 and sea levels were associated with temperatures about 3-6C (5-11F) higher than today.

No doubting
The data comes from the ratios of boron and calcium in the shells of tiny marine organisms called foraminifera.

The ratio indicates the pH of sea water at the time the organisms grew, which in turn allows scientists to calculate the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere.

The shell fragments came from cores drilled from the floor of the Pacific Ocean.
According to Jonathan Overpeck, who co-chaired the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) work on ancient climates for the organisation's last major report in 2007, this provides a more accurate look at how past CO2 values relate to climate than previous methods.
"This is yet another paper that makes the future look more scary than previously thought by many," said the University of Arizona scientist.

"If anyone still doubts the link between CO2 and climate, they should read this paper."

The new research does not imply that reaching CO2 levels this high would definitely result in huge sea level changes, or that these would happen quickly, Dr Tripati pointed out - just that sustaining such levels on a long timescale might produce such changes.

"There aren't any perfect analogies in the past for climate change today or in the future," she said.

"We can say that we've identified past tipping points for ice sheet stability; the basic physics governing ice sheets that we've known from ice cores are extended further back, and... I think we should use our knowledge of the physics of climate change in the past to prepare for the future."

Averting danger
At the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, governments pledged to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations "at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system".

What that level is has been the subject of intense debate down the years; but one figure currently receiving a lot of support is 450ppm.

On Tuesday, for example, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its prescription for tackling climate change, which sees concentrations of greenhouse gases peaking at the equivalent of 510ppm of CO2 before stabilising at 450ppm.

The Boxer-Kerry Bill, which has just entered the US Senate, also cites the 450 figure.

"Trouble is, we don't know where the critical CO2 or temperature threshold is beyond which ice sheet collapse is inevitable," said Dr Overpeck.

"It could be below 450ppm, but it is more likely higher - not necessarily a lot higher - than 450ppm.
"But what this new work suggests is that... efforts to stabilise at 450ppm should avoid going up above that level prior to stabilisation - that is, some sort of 'overshoot' above 450ppm on the way to stabilisation could be playing with fire."


Because of concerns about short-term sea level rise, the Association of Small Island States (Aosis), which includes low-lying countries such as The Maldives, Palau and Grenada, is pushing for adoption of the much lower figure of 350ppm.

But with concentrations already substantially higher, political support for that is scanty outside Aosis members.

mailto:Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/8299426.stmPublished: 2009/10/10 12:02:15 GMT© BBC MMIX

How I Learned to Mind my Own Business

I was walking past the mental hospital the other day,

And all the patients were outside shouting,

'13...13...13.'

The fence was too high to see over,

but I saw a little gap in the planks,

so I looked through to see what was going on...

Somebody poked me in the eye with a stick!

Then they all started shouting

'14...14...14...'

Fossils may Turn 'Evolution on its Head'

This image released today by "Science"

shows the probable life appearance in

anterior view of Ardipithecus ramidus ("Ardi").

Analysis of a near-complete skeleton of a human ancestor found in Ethiopia radically changes scientists' thinking about the appearance and behavior of our earliest forebears.


Photos: Fossils may turn 'evolution on its head'

By Thomas H. Maugh II
October 1, 2009 7:30 a.m.

A treasure trove of 4.4-million-year-old fossils from the Ethiopian desert is dramatically overturning widely held ideas about the early evolution of humans and how they came to walk upright, even as it paints a remarkably detailed picture of early life in Africa, researchers reported today.

The centerpiece of the diverse collection of primate, animal and plant fossils is the near-complete skeleton of a human ancestor that demonstrates our earliest forebears looked nothing like a chimpanzee or other large primate, as is now commonly believed.

Instead, the findings suggest that the last common ancestor of humans and primates, which existed nearly 2 million years earlier, was a primitive creature that shared few traits with modern-day members of either group.

The findings, analyzed in a large group of studies published today in the journal Science, also indicate that our ancestors began walking upright in woodlands, not on grassy savannas as prior generations of researchers had speculated.

The discovery of the specimen called Ardipithecus ramidus "is one of the most important discoveries for the study of human evolution," said paleoanthropologist David Pilbeam of Harvard University, who was not involved in the research.

"The find itself is extraordinary, as were the enormous labors that went into the reconstruction of a skeleton shattered almost beyond repair," he said in an e-mailed statement."It is so rare to get a more or less complete skeleton," said paleoanthropologist Andrew Hill of Yale University. "In the entire course of human evolution, at least until you get to Neanderthals, there are only three to four available. We can always tell so much more from a skeleton" than from the jawbones and skulls that are more commonly found.

The fossils described in the new studies were found 15 years ago in the Afar Triangle of Ethiopia by a team led by paleoanthropologist Tim White of UC Berkeley. But White and his team have been relatively closemouthed about the fossils, and other researchers -- some of whom have accused him of hoarding the fossils for his own use -- have been eagerly awaiting more information.

