Thanks to Vanda R for sending on the following letter and ATTACHMENT sent in to the Natural Earth Burial Society (NEB):

Dear NEB - The Hunter Organic Growers Society Inc produces a magazine for which I am the editor, designer etc. I thought you might be interested in adding to your list of publications the ATTACHED article I put together for the magazine last year about natural burial. I drew on various resources, including ABC radio, to put the article together.

It seems that a number of our members (drawing on the Hunter Valley)  were very interested in the article and it has done the rounds. Some people (including me) changed their will to include this sort of burial even though it is not available in this area .... yet.

Cheers - Angela Finney
Bury, burn or compost

English is a funny language! There are so many nuances of meaning - so easy to get hilariously wrong if English is not your native tongue! See examples ATTACHED.
Signs of our times

Good ideas are so precious - how come everyone seems to want to kill them! See the ATTACHED list for 50 ways to kill creativity. Funny? Yes - but possibly tragic too because we recognise just how commonly they are used.
How to kill creativity

Our historic namesake - the good ship Aldinga from the earliest days of steam:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/shipping/2/1

The Bank of I.D.E.A.S - Ideas to fire up creativity and action with an interesting e-newsletter you can subscribe to:
http://www.bankofideas.com.au

Food production is going to have to rise 70% to feed the Earth’s future population. Where will we grow it all? Does this mean the end of ornamental gardening is approaching?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8303434.stm

Union Climate Connectors: The Australian Conservation Foundation is joining forces with Australian Unions to help raise awareness of the climate change crisis in workplaces and beyond:
http://www.climateconnectors.org

TEAR Australia’s Gift Catalogue for gifts that help all over the World:
http://www.usefulgifts.org/

GetUP tackles the Coal Lobby: Their latest satirical TV ad is quickly becoming a hit. Funded by everyday Australians, it has the nation's media in a spin. On Monday it featured as the lead story on ABC 7pm TV News, and now it is scheduled to be shown and discussed on this Sunday's Meet the Press - and all this coverage before the ad has even formally gone to air. What makes this a story is thousands of everyday Australians, making small donations to put an ad on the air that challenges the bloated marketing budget of the coal lobby. If you haven't already seen it, you can check it out here: www.getup.org.au/campaign/NewNameSameOldCoal

[Thanks to Erik R, John H, and Vanda R for the links.]

Save water and grow beautiful plants with a clever efficient means of watering: A “Wetpots” system uses as little as 1/2 a litre per emitter pot per week compared to 1 litre every 15 minutes for some "efficient" drip irrigation systems. Wetpots can be used for all types of gardens, small to large - flowers, vegetables, pot plants, planter boxes and for establishing trees. Not cheap, so probably best for small intensive gardens. Read more at:
http://www.wetpots.com/

There is a "significant risk" that global production of conventional oil could "peak" and decline by 2020, a report has warned. The UK Energy Research Centre study says there is a consensus that the era of cheap oil is at an end. Read more at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8296096.stm

A scary message from the past: Researchers have used ocean sediments to plot CO2 levels back 20 million years. The CO2 levels commonly regarded as adequate to tackle climate change were associated in the past with sea levels 25-40m (80-130 ft) higher than today. Read more at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8299426.stm

Children can 'imagine away' pain! Abdominal pain with no identifiable cause is common in children. However, children can be taught to use their imagination to tackle frequent bouts of stomach pain, research shows. A relaxation-type CD, asking children to imagine themselves in scenarios like floating on a cloud led to dramatic improvements in abdominal pain. The US researchers said the technique worked particularly well in children as they have such fertile imaginations. Read more at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8299719.stm

Oh no! A web mail scam that propagates itself: The industry-wide phishing scam that has affected popular web mail services such as Hotmail and GMail, is spreading, according to experts such as Security firm Websense. This is because infected accounts are sending personalised e-mails to contacts suggesting shopping sites, which are in fact fakes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8294714.stm

[Thanks to John H and Tony G for the links.]

The “bionic ear” was an amazing breakthrough for the deaf. Now there might be a new technology in the pipeline that allows blind people to see with their tongue! See:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,26016956-5014239,00.html

For babies suffering the dangers of oxygen starvation at birth, there is a new simple breakthrough that could prevent brain damage. See:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8283738.stm

In Holland, it seems, Camel’s milk is the latest agricultural novelty. Watch a short video of the first commercial camel milk production farm at the following link. (Note you will need to endure a short commercial video first!)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8287540.stm

And here’s a very different map of Australia - based on population numbers:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46477000/jpg/_46477189_australia.jpg

[Thanks to John H for the links.]