Saturday, March 31, 2012

How to Play the Cleantech Energy Investing Boom :: The Market ...

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Commodities / Energy Resources Mar 30, 2012 - 02:01 AM

By: The_Energy_Report

Commodities

Best Financial Markets Analysis ArticleWith ever-higher oil prices encouraging record investment interest, the cleantech energy sector looks poised for leaps and bounds. The most successful investors will be those who understand the challenges facing not only different industry segments, but individual companies within the same segment. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Raymond James Energy Analyst Pavel Molchanov explains the four principal areas that comprise the cleantech arena?wind, solar, smart grid technology and biofuels?focusing on case-by-case investability. He also shares some names that just might be the next big winners in this rapidly developing space.

The Energy Report: Your research at Raymond James covers a number of alternative energy and biofuel companies. Can you give us a brief description of the various cleantech industry segments?

Pavel Molchanov: The cleantech arena comprises four key areas in terms of what's investable in the public equity markets today. Solar carries the biggest market caps. Solar power companies in the public market tend to mainly be in the photovoltaic (PV) hardware manufacturing arena. These include producers of wafers, cells, modules and inverters, and to a much lesser extent, companies engaging in project development and system installation.

The biofuels subspace is quite a bit smaller in market cap than the solar arena, but it's been growing more quickly because most of the recent initial public offering (IPO) activity in cleantech has been in biofuels. Many investors associate biofuels with ethanol, and there are still a few publicly traded corn ethanol producers. But most of the recent IPO activity involves more advanced, next-generation biofuels, such as cellulosic, algae and other emerging products.

There is also the wind arena. This one is more difficult to invest in because many of the companies with exposure to the wind industry are highly diversified. Some of the largest industrial conglomerates are in the wind turbine manufacturing business. There are many overseas companies in this space, as is also true of solar. But whereas many of the international solar companies, especially from China, trade in the U.S., when it comes to wind, many of the companies trade in overseas markets, such as Spain and Germany.

Lastly, there is the smart grid subspace, which is at the crossroads of cleantech and communications. Similar to wind, many of the companies with smart-grid exposure are larger businesses, both in the information technology sector as well as the industrial sector. But there are some smart grid pure plays that are publicly traded.

TER: As far as stages of development, how evolved are the various industries?

PM: Let's take a look at solar and wind first. The global solar market last year was approximately 27 gigawatts (GW), whereas the global wind market was about 50% larger at 41 GW. Both markets are in the tens of billions of dollars, in terms of total industry revenue, and quite large as far as cleantech goes. Still, the market share of both solar and wind in total electric generation remains very low. In the U.S., solar is well below 0.5% of total electricity sales and wind is about 2%. In some European countries like Germany, the numbers are higher, but in general they are quite low.

We have to differentiate between first-generation and second-generation biofuels. Corn ethanol already encompasses about 10% of the gasoline market in the U.S., and sugarcane ethanol is even more prevalent in Brazil. Next-generation biofuels, on the other hand, tend to be very early-stage. Generally speaking, the cellulosic and algae companies are pre-revenue, pre-production businesses. It's going to take two to three years before the industry scales up and enters the mainstream. Certainly, it's going to be smaller in gallon terms than the corn ethanol market well into the second half of the decade, possibly even until 2020.

Next is the smart grid industry, which encompasses a lot of different products. Smart meters are perhaps the widest known product in this subsector, and they have been unquestionably ramping up in adoption both in North America and elsewhere. As of the end of last year, approximately 27 million (M) smart meters had been installed in the U.S. There are many more in Europe, China and Brazil as well. But there are other elements of smart grid technology that are a little bit more difficult to measure because they don't lend themselves to counting units of hardware that are installed?things like demand response.

TER: The more established companies in ethanol, wind and solar have their basic technologies already in place. Are smaller companies largely focused on the research and development (R&D) stage, and therefore not generating much cash flow?

PM: Essentially, all of the publicly traded companies in the solar and wind arenas are currently generating commercial product sales. In the smart grid arena, that is also true. The one area where there is a significant number of public companies that are still in the pre-revenue commercialization stage is advanced biofuels. Over the past two years, there have been more IPOs of biofuel companies than all other cleantech companies put together. The vast majority of those have been pre-production, early-stage businesses.

TER: Government subsidies have been instrumental in giving alternative energy and fuels a kick-start to compete with conventional oil and gas. Will these new technologies be able to compete without subsidies?

PM: Yes, and again we have to look individually at the different subsectors within cleantech. In solar, the vast majority of demand for PV right now is in Europe. Last year, it was about 70%. A few years ago, it was even higher. Just about every major country in Europe has what's called a solar feed-in tariff, which is a guaranteed purchase price for solar electricity that is set by the government. Utilities have to purchase the solar electricity that's produced both by individual households that have a solar panel on the roof and solar developers with their own solar farms. Because it's government-set and government-guaranteed, the economics are extremely visible and secure.

It's not a subsidy in the sense of a direct cash payment by the government because the utilities pay the money and ultimately pass on the costs to the rate payers, but clearly it is an incentive. In the U.S., there are a few small programs in a couple of states, but certainly nothing comparable to Europe, which is why last year Germany installed more solar in the month of December than the U.S. did in the last two years combined. Keep in mind that Germany has one-quarter of the U.S. population and a lot less sunlight. So subsidies can be very important, and solar is a good example of that.

In the renewable fuel arena, the dynamics are a little bit different. With oil prices in the triple digits, it's quite possible for renewable fuels to be cost competitive relative to gasoline or diesel without subsidies. The fuel tax credit for corn ethanol that had been in place for decades went away Dec. 31, 2011, and the U.S. continues to blend ethanol in billions of gallons annually. Government support is, however, important for the development of the next-generation biofuel industry. The greatest help comes from Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture loan guarantees to these early-stage companies.

Many early-stage businesses, even if they have a good technology platform and a well-defined business plan, have difficulty getting financing. Clearly, the IPO option is open, and many companies have been going public. Commercial lenders are certainly reluctant to lend to pre-revenue businesses in many cases, so the federal loan guarantees have been very valuable. The Department of Defense has also been quite active in supporting advanced renewable fuel through R&D partnerships, and in many cases, purchasing fuels from these early-stage businesses helps provide these companies with cash as well as the seal of approval from the Pentagon, which is the biggest energy consumer in the U.S.