Today, they are getting a surfeit: Eleven papers by 47 authors, and a similar number of short summaries prepared by each paper's authors.The fossils were found in a layer of sediment sandwiched between two layers of volcanic ash, each dating from 4.4 million years ago -- indicating that the fossils are also of that age.

In addition to the nearly complete fossil specimen of the female primate, which investigators have dubbed Ardi, the team found more than 100 fossils from 36 other members of the same species."These fossils are much more important than Lucy," the 3.2-million-year-old specimen of Australopithecus afarensis that was found in the Afar desert in the 1970s, said paleoanthropologist Alan Walker of Pennsylvania State University, who was not involved in the research. "The reason is that when Lucy was found, we already knew the major features of Australopithecus from fossils found in the 1940s. . . . These fossils are of a completely unknown creature, and are much stranger and more primitive than Australopithecus."

The White team also found fossils of 29 species of birds, primarily small ones like doves, lovebirds, mousebirds, passerines and swifts, as well as several that were previously unknown. Animal fossils included 20 new species of small mammals, including shrews, bats, rodents, hares and small carnivores, as well as larger animals, including baboons, colobus monkeys and spiral-horned antelopes.

Fossilized wood, seed and other plant remains indicate the presence of hackberry, fig and palm trees. Collectively, these finds indicate that the environment was more humid and cooler than it is today, and contained grassy woodland with forest patches.

Today, the Afar is a desert. But go back in a time machine and "4.4 million years ago, this was really a different world," White said. "We look up in the trees and we see that they are full of monkeys. We look around on the ground and we see that there are a lot of kudus. And we see an occasional hyena. And we see elephants and we see lots of small mammals. And we know what all of these . . . are because we have found evidence of them.

"This whole collection of data "gives us information we have never had before about human evolution," said paleoanthropologist C. Owen Lovejoy of Kent State University, one of the primary authors of the papers. "The whole savanna theory goes out the window in terms of it being the explanation for upright walking. . . . And the idea that we evolved from something like a chimpanzee also goes out the window."

Ardi stood about 47 inches tall and probably weighed 110 pounds. Many researchers had previously believed that such an early ancestor would, like modern chimps, be a knuckle-walker, using the knuckles for support while moving on all fours. Instead, Ardi appears to have climbed on all fours on branches, but walked upright on the ground. Her feet, like those of monkeys but not chimps, were designed more for propulsion than for grasping.

Her face had a projecting muzzle, giving her an ape-like appearance, but many features of her skull, such as the ridge above the eye socket, are quite different than those of chimpanzees. Her brain is about the same size as Lucy's.

Her hands lacked many of the specializations that allow modern-day African apes to swing, hang and easily move through trees. Those specializations apparently evolved in large primates after they separated from the last common ancestor with humans more than 6 million years ago. (Few fossils of such primates are available because they lived primarily in forests, which are not conducive to preservation of bone.)

The finds "are turning evolution on its head," Lovejoy said.The most controversial aspects of the papers involve the authors' -- particularly Lovejoy's -- interpretations of what the fossils say about behavior.

Of particular importance, he said, is that the sizes of males and females were about the same, and that the specimens do not have large, sharp canine teeth. Both findings suggest that the fierce, often violent competition among males for females in heat that characterizes gorillas and chimpanzees was absent in Ardipithecus.

That implies, Lovejoy concluded, that the males were beginning to enter into monogamous relationships with females and devoted a greater proportion of their time to caring for their young than did earlier ancestors."This is a restatement of Owen Lovejoy's ideas going back almost three decades, which I found unpersuasive then and still do," Pilbeam said. Hill was more blunt, calling Lovejoy's speculation "patent nonsense."

thomas.maugh@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
Related stories
Around the Web
Treasure trove of fossils may turn ’evolution on its head’chicagotribune.com
Our long-lost motherguardian.co.uk
Fossils find in Ethiopia threatens to ’turn evolution on its head’baltimoresun.com

A second version of this stunning Knewz from the U.K. Guardian online press~

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/01/fossil-ardi-human-race


How fossil Ardi pushes back the story of human evolution farther than ever before

Fossil Ardi reveals the first steps of the human race
Ardi evolved from the common ancestor we share with chimpanzees and was equally at home walking on the ground and swinging through the trees

Ian Sample, science correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 October 2009 15.30 BST

Link to this video
The remains of a woman who lived and died at the dawn of humanity have been uncovered in Ethiopia, giving the clearest picture yet of the origin of our species.

The partial skeleton, the oldest from a human ancestor ever ­discovered, belonged to a female who walked on two legs but was adept at climbing trees and moving through the forest canopy some 4.4m years ago.

Experts have described the find as the most important regarding human evolution in the past century.

The woman, named Ardi by the researchers who worked on her, belongs to a new species Ardipithecus ramidus and may be the earliest human ancestor ever discovered that was capable of walking upright.

