"QUEEN OF THE SUN: What Are the Bees Telling Us? is a profound, alternative look at the global bee crisis from the award-winning director of THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN.

Taking us on a journey through the catastrophic disappearance of bees and the mysterious world of the beehive, this alarming and ultimately uplifting film weaves together a dramatic story of the heart-felt struggles of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers around the world. This spellbinding film explores the long-term causes that have led to one of our most urgent global food crises, illuminating the deep link between humans and bees.

The story unveils 10,000 years of beekeeping, highlighting how that historic and sacred relationship has been lost. Inspiring and entertaining, QUEEN OF THE SUN uncovers the problems and solutions in renewing a culture in balance with nature." -


Go to the documentary's website, to learn more!

Five Windows Light the Caverned Man

Introduction to a Prophesy by William Blake

Five windows light the cavern'd Man; thro' one he breathes the air;

Thro' one, hears music of the spheres; thro' one, the eternal vine

Flourishes, that he may receive the grapes'; thro’ one can look . .

And see Small portions of the eternal world that ever groweth;

Thro’ one, himself pats out what time he please, but he will not;

For stolen joys are sweet, & bread eaten in secret pleasant.

So sang a fairy mocking as he sat on a streak’d Tulip,

Thinking none saw him: when he ceas’d I started from the trees’:

And caught him in my hat as boys knock down a butterfly.

How know you this said I small Sir? Where did you learn this song

Seeing himself in my possession thus he answer’d me:

My master I am yours. Command me for I must obey.

Then tell me what is the material world and is it dead?

He laughing answered: I will write a book on leaves of flowers,

If you will feed me on love-thoughts. & give me now and then.

A cup of sparkling poetic fancies: so when I am tipsie,

I’ll sing to you to this soft lute: and shew you all alive

The world, when every particle of dust breathes forth its joy.

I took him home in my warm bosom: as we went along

Wild flowers I gather’d: & he shew’d me each eternal flower

He laughed aloud to see them whimper because they were plucked.

They hovered round me like a cloud of incense: when I came

Into my parlour and sat down and took my pen to write:

My Fairy sat upon the table and dictated EUROPE.

Source: weheartit.com via Sironimo on Pinterest

The Best Video of the Aurora Borealis

These shots from outer space really show what a magnificent planet the Earth really is. Look at all those city lights and then see the etheric glow of the aurora. The electricity we have shackled to illuminate our homes and places of work is nothing compared to the electromagnetic energies that encircle us. 

Time Lapse View from Space
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Earth Verse...

Wide enough to keep you looking,
Open enough to keep you moving,
Dry enough to keep you honest,
Prickly enough to make you tough,
Green enough to go on living,
Old enough to give you dreams

From Gary Snyder, "Earth Verse" courtesy of Stephen Hatch at Nature Photo Quotes

U.S. Companies Green Business Ranking

Newsweek’s Green Rankings published this week, cut through the glossy brochure front end of big business propoganda. Partnering with two leading research organizations Newsweek have created a comprehensive ranking based on environmental management, environmental impact and disclosure. Click here for the full methodology.

By comparing the actual environmental footprints, management (policies, programs, initiatives, controversies), and reporting practices of big companies Newsweek allow you to see for yourself which companies have the best or worst environmental credentials.

The 25 companies hitting the bottom of the list contain a mix of industry sectors. Here they are plotted against the other companies listed in the same sector but with better performance. Clearly all sectors could improve their performance relative to their peers, though especially those in financials ,energy and materials sectors.

Here are the 25 worst performing companies:

Lightside Quotes

"Alpenglow is the most impressive of all the terrestrial manifestations of God and suggests the spiritual Love-light in which the flesh-walls of earthy tabernacles are dissolved and everything puts on immortality."

John Muir

Orangutans Hooked on Cigarettes

Shocking: Because of the Public Visiting the Zoo, Indonesian Orangutans are now Hooked on Cigarettes! What Kind of World Are we Living in???
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Music of Life - Alan Watts

Where does music come from? What is it. Alan Watts has his own unique take on it. Beautifully animated by the guys who do South Park - Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

Music of Life Alan Watts (Trey Parker & Matt Stone Animation
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Science for The Common Good !

Panacea or Poison?
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Check out other articles here for more on Monsanto's history.