TER: When oil prices were down at $40 or $50/barrel (bl), it made it pretty tough for alternative energy companies to compete. Have higher oil prices changed the economics for cleantech companies?

PM: Absolutely. At $40-50/bbl oil, it's very difficult for most renewable fuels to compete strictly on economics. I will note in this context that many of the renewable fuel companies have been pursuing opportunities in the chemicals arena. You might ask, why would they sell into the chemicals market? The global chemicals industry is about a $3 trillion (T) market, certainly smaller than transportation fuels, but still enormous in absolute terms, and a huge addressable market. Most importantly, pricing and margins tend to be higher for chemicals, especially specialty chemicals, than for commodity transportation fuels. So many of the companies that are developing next-generation biofuels, both public and private, have been focusing their early stages of commercialization on selling into the chemicals industry, because it's easier for them to make money without subsidies.

TER: But the volumes are much lower, correct?

PM: Three trillion dollars is the size of the overall global chemical industry, and within that, specialty chemicals are about $200 billion. For companies that in many cases have zero production today, that is more than enough running room. The name of the game here is market penetration. The addressable market is very large indeed.

TER: What technologies hold the greatest potential for longer-term economic success at this point?

PM: One of the difficulties in investing in cleantech has been commoditization. Five years ago, solar panel manufacturing was a relatively specialized business that tended to carry pretty high margins, 25?30% or even higher. Since then, the Chinese competitors in solar have been so aggressive in grabbing market share and expanding production that pricing has cratered amid this severe industrywide glut of solar panels. Margins have dramatically compressed to barely 10% on average for just about everyone. That's the lesson of commoditization. Therefore, I would encourage investors to focus on technologies across cleantech that do not have the same degree of commoditization.

In the long run, perhaps just about everything can be commoditized, but certainly for the foreseeable future, there are a few areas that stand out. For example, the market for solar inverters tends to be significantly less commoditized than solar cell or solar panel manufacturing. Why? For one thing, there are a lot fewer companies making inverters. It's a more sophisticated and fairly complex piece of electrical engineering compared to a solar panel. There is also not the same element of competition from China: There are just a few significant solar inverter producers in China compared to at least 100 on the solar panel side.

Within the biofuels sector, next-generation biofuels are all about intellectual property?not simply converting corn into corn ethanol at very slim margins. Each company has its own "secret sauce," or production process and technology platform, and there is a myriad to choose from. While the different players in this arena are still in their early stages and have lots of execution risk, over time they should have the ability to generate pretty good margins because they benefit from their own internally developed intellectual property.

TER: What criteria do you use in deciding which high-potential companies to cover?

PM: My coverage encompasses 21 companies, both good and bad. So, by no means do I recommend every company that I cover. In fact, at this point, I have a fairly large number of sell-rated stocks simply because of some of the industrywide challenges I mentioned earlier, especially in solar. It's certainly important to look at investability. Wind is a very interesting market with a large global footprint. But it's very difficult for investors to play wind because, again, many of these companies are mega-conglomerates for whom wind is a tiny portion of their business.

Therefore, I tend to focus more on the cleantech pure plays. Within every industry, there are companies that are in a better competitive position than others. So we have to look at everything case-by-case. It's very hard to make a universal, far-reaching call regarding whether a particular subsector is now the right or wrong place to invest. The solar industry is facing a lot of headwinds and yet there are still companies in that space that are quite profitable and successful.

TER: Can you tell us about some of these companies that you cover and why you like them?

PM: Within solar, Power One Inc. (PWER:NASDAQ) is the world's second-largest manufacturer of solar inverters. This is a company that has been consistently profitable in recent years. Gross margins have been under some pressure, but nothing compared to the pressure that solar panel makers have faced. It has no debt on its balance sheet and about $200M in cash. It's actually generating free cash flow just about every quarter. It has been repurchasing some stock, and I think there is lots of room for it to accelerate repurchases in 2012 and beyond.

In biofuels, I would mention two names. One is KiOR, Inc. (KIOR:NASDAQ), a true cellulosic biofuel company. It takes woodchips, uses a catalytic process very similar to a refining catalytic process and turns those woodchips into what we call biocrude, or renewable crude oil. It actually is crude oil but unlike petroleum, it is entirely renewable. That crude oil can be refined using normal refining infrastructure into just about any finished product?gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, you name it.

I would also highlight Solazyme Inc. (SZYM:NASDAQ), which is an algae-based company. Unlike KiOR, which uses a thermochemical process, Solazyme uses a fermentation or biological process utilizing its internally developed algae. It needs to use a relatively more expensive source of feedstock, sugar cane, rather than KiOR's cellulosic biomass. The tradeoff is it can sell into very high-value markets such as cosmetics and specialty chemicals. In fuels, it would tend to focus on the most high-value products, such as jet fuel.

TER: What sort of revenues are these companies generating?

PM: KiOR is entirely pre-production. Its first plant is expected to come online late 2012. Solazyme has a bit of product revenue for the time being, but in 2013, its first large-scale fuels and chemicals plant is expected to start up in Brazil. Both companies are in their early stages of commercialization.

TER: Do you have any parting thoughts you'd like to leave with us?

PM: The key message to investors is twofold. Number one, focus on companies with a defensible technology platform and distinct intellectual property, rather than a pure commodity business. Number two, be very company-focused when looking at cleantech. Don't make any far-reaching or sweeping conclusions about cleantech as a whole or even within individual subsectors, because there is so much differentiation from company to company. Companies that may look superficially similar can have very different fundamentals.

TER: Thanks for joining us today.

PM: Thank you for having me.

Pavel Molchanov joined Raymond James & Associates in June 2003 and has worked as part of the energy research team since that time. He initiated coverage on the alternative energy sector in fall 2006. Molchanov became an analyst in January 2006. He graduated ***** laude from Duke University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics with high distinction.