The finding sheds light on a critical but unknown period of evolution at the root of the human family tree, shortly after our ancestors split from chimpanzees more than 6m years ago.
Remnants of the skeleton, skull, pelvis, hands, feet and other bones were excavated from the reddish-brown sediments of an ancient river system near the village of Aramis in northern Ethiopia, along with fragments from at least 35 other individuals.

Fossil hunters first glimpsed the new species in 1992 when a tooth belonging to Ardipithecus was spotted among pebbles in the desert near Aramis. Over the next two years, the researchers scoured the area on hands and knees and slowly uncovered pieces of bone from the hand, ankle and lower jaw, and finally a crushed skull.

A total of 47 researchers then spent a further 15 years removing, preparing and studying each of the fragments ahead of the publication tomorrow of an in-depth description of the species in 11 papers in the US journal Science.

Their investigation shows Ardi stood four feet (1.2m) tall and weighed a little under eight stone (50kg), making her similar in size and weight to a living chimpanzee. But many of Ardi's features are far more primitive than those seen in modern apes, suggesting chimpanzees and gorillas have evolved considerably after they split from the common ancestor they shared with humans.
The discovery of Ardi provides vital clues about the earliest human ancestor that lived at the fork in the evolutionary road that led to humans on one side and chimps on the other.


Link to this audio

"Darwin was very wise on this matter. Darwin said we have to be really careful. The only way we're really going to know what this last common ancestor looked like is to go and find it," said Tim White, a lead author on the study and professor of human evolution at the University of California, Berkeley. "Well, we haven't found it, but we've come closer than we've ever come, at 4.4 million years ago."

The remains of animals, seeds and pollen uncovered at the excavation site reveal it to have been a woodland where colobus monkeys swung in trees full of swifts, doves and lovebirds, and spiral-horned antelope, elephants, shrews and early forms of peacock roamed the forest floor below.
The discovery is being seen as more important than Lucy, the 3.2m-year-old skeleton of a potential human ancestor which proved at a stroke that early humans walked upright before evolving large brains. The remains of Lucy, who belongs to the species Australopithecus afarensis, were uncovered in another part of Ethiopia in 1974.

"We thought Lucy was the find of the century but, in retrospect, it isn't," palaeontologist Andrew Hill at Yale University told Science. "It's worth the wait."

Measurements of Ardi's skeleton reveal she had a brain the size of a chimp's, but very long arms and fingers, and opposable toes that would have helped her grasp branches while moving through the forest.

Though Ardi would have spent much of her time in the trees, her pelvis was adapted to walking upright when she came down to the forest floor. Her unusual skeleton led White to comment of her species that "if you wanted to find something that moved like these things, you'd have to go to the bar in Star Wars."

Analysis of Ardi's teeth points to a diet of figs and other fruit, leaves and small mammals. Remarkably, both male and female Ardipithecus had very small incisors and canines, which are enlarged in modern apes. The finding suggests that unlike chimpanzees, baboons and gorillas, the male did not bare its teeth in battles over females and was already part of a more cooperative social group. It was probably involved in the parenting process.

"Natural selection has led to the reduction of this male canine tooth very, very early in time, right at the base of our branch of the family tree."

It may take years to confirm exactly where Ardi fits in the history of human evolution. One possibility is that she is a direct ancestor of Lucy's species, Australopithecus.

"The most important thing in the broader sense is that we now no longer have to guess about where we came from ... We now have an evidentiary basis for understanding that we didn't get here in the form we see today, we evolved," said White.

Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in London, said: "This is as important as the Lucy skeleton in terms of what it tells us about an even earlier stage of human evolution."

"The assumption among many researchers is that while humans have evolved a lot, chimps haven't changed much, so we can use them as a model of the common ancestor we shared. But why shouldn't chimps have changed? Everything evolves."

"We are really trying to establish what set us off on our evolutionary path," he added. "What would start the process off? That is one of the great mysteries."

In pictures: Standing tall
Gallery (9 pictures): The remains of a woman who lived at the dawn of humanity give the clearest picture yet of the origin of our species

Ardi's link to chimpanzees
Audio (10min 14sec): Anthropologist Tim White explains how fossil Ardi relates to the last common ancestor we share with chimpanzees
The discovery
Audio (9min 36sec): How the earliest human ancestor ever found came to light in Ethiopia
How she lived
Audio (11min 40sec): Ardi's probable lifestyle: how she moved, what she ate, social relations
The male of the species
Audio (12min 59sec): What the small teeth of male Ardipithecus tells us about their socialisation
Related
1 Oct 2009
Audio: Fossil Ardi Tim White on the male of the species
1 Oct 2009
Audio: Fossil Ardi Tim White on how Ardi lived
1 Oct 2009
Audio: Fossil Ardi Tim White on the link to chimpanzees
21 Sep 2009
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Fossil Ardi illuminates the dawn of humanityThis article was first published on guardian.co.uk at 15.30 BST on Thursday 1 October 2009. It was last updated at 18.55 BST on Thursday 1 October 2009.
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Fossil Ardi reveals the first steps of the human race