Gobustan, World Heritage Rock Art and Mud Volcanos

Azerbaijan in the southern Caucasus and the Caspian Sea are home to nearly four hundred mud volcanoes - more than half the total throughout the world.

They erupt occasionally with spectacular results, but are generally not considered to be dangerous. An impressive volcanic eruption occured in 2001 in Azerbaijan, but there were no casualties or evacuation warnings.

Mud volcanoes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but those most common in Azerbaijan have several small cones, or vents, up to about four metres in height (13 feet), sometimes topping a hill of several hundred metres. These small cones emit cold mud, water and gas almost continually - an amazing and even beautiful sight, which has become part of the tourist itinerary for foreigners visiting Azerbaijan.

Every twenty years or so, a mud volcano may explode with great force, shooting flames hundreds of metres into the sky, and depositing tonnes of mud on the surrounding area.

This was the kind of eruption that witnesses described seeing on a hillside 15 kilometres (nine miles) outside the Azerbaijani capital Baku in Oct 2001. "There was a big explosion, and a huge flame started coming from the hillside," said one witness. "It looked as though an animal was trying to get out of the ground. 

"The flame was unbelievably big, about three hundred metres high. It was surrounded by dense, black smoke, and lots of mud was being thrown into the air. "The biggest flames burned for about five minutes. Then there was another huge explosion, and then they calmed down to about 10 or 20 metres (32 or 65 feet) high." The flames could easily be seen from 15 kilometres away on the day of the explosion, and were still burning, although at a lower level, three days later. 

Mud volcanoes are one of the visible signs of the presence of oil and gas reserves under the land and sea in the Caspian region. Gas seeps are a related phenomenon. These occur when a pocket of gas under the ground finds a passage to the surface. One gas seep burns continually on a hillside near Baku, ignored by the sheep but sometimes visited by curious tourists. It is an unearthly sight, especially at dusk, and it is easy to understand how these fires that never appear to burn out became objects of worship. 

The appearance of the Zoroastrian religion in Azerbaijan almost 2,000 years ago is closely connected with these geological phenomena, and, according to one theory, the name "Azerbaijan" itself was derived from the word for "fire" in Persian. 

Gobustan is very rich in archaeological monuments. The reserve has more than 6,000 rock engravings dating back between 5,000 - 40,000 years. The site also features the remains of inhabited caves, settlements and burials, all reflecting an intensive human use by the inhabitants of the area during the wet period that followed the last Ice Age, from the Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. The site, which covers an area of 537 ha, is part of the larger protected Gobustan Reservation.

Gobustan pteroglyphs Azerbaijan World Heritage
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Most of the rock engravings depict primitive men, animals, battle-pieces, ritual dances, bullfights, boats with armed oarsmen, warriors with lances in their hands, camel caravans, pictures of sun and stars.

The petroglyphs and rock engravings are an exceptional testimony to a way of life that has disappeared, graphic representations of activities connected with hunting and fishing at a time when the climate and vegetation of the area were warmer and wetter than today.

Apart from petroglyphs, there is also this musical gemstone known as Gaval Dash. It makes a tambourine-like sound when it is hit in different points. Among the stone books there are a big flat stone formed out of 3 supports. Suffice it to touch the object with a small stone, musical sounds come from it. The Gaval Dash have been formed due the combination of unique climate, oil and gas which can be found in the region of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaycan Gaval Dashy (tambourine stone) - Qaval Daşı
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Leopard

By http://www.flickr.com/photos/edglickman/ edg1

The leopard is the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. Once found from Siberia to South Africa and throughout eastern and southern Asia, its range of distribution has decreased radically because of hunting and loss of habitat. 

It is now mainly found in sub-Saharan Africa; though fragmented populations exist in China, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, India,  Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Its declining range and population, mean it is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), as a "Near Threatened" species.

IUCN's stated vision is a just world that values and conserves nature.

By Earth-Touch.com [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Landmine Detecting Rats

In a country ravaged by war for decades, using the local rats to sniff out and identify landmines is helping people return to farming off the land. Where there is a will there is a way.

1st collector for Landmine Detecting Rats
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The Official Christian The Lion Video

Humans capacity to underestimate animals is boundless. Take Christian the lion, reared in captivity, released to the wild. His former owners were warned he would not recognise them because he had reverted to a savage beast........Yeah right, what do we know?




The Official Christian The Lion Video, posted with vodpod