Want to read more exclusive Energy Report interviews like this? Sign up for our free e-newsletter, and you'll learn when new articles have been published. To see a list of recent interviews with industry analysts and commentators, visit our Exclusive Interviews page.

DISCLOSURE:
1) Zig Lambo of The Energy Report conducted this interview. He personally and/or his family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in the interview are sponsors of The Energy Report: None. Streetwise does not accept stock in exchange for services.
3) Pavel Molchanov: I personally and/or my family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None. I personally and/or my family am paid a small retainer by the following companies mentioned in this interview: None. I was not paid by Streetwise for participating in this story. Raymond James & Associates makes a NASDAQ market in shares of KiOR, Inc. and of Power-One, Inc

Streetwise ? The Energy Report is Copyright ? 2011 by Streetwise Reports LLC. All rights are reserved. Streetwise Reports LLC hereby grants an unrestricted license to use or disseminate this copyrighted material (i) only in whole (and always including this disclaimer), but (ii) never in part.

The Energy Report does not render general or specific investment advice and does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any industry or company mentioned in this report.

From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its? directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned and may make purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise.

Streetwise Reports LLC does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported.

Streetwise Reports LLC receives a fee from companies that are listed on the home page in the In This Issue section. Their sponsor pages may be considered advertising for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. 1734.

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Friday, March 30, 2012

Polish prosecutor says there is no evidence 2010 plane crash was assassination

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[ [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

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9 Steps for Family (and other) Business Succession : Grenell | Exit ...

The Family Business Center at the University of New Hampshire has put together ?Nine Helpful Steps Toward Succession in a Family Owned Business:? You will notice that all of the steps? major components are ?human capital? issues. These steps are valid for family owned business but most are also valid for any closely held business.

1. All family members, whether active in the business or not, need to be put on notice by the family head, that the process is about to begin.
2. Family members active in the business can become a committee to examine the issues. Key executives or outside advisors may also have input.
3. The first question is: Are we prepared managerially to continue operating the business if something should happen to the CEO tomorrow?
4. If ?yes,? then what are the plans for the next generation, and are these younger managers on a clearly defined executive track? Are their current jobs providing them with the necessary training and experience?
5. If ?yes,? then you may stop here!
6. If ?no?? then the question becomes what training and supervision do they need, and what are their reasonable expectations for their future in the company?
7. If you answered ?No? to #3 above, the next question is what do we need to do financially and managerially to be prepared? What about wills, trusts, estate taxes, key person financing?
8. After you have addressed the immediate problems, then ask yourself what the ideal situation would be. Try to describe it.
9. Begin the planning process to make the dream the reality.

Categories: Action Plan, Articles, Business Strategy, Closely Held Business Advisor, Employee Assessment, Employee Engagement, Exit Planning, Family-owned Businesses, Implementation Plan, Leadership Development, Manager Development, Succession Planning ? Tags: action planning, business advice, business continuity, business planning, Exit Planning, leadership development, management development, performance management, succession planning

Source: http://grenell.com/cms/index.php/9-steps-for-family-and-other-business-succession/

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Get My Ex Boyfriend Back Long Distance Relationship | How to get ...

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IDC: By 2016, Android Devices To Outnumber Traditional Windows PCs

idc-smart-devicesNearly 1 billion "smart devices" were shipped in 2011, analysts at IDC are reporting this morning, to the tune of over $489 billion in revenue. It's an odd category, which IDC defines as "connected" smartphones, tablets, and even PCs. Looking ahead, the firm expects shipments of these devices to grow to 1.1 billion this year, and to reach 1.84 billion units by 2016 - a number that's more than double the 2011 figure. What's interesting about the forecast is how it pits traditional Windows computers against Android and iOS, indicating the former's decline. By 2016, Android-based devices running on ARM CPUs are estimated to reach a 31.1% - more than either iOS or Windows (x86), says IDC.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/FSc4c-3B8KI/

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Celebrity hacker pleads guilty in L.A. court

Reed Saxon / AP

Christopher Chaney, seen here in 2011, has pleaded guilty for hacking into celebrity personal accounts.

?

By Reuters

A 35-year-old Florida man pleaded guilty on Monday to hacking into the email accounts of movie stars Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis and Christina Aguilera, and sending nude photos and other information to celebrity websites.

Christopher Chaney of Jacksonville, Florida pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court to unauthorized computer access, wiretapping and other felony charges contained in a criminal indictment.

He was ordered held in custody and faces up to 60 years in prison, plus fines and restitution of about $2.5 million when sentenced in July.

Chaney, who admitted hacking the emails of more than 50 celebrities, was arrested in October 2011 after an 11-month investigation named "Operation Hackerazzi" by the FBI.

Other victims included former Disney Channel star Vanessa Hudgens and Renee Olstead, one of the stars of ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." Other victims were identified only by their initials, including J.A., B.P., and L.B.

Chaney, a clerical worker, told a Florida TV station shortly after his arrest that he had become addicted to prying into the affairs of movie stars and did not know how to stop.

His snooping resulted in nude photos of "Iron Man 2" star Johansson and a bubblebath picture of "Black Swan" actress Kunis reaching gossip websites.

Johansson said later that the photos of herself topless and wrapped in a towel with an exposed backside were taken for her then-husband, actor Ryan Reynolds.

Chaney admitted that he had emailed many of the photographs and other personal information that he stole from celebrities to another hacker and to two entertainment websites.

"Today's guilty pleas shine a bright light on the dark underworld of computer hacking," said United States Attorney Andr? Birotte Jr, whose office prosecuted the case.

"This case demonstrates that everyone, even public figures, should take precautions to shield their personal information from the hackers that inhabit that dark underworld," Birotte said in a statement.

Chaney admitted on Monday that he managed to hack into the personal emails of his targets by clicking on the 'forgot password' feature of their accounts and replying correctly to security questions by using publicly available information about celebrities that he found on the Internet.

Once in control of the email accounts, he obtained private photos, business contracts, scripts, and other documents. He went through contacts lists to find other victims and sometimes posed as friends to request more private photos.

Chaney initially had pleaded not guilty and had been free on bail. But on Monday he was ordered to be held behind bars until he is sentenced on July 23.

-- Reporting by Jill Serjeant

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/27/10883609-scarlett-johansson-mila-kunis-celebrity-hacker-pleads-guilty

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Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC): It's more than just an injury

Often when athletes get injured and have to spend time away from sport, we only think about the recovery of the physical injury. A successful return to competition can be dependent on psychological rehabilitation as well. An article from Athletic Therapy Today, 'Psychological Rehabilitation for Recovery From Injury: The SCRAPE Approach' by Christopher James Hinderliter and Bradley J. Cardinal, helps to outline how coaches, trainers, and/or teachers can help an athlete's rehabilitation on the psychological end.

The acronym to help remember the key features is SCRAPE.
S - Social Support
C - Confidence and Competence
R - Refer
A - Accomodate
P - Psychological Skills
E - Educate

Social Support
Having a network of friends, teammates, coaches, trainers available for the injured athlete to connect with and share similar experiences can help the athlete understand the rehabilitation process they are going through and the work required.

Confidence and Competence
The clinician who attends to the patient can make a huge difference by instilling confidence and competence creating a positive outlook on the recovery process. Knowledge transfer to the patient helps them to view the rehabilitation as opportunity to show progressive improved physical ability, and traits like commitment and desire.

Refer
Often sport med doctors and trainers don't have training in psychology, and an athlete may not respond to a clinicians efforts to help the psychological process, so referral to a psychologist can be the best step.

Accommodate
The athletic trainer should work with the athlete recognizing their natural disposition and personal needs. Treatment and rehab should be individualized to each athlete to help keep the patient focused on the common rehabilitation goal.

Psychological Skills
Imagery, relaxation and goal setting will help to foster a positive outlook on recovery. They can help instill confidence, motivate, and improve the athlete's self-image.

Educate
The education of the athlete on typical recovery time, restrictions, and therapy can help the patient be more active in the process. When educating the athlete refrain from using terminology that the athlete may not understand or may confuse the athlete.

So the next time you face an athlete with an injury, think beyond the physical aid that can be provided and heal the mind as well.

Contact SIRC for more information on the physical and psychological side of sport injury!?

Reference from the SIRC Collection:
Hinderliter, C., & Cardinal, B. J. (2007). Psychological Rehabilitation for Recovery From Injury: The SCRAPE Approach. Athletic Therapy Today, 12(6), 36-38. (Order full text from SIRC)

Online Resources:
Weiss, M. (2003) Psychological Aspects of Sport-Injury Rehabilitation: A Developmental Perspective. Journal of Athletic Training, 38(2): 172?175.
Crust, Lee. Psychological Rehabilitation Techniques. Retrieved from the Internet March 27, 2012.

Source: http://sircsportresearch.blogspot.com/2012/03/its-more-than-just-injury.html

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Monday, March 26, 2012

Taylor's 22 lead KU to 80-67 win over Carolina

[ [ [['Witnesses said the gunman pulled up on a black scooter', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GzwOIW', '[Related: New York police tighten security at Jewish sites]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['test Zimmerman for alcohol or drugs', 11]], 'http://yhoo.it/Gzn6VF', '[Related: White House says Trayvon Martin is local issue]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['associated with such a small earthquake', 4]], 'http://yhoo.it/GTco9z', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/0/b4/0b493c1a47b6e3f97f8f48a2b251d7d4.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger', ], [ [['Fox News host Geraldo Rivera sparked outrage', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GKMVTk', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/7c/27c7367bc512d233ae1790b320a5e92c.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['The charges signed against Bales include', 1]], 'http://yhoo.it/wZT5zV', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/a0/7a07c51b2aa0f39b1a23355046d13870.jpeg', '512', ' ', 'AP Photo/DVIDS\, Spc\. Ryan Hallock\, File', ], [ [['George Zimmerman, if I had a son', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/thousands-protest-fla-teen-death-1332387124-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/22/d761a49f3fcc99080a0f6a70670053cd-jpg_150905.jpg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['Mohamed Merah', 10], ['prosecutor Francois Molins', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/four-dead-in-french-jewish-school-shooting-1332173151-slideshow', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120321/2012_03_21t151508z_425380421_gm1e83l1sqs01_rtrmadp_3_france_shootings_raid.jpg', '630', ' ', 'REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier', ], [ [['Shortly after he wrapped up his victory remarks', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['best understands the problems of average Americans', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GB2RVy', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/20/photo-1332257995646-4-0-jpg_171722.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AFP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/taylors-22-lead-ku-80-67-win-over-231740515--spt.html

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Recommendations for Migraine Natural Herbal Cures ? SpinPad

For migraine afflicted individuals, knowing how to prevent migraine attacks is more helpful than merely knowing abortive treatments. So master the reasons behind your migraine headaches and stay away from them. Despite advances in modern science, there is no drug developed for migraines that can universally treat all migraine sufferers.

To clarify, migraine cure methods and current treatments available nowadays are only effective to some people to a certain extent.

In addition, the migraine disorder can be connected to other physiological and emotional disorders. The standard course of action taken by migraine patients is to take non-prescription headache medicines but this approach of remedy is palliative and temporary and does not cure the causes of migraine headaches.

For effectual treatment and to keep the migraine from frequently attacking, you need to consult a medical doctor and not simply resort to OTC medicines. Another alternative treatment for migraines uses the preventive style of treatment. In this method, a positive mental outlook about living healthier, drives the success for the battle against migraine headaches.

And in cases where migraine headaches have connections to psychological causes, psychological therapies are also needed. Rather than drug-based treatment, positive thinking techniques should be taught to migraine sufferers whose illness are caused by psychological stress.

So what are the stuff that migraine patients need to be more mindful of to prevent migraine episodes? Migraine patients need to be more conscious of allergy-causing foods, and being exposed to strong light, smell, and loud sounds. Eating fatty foods is also one of the dietary activators for migraine fits because they hinder the absorption of magnesium.

Magnesium juice drink supplements as well as taking a bath with Epsom salt are helpful for preventing migraines. Acceptance of non-western migraine therapies have also increased because of their proven relief and cost-effectiveness. Some of these natural herbal therapies are:

1. Drink more pure fresh juice of grapes.

2. Consume foods food ingredients containing high levels of niacin like wheat germ, nuts, sunflower seeds, and tomatos.

3. Smear a balm on your temple made up of lemon peel that has been ground.

4. Smear a lotion primarily made up of pulverized leaves of cabbage plant and some water.

5. Right after you get out of bed and prior to eating breakfast, eat some pulp of an apple or the flesh of the apple that is left after you place it in a juicer.

6. For cold-weather activated migraines, heat to boiling some water with the rosemary herbs and breathe in the steam. A mush made of water and cinnamon can also be smeared on the forehead for soothing relief.

7. You can also place henna leaves dipped in vinegar on your forehead.

And finally, one more ease inducing treatment method for migraine headaches is doing Yogic breathing asanas and other asanas to help ease and avert your migraine (make sure to only slowly increase the level of the exercises and avoid inverted poses when you start feeling the symptoms).

Uncover much more about migrane headache symptoms. Come visit Roy Forchet?s website where you will obtain more info on migraine medication and also what your next steps need to be in order to make them manageable.

Source: http://spinpad.net/artdir/2012/03/25/recommendations-for-migraine-natural-herbal-cures/

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Not a Normal Killing

A rhino poached for its horn in Zimbabwe. Credit: Anti-poaching Unit, Zimbabwe

A rhino poached for its horn in Zimbabwe. Credit: Anti-poaching Unit, Zimbabwe

Reeking of infection, the elephant stumbled into the Tanzanian camp where Thomas Appleby works as a safari manager. Its back legs festered with gangrene radiating from the open, pungent wounds that the animal had evidently endured for at least two long weeks. Ivory poachers had shot the elephant in both legs, but it had probably bolted before they could subdue the massive beast enough to hack off its tusks. The infection had slowly spread throughout the animal?s limbs, and Appleby had to put it down.

?The poor thing, it completely tore my heart out,? Appleby said. ?We are losing thousands?and I mean thousands?of iconic animals because of some kind of rapacious hunger from far off countries.?

The ivory poachers who shot Appleby?s elephant were most likely African, but their orders probably came from thousands of miles away?from China or Vietnam. In many parts of Asia, traditional Chinese medicine, a taste for wildmeat, a desire to display pricey horn and ivory trophies, and a lust for rare pets have merged into a cultural infatuation with wildlife consumption.

This voracity is taking its toll. The World Wildlife Fund declared the Javan rhino to be extinct in Vietnam in September. The Western black rhino was declared extinct in the wild in November. The Sumatran rhino is almost certainly now extinct in Thailand. Between January and October 2010, South Africa lost 230 rhinos to poaching?on average, one every 30 hours. Last year, South Africa lost a record 443 rhinos.

In Asia, tigers are in a worse state than ever; fewer than 3,500 now live in the wild, occupying less than 7 percent of their historic range. ?With the tiger, we are witnessing the tragic winking out of one of the planet?s most beloved animals,? wrote Elizabeth Bennett, the vice president for species conservation for the non-governmental Wildlife Conservation Society, in the journal Oryx.

The world is in the midst of a global extinction crisis primarily driven by illegal hunting for highly valuable animal body parts. Having largely emptied its own jungles of furry, scaly, and feathery creatures, Asia?s thirst for exotic blood, bile, and bones has turned to the African continent. The Far East?s middle class is becoming more affluent; it is no coincidence that poaching on the African continent has spiked in recent years, as more and more people are able to afford luxury goods like ivory or exotic pets.

?With this demand spreading to Africa, it?s only a matter of time before we see populations of animals in Africa start to decline in a similar manner to Asia,? said Chris Shepherd, the Southeast Asia deputy regional director of the non-governmental organization TRAFFIC that deals with illegal wildlife trade. Shepherd doesn?t think Asia?s demand will stop with Africa, either. Once the animals are depleted there, if nothing is done, ?it?ll just keep spreading and spreading until nothing?s left,? he said.

Shepherd is part of a group of increasingly desperate conservationists who deal with these statistics on a day-to-day basis. He witnesses illegal Madagascan tortoises openly displayed in Jakarta pet markets, despite Indonesian legislation that bans their trade.? He deals with the logistical nightmare of sorting out 2,800 pounds of African ivory seized in Vietnam in a single week. On the worst days, he and his colleagues must draft the public extinction notices when another animal succumbs forever to the trade. Despite the scale of these crimes, politicians and the public are all too complacent. ?We?re losing all of our wildlife, and people are just sitting back and letting it happen,? Shepherd says.

A cultural palate

The trade link between Asia and Africa is not new. Ivory, rhino horn, and other wildlife products have for years found their way into the Asian market. In the 1980s, Japan was what China is today in terms of wildlife exploitation. Japan was the largest importer of sea turtles, reptile skins, and fur coats, but as the leading importer of ivory?mostly used to fashion intricate seals for stamping official documents?the country drew huge criticism from the international community when African elephant populations began to collapse. In 1989, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) banned ivory trade. This event marked an important milestone for Japan, and the government decided to play by the international rules and crack down on contraband trade. ?Apart from whales and marine issues, Japan is acting rather responsibly on most aspects of the wildlife trade today,? said Tom Milliken, the elephant and rhino program leader for TRAFFIC.

Ivory carving confiscated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Credit Rachel Nuwer

Ivory carving confiscated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Credit Rachel Nuwer

Today, China has assumed the paramount role as the driver behind most wildlife trade, Milliken says, with countries like Vietnam and Thailand also coming on strong. And this demand is increasing on a seemingly exponential scale.

In Vietnam, wealthy businessmen and government officials show off by taking colleagues out for expensive feasts of rare wildmeat, dining on stews of endangered pangolin fetuses or barbeque spreads of threatened civets. In China, products like tiger bone and bear bile are regarded as potent disease cures and virility boosters. Wealthy households also value sculptures; an ivory carving is seen as a status symbol not available to the masses. In Indonesia and Thailand, collecting highly endangered pet tortoises is all the rage, with a single animal sometimes costing several thousand dollars. Accessing these exorbitant products ?is a way of showing that you have expendable income and you can spend it on things that bring status to you as an individual,? Milliken said.

Centuries-old Asian values and beliefs are embedded in wildlife products, especially with regards to traditional Chinese medicine, a practice with more than 3,000 years of cultural history. ?It?s a different medicinal system and philosophy,? Bennett said. Rather than rely on scientifically based studies to measure drug efficacy, she explained, traditional Chinese medicine considers ?more the spirit of animals and long-term holistic views of what we are and the energy of us.?

A traditional Chinese medicine shop in Beijing. Credit: Rachel Nuwer

A traditional Chinese medicine shop in Beijing. Credit: Rachel Nuwer

Vietnam also heavily relies on this system of medicine. Rumor has it, in 2006 a high-ranking Vietnamese official announced that rhino horn had cured his liver cancer. Regardless of the rumor?s origins, Shepherd says the number of rhino horns now imported into Vietnam is ?incredible.? Needless to say, rhino horn does not cure cancer?it has about the same medicinal value as chewing on your own fingernails, according to several studies. But prices have skyrocketed: the horn?s market value exceeds its weight in gold, and people will do just about anything to get their hands on the stuff. ?That?s going to be very hard to stop,? Bennett said, ?If you or you child has liver cancer, you?re going to do anything you can to try and cure them.?

All this demand has taken a toll on Asia?s own animal populations. With the Javan rhino now extinct in Vietnam?the last lonely female found in a heap in Cat Tien National Park, her horn hacked off?conservationists think only 40 of the animals are left in the world. Tigers, which 15 years ago were frequently seen in Nakai-Nam Theun in Laos, are now extinct in that region, too. The same dismal story can be told throughout Asia, both for large charismatic animals and lesser-known species, like the shy pangolin and chirping Tokay gecko. The forests are emptying of animals.

Africa, thanks to a high Asian presence and lax laws, is now the new frontier for obtaining wildlife. Lion bones are shipped to China in lieu of tiger, African pangolin hides are hidden in cargo bound for Vietnam, and elephant and rhino products are leaving the continent in the tons.

Milliken and his wife, who is Japanese, have lived in Africa for 21 years. ?Africa?s never seen as many Asians on this continent as there are today,? he said. In their Zimbabwe town, Milliken?s wife is inevitably greeted with a perky ?Ni hao!? ? Chinese for ?hello.? Every community has at least one Chinese restaurant, Milliken says, and the town where he lives now has about ten.

This growing Asian influence is ?bringing disaster to us? in Tanzania, said Alfred Kikoti, a research scientist with that country?s World Elephant Center. Over his lifetime, Kikoti has witnessed the change in poaching trends brought on by Asian demand. ?This killing is not a normal one,? he said, ?In the past poachers were selective, but now no more?they kill whole elephant families and take even the tiniest ivory.? The high demand for ivory motivates the poachers to kill quickly and indiscriminately. Kikoti believes that, at this rate, elephants will largely disappear from the African continent within five years.

The new poacher

Concealed ivory confiscated in the Brussels airport. The ivory was being smuggled out of West Africa, bound for Asia. Credit: Belgium Customs

Concealed ivory confiscated in the Brussels airport. The ivory was being smuggled out of West Africa, bound for Asia. Credit: Belgium Customs

This distinction?hunting for subsistence versus hunting for trade?has caused some confusion in the conservation and development communities. ?This is organized crime, its about big money,? Bennett said, ?it?s not about poverty and a source of income for poor rural people living next to wild areas.?

Though bushmeat can be found locally for sale around Africa, it?s ?just a source of well-needed protein for impoverished people,? Appleby said. Unlike Asia, where medicinal and hierarchical significance is placed on consumption of wildlife parts, in Africa it may simply be cheaper to go into the forest and shoot a monkey than raise a cow. When Appleby asked his Swahili partners whether or not they prefer beef or wild buffalo, they opted for beef.

At the safari park, Appleby has noticed the change. When he first came to Africa in 1998, the only elephant carcasses he came across died from natural causes and still had their ivory. But now the bodies turn up at least monthly, always missing their tusks. Several weeks ago, Appleby came across three elephant carcasses?riddled with bullets and stripped of their tusks?near a water hole only about two miles from the reserve?s main entrance.

In South Africa, where rhino poaching is most common, the feeling on the ground is similar. ?If you see a dead rhino with its horn hacked off 30 times in a year, you just absolutely start losing faith,? said Milliken, who works all over the continent.

Milliken?s investigations recently took him to Gauteng, South Africa, to analyze samples from what appears to be the largest Asian seizure in the past 10 years: 33 rhino horns, 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets. The goods were concealed inside a container shipped to Hong Kong from Cape Town, and Milliken hopes they can lend clues to the perpetrators? identity. Matching DNA extracted from the rhino horns to rhino database records could help the researchers figure out which individual animals were killed, narrowing the scope of the investigation.

A TRAFFIC investigator inspects part of the 1.4 tons of ivory seized in Malaysia last December. Credit: Elizabeth John / TRAFFIC Southeast Asia

A TRAFFIC investigator inspects part of the 1.4 tons of ivory seized in Malaysia last December. Credit: Elizabeth John / TRAFFIC Southeast Asia

Legislation is in place to issue serious punishment to illegal wildlife traffickers. All of the Asian countries partaking in the trade, including China and Vietnam, are members of CITES, which emphasizes international cooperation and provides thorough guidelines for enforcing wildlife trade laws. Under Hong Kong?s Import and Export Ordinance, anyone found guilty of importing un-manifested cargos faces seven years imprisonment and fines up to US$257,000; anyone guilty of importing endangered species for commercial purposes faces two years imprisonment and US$642,000 in fines. In mainland China, the death penalty used to be issued for people caught importing large consignments of ivory, though those sentences were typically suspended for good behavior and capital punishment no longer applies to wildlife crimes.

All too often, in Asia and Africa, criminals get away with their actions. ?Penalties are generally weak and loopholes are exploited,? Milliken says. Judges in Africa allow foreign nationals out on bail?usually the equivalent of a measly fraction of a rhino horn or elephant tusks? value?only to find the criminals skip the country. When guilty parties do make it to court, fines for wildlife crimes are readily paid, and again constitute a sum much less than the value of the wildlife products for which they are being prosecuted.

When asked how much these body parts cost, Milliken declines even to say what the market value of the wildlife goods might be because of the corrupting impact such information can have. Enforcement officers, upon finding out how much horns are worth, sometimes seize the horns and then immediately go into negotiations with the criminals. When Milliken first got involved in conservation over 30 years ago, an Indonesian diplomat asked him for wildlife good prices. ?You usually think we?re all on the same side, but the next thing I realized, that person was directly involved in the trade,? he said, ?It was a big wake-up call, let me tell you.? Milliken said the wildlife goods have never been as valuable as they are now, and ?that?s as good as it gets from me.?

South Africa recently bolstered rhino poaching and horn possession to a priority one crime, putting it on par with human trafficking and murder. Across the country, 21 prosecutors are now dedicated exclusively to rhino crime. In June, a South African judge sentenced two Vietnamese nationals to 8 and 12 years imprisonment for rhino poaching. The judge commented, ?I want my grandchildren to be able to see rhinos,? and warned that no leniency would be shown to anyone entering his court guilty of wildlife crimes. This case seems to be isolated, though, and local South Africans often get much leaner sentences.

Even with the increased legal support, conservationists worry that it won?t be enough. Corruption runs rampant, rangers are outnumbered, and multi-national cooperation is still largely lacking. ?Despite improvements in the situation, we?re still struggling,? Milliken said.

Inevitably, every large-scale seizure ends up without a successful arrest, prosecution, or conviction. Bennett suspects a vast global network of players is involved in this trade, probably with a few head honchos calling most of the shots. Though Anson Wong, a notorious Malaysian ?kingpin? wildlife smuggler, was arrested about 17 months ago, he was released in February on good behavior. At some point, the legal system usually fails, Milliken says.

?Right now, the traders are basically running circles around everyone,? Shepherd said. ?They?re still winning the game.?

Doggie bags & call girls

The means of procuring the animal parts vary by country. For elephants in East Africa, poor Africans are generally hired for small sums?US$100 or so?to do the actual killing. Poachers take advantage of huge areas of wilderness left unpatrolled and bring several clips of ammunition with them on their hunts. ?As we speak, people are in the bush poaching elephants,? Kikoti said. ?If rangers see these guys, they?ll say wow?they?re not someone you can just attack. The rangers wind up running away.?

If a poacher is caught in Tanzania or Kenya, oftentimes he will spend just two or three weeks in jail because court systems are weak and officials are easily bribed. Kikoti said this arrangement results in an ?I?ll show you? mentality, with poachers returning to the field even more determined to burn the rangers than before.

Bennett said more awareness training of prosecutors and judiciary officials is needed, because a good ranger may arrest someone but a higher-ranking officer may not take the crime seriously and then let the perpetrator go. ?It?s demoralizing and sends a message to the poachers that they can get away with this,? she said.

In South Africa, where registered safari hunts are legal, criminals sometimes get more creative. Vietnamese traffickers pose as tourists and register for hunts; sometimes, Thai businessmen have hired call girls to do their hunting for them. ?They don?t know one end of a gun from another,? Bennett said. ?All they?re interested in are the horns.?

In South Africa, an ?unholy alliance? is emerging between Vietnamese middlemen dealers, game ranchers and sports hunters, and wildlife veterinarians, Milliken said. Rangers found a number of poached rhinos with crossbow arrows sticking out of them. Unlike rifles, crossbows make no noise and so avoid drawing attention to the killing, but the only people in South Africa who are skilled bow hunters are ?white professional sports hunters who have gone to the dark side,? Milliken said. In other cases, traces of immobilization drugs were found in rhinos? post-mortem analyses, indicating that the animal was anesthetized and its horn hacked off while it was still alive. Only wildlife veterinarians have access to such drugs, or the skills to administer them.

A shipment of pangolin scales disguised as dog food intercepted in France and destined for China. Credits French Customs

A shipment of pangolin scales disguised as dog food intercepted in France and destined for China. Credits French Customs

Once the illegal goods are in hand, the traffickers have many concealment tricks up their sleeves. Airport authorities in Paris discovered Thailand-destined bags labeled ?dog food? full of pangolin scales, described Jaap Reijngoud, a Dutch wildlife trafficking consultant who formerly worked as a CITES enforcement officer. Hidden compartments in shipping containers contain frozen pangolins, bear paws, or ivory and are overlaid with timber, fish, or plastic or computer scraps, he said. Shipping containers are oftentimes destined for Malaysia, Thailand, or the Philippines, where new stamps are put on them, and traces of their African origins disappear. This subterfuge makes it easier for them to slip by customs authorities at their final destination, usually Vietnam or China. False documents abound, too.

In one case, Reijngoud recalled, Belgian customs officials suspected a CITES document on a Thailand-bound shipment from Guinea was false. They transferred the package?packed full of pangolin hides?to officials in Thailand, where the box was seized. When the Thai enforcement officers called the Guinea CITES management authority, the officials said that the document was indeed valid, so the Thai government surrendered the box to its intended recipient. But the Belgian officials also called the Guinea office, and were told the opposite. The Guinea authorities said that many of their CITES certificates had been stolen, and they feared that criminal organizations were intercepting their phone calls to confirm that the forged certificates were valid.? ?We?re dealing with a huge criminal organization,? Reijngoud said.

Where do we go from here?

A shipment of pangolin skins from Guinea bound for Thailand and seized at the Belgian airport. Belgian authorities later found that the CITES document accompanying the hides was forged. Credit: Belgium Customs

A shipment of pangolin skins from Guinea bound for Thailand and seized at the Belgian airport. Belgian authorities later found that the CITES document accompanying the hides was forged. Credit: Belgium Customs

Efforts are underway to combat this trade. In 1997, Milliken helped establish the elephant trade information system mandated by CITES. Governments around the world are required to submit data on elephant seizures, whether from a tourist returning from a trip to Africa with ivory trinkets or from a commercial consignment of tons of ivory. This reporting allows CITES authorities to piece together illegal ivory trade dynamics, from source to destination.

When Milliken first analyzed the data in 2002, it clearly showed that China had emerged as the world?s driver in illicit ivory trade. ?The Chinese government threw an absolute tantrum at the meeting,? Milliken said, ?They tried to suppress our presentation.? Thanks to the shake-up, though, China began to scratch below the surface on its own shores, and ivory seizures increased. In 2009, China reported 733 cases of illegal ivory imports; in 2010, it was 635. On average, China makes two ivory seizures each day. Milliken now has over 17,000 records of ivory trafficking around the world. The data show that, between 2004 and 2010, the upsurge in ivory trade has been uninterrupted.

In December, China further bolstered its commitment to the issue when the country?s endangered species of wild fauna and flora import and export management office drafted a plan to implement CITES recommendations?including cooperation with African and Southeast Asian countries and improved technology and training for enforcement officers?by 2015.

No one knows how large the trade really is; seizure figures almost certainly represent only a fraction of the total amount of trafficked goods. Based on impounded caches and animals found dead in the field, Milliken estimated that 1,521 rhino horns were destined for East Asia between January 2006 and September 2009. In that time, authorities seized only 43 and a further 129 were found in the field, totaling a dismal 11 percent recovery rate.

Some efforts to buckle down on the ground are underway. Several months ago, Kikoti helped organize the National Elephant Protection Committee, which brings together government officials, non-governmental organizations, safari operators, and rangers from East African countries to figure out how to stop the poaching. On the short term, the group hopes to mobilize national militaries to control poaching in the bush. They also have plans for a more long-term strategy to make sure rangers have proper training and motivation to do the job. ?We need good, committed personnel,? Kikoti said. ?If you see an animal killed, you should feel something.? Partly in response to this call, Appleby recently quit his job at the safari park to pursue a career in conservation.

Kikoti?s approach will only work if all nations are equally committed, since elephant populations do not respect national borders. He hopes to attain resources from the government, from tourists companies, and from the donor community, which will be pooled together. ?If one country does not have resources, other countries can share,? he said.

In Asia, action is sorely needed to shut down markets where illegal wildlife is openly displayed. In China?s huge markets, most animals look similar to an untrained eye, so the Wildlife Conservation Society developed species identification smart phone apps for rangers conducting market surveys. The apps point out subtle distinctions between turtles, which help rangers make accurate identifications.

In Holland, Reijngoud developed a database that identifies about 7,000 wildlife products in Chinese, Thai, Russian, Vietnamese, and Pin Yin. He hopes it will help international customs officers?who are usually not so well versed in wildlife identification?to make accurate identifications and seizures.

Sniffer dogs from the non-profit Working Dogs for Conservation are also increasingly relied on to identify animals, like tigers, in the field. There?s talk amongst inspectors about using the dogs to find ivory amidst the thousands of shipping containers at big ports.

In China, authorities are constantly trolling the web for any sites offering illegal goods like tiger bone or ivory, though doing so is challenging because it?s hard to identify even where a suspect site is based. A couple years ago, the International Tiger Coalition partnered with Ebay to make sure the site was not illegally advertising wildlife products.

Awareness is always an issue. Many people, both consumers and authorities, don?t even realize it?s illegal to possess ivory, Bennett says, or that elephants must be killed to attain ivory.

If the cultural mindset of Asian consumers is to change, that shift will probably have to come from within rather than be imposed by foreign conservationists, Bennett said. It?s going to take an advertising and awareness campaign of the right tone and nuance to reach an Asian audience, Milliken added. TRAFFIC recently aired a story in Chinese discouraging wildlife trade on the Chinese national radio station in Africa, and ads by Jackie Chan and the retired basketball player Yao Ming protesting shark fin soup and wildlife trade have begun popping up in Asia. The educated middle class in China and Vietnam?the equivalent to the Facebook generation?are beginning to challenge traditional Chinese medicine and wildmeat consumption. They are ?our real hope,? said Bennett.

In the west, Bennett encourages lobbying to make sure agencies like Interpol, CITES, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continue to receive funding and training for international species protection. Current budget cuts impact U.S. multinational species funds, yet the U.S. is one of the key funders and providers of technical support to overseas conservation initiatives. Only a tiny proportion of federal funds go to conservation, Bennett said, but it?s crucially important for many conservation organizations in Africa and Asia.

Illegal wildlife specimens confiscated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Credit Rachel Nuwer

Illegal wildlife specimens confiscated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Credit Rachel Nuwer

Private donors can also help. The Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation, for example, supports conservation and plays a prominent role in trying to fight for grassroots species protection in Africa. ?Honestly, if it wasn?t for people like them, so many of us wouldn?t be able to do half the things we do,? Milliken said.

When all of these factors come together, things can work out. In western India, the Wildlife Conservation Society and local government collaborated to designate a tiger reserve that had long term monitoring, enforcement, science, and community involvement. Although the reserve is located in an area with high human populations, tiger numbers have increased by about 400 percent in the past 20 years. ?This is not rocket science,? Bennett said, ?It?s just a question of having enough resources, awareness, and political will for people to just actually do it.?

Overall, conservationists hope the rest of the world will become more engaged with these issues. ?If one country has weapons of mass destruction, everyone makes sure they are destroyed,? Kikoti said. ?Why can?t we do the same for poaching?? Kikoti calls for influential nations, like the U.S., to put pressure on China and Vietnam to clamp down, or even threaten them with sanctions if wildlife trade is not adequately addressed.

?A lot of people come to Africa to see our wildlife,? he said, ?If these animals are killed, we?re finished.? Tourism currently contributes about 14 percent of Tanzania?s GDP, though the government hopes to increase it to about 30 percent in coming years.

When asked what the feeling is on the ground, Milliken pauses, then quietly reflects, ?As I get older and older, I just keep wondering if we?re winning, if we can really defeat global demographics.? His son?now 21?is studying wildlife management. While Milliken is proud to pass on the torch, he worries about a more complicated, less-wildlife rich future. ?I don?t know, I guess ultimately I have to be optimistic and just hope that we can do it,? he said.

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