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| 11.26.2007 | Monday
Rivera's journey to victory had been marred with controversy.
Critics claim that the beauty queen had been receiving special treatment from national director Magali Febles.
A few months ago, several private photos of Rivera had been posted on the message boards; the
photos show Rivera in intimate poses with Febles and with Febles's teenage son at Febles's home and at various
locations. Initially, Rivera denied wanting to compete, but decided to sign up at the very last minute, which
irked many of the contestants. Rivera's victory annoyed several of her rivals such as Letty
Pérez, Miss Canóvanas, who exclaimed that the Rivera's victory was bought. Ironically, Pérez won the
Miss Congeniality award. One spectator yelled at Rivera and called her "tramposa" (cheater). The majority
of the candidates disapproved of Rivera as the new queen; minutes after
Rivera was crowned, they gathered in front of the venue crying and consoling each other. They all agreed that
the winner should have been Miss Santurce, Claudia Cruz Bosch. The day before the pageant, Cruz had
been selected as the recipient of the Critical Beauty award.
Yesterday, CNN and El Nuevo Día reported that pageant officials were forced
to open an investigation into why Rivera became the target of several pranks, "including someone mixing a spicy
substance into her makeup, causing her face to swell and break out in hives, said Magali Febles, director
of Miss Puerto Rico Universe." This is hard to believe since everyone saw a radiant and glowing Rivera during
the prelims and the finals. Febles also reported that "someone also stole Rivera's bag,
which contained her clothes, makeup, credit cards and other belongings."
The pageant was broadcasted live via Telemundo. CB's Héctor Colón González
attended the pageant along with Miss Santurce's promoter, Gabriel Quilichini, to support their candidate.
During the entire broadcast, I logged on MSN Messenger and was receiving updates from Héctor's partner Alberto
Vera who was watching the telecast at home (gracias, Albertico!). I was also reading a chatbox in a Puerto Rican
message board, and minutes after Rivera was crowned, the chatbox lit up with comments ranging from premature confidence ("We'll
have our 6th Miss Universe crown!") to puerile gestures ("They're just
jealous because they lost to Ingrid." "We'll beat the crap out of Venezuela!")
• MISS WORLD UPDATES : Zi Lin Zhang of China People's Republic won the fourth fast-track event, Miss World Top
Model last Saturday at the Crowne Plaza Sanya. The second and third finalists were Jennifer Guevara of Puerto Rico
and Carolina Moran of Mexico. The other two finalists were Yendi Phillips of Jamaica and Dana Kaparova
of Kazakhstan. Zhang automatically advances to the semi-final round. It is curious that Zhang modeled two outfits
whereas the rest of the girls only modeled one.
The finalists for the fifth event, Beauty With A Purpose, were announced last Friday
and they include Sweden, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Jamaica and Ecuador. The winner of this event will be declared
during the coronation night on December 1st. It is interesting to note that Jamaica's Phillips has managed to enter all five
fast-track events, even though there are other delegates who are far more deserving than her. In the Beach Beauty
event, there's no doubt that Ada de la Cruz of the Dominican Republic deserved her win, but second
placer Jamaica with her lower portion disproportionate to the rest of her body and her bra plaster exposed? What were the judges
thinking? It seems that the judges either failed to scrutinize each girl, or had bad taste in beauty, or had been
instructed to vote on specific girls.
• HAS THE MISS WORLD WINNER BEEN PREDETERMINED? It appears to be, but we would not know who she is until coronation
night. If you haven't noticed, the Miss World judging system has been inconsistent, incongruous, questionable and suspicious
since the pageant began in the 1950s (as proven by a string of controversies). Miss World is the only major pageant where
you don't see judges tabulating their ballots either traditionally (paper and pen) or electronically via computer, like
in Miss Universe which has authentic prelims where all candidates get equal opportunity (and time) to be evaluated - at least
that's my impression. The chairman of the Miss World judging panel, Julia Morley, has the final say in selecting the winner,
which really makes a mockery of the judging system. What's the point of having judges if their choice is going to be overruled
by Morley? Also, how are the fast-track events judged and who determines the winner for each event? Jamaica's inclusion in
all five events makes one wonder if she is MWO's favorite to win. It's obvious that the countries that have placed
more than once in the fast-track events - Jamaica, China PR, Sweden, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago -
are screaming MWO favorites. However, this does not necessarily mean that any of these countries will win, as there have been
cases where a girl was crowned Miss World yet had neither won a fast-track event nor placed in any event. That being said, Miss
World is not a true competitive beauty pageant as much as it is a one-month long variety show topped with the crowning
of a "winner" who is selected unscrupulously and who doesn't do much during her reign.
Meanwhile, fans are speculating that Morley may give the crown to the local girl, Zi
Lin Zhang so the Chinese will have a grand double celebration when they host the Olympic Games next year.
• TRAGEDY: Reuben Kee, who represented Singapore in Mr. World 2007 earlier this year, was killed in a
a dragon boat accident at the Tonle Sap River in Cambodia last Friday, along with four other boaters from Singapore.
Kee was 23. Read more. Remembering
Reuben Kee in Mr. World 2007.
• BELLES DEMOISELLES : Who will succeed Rachel Legrain-Trapani as the new Miss France? Check out this year's
official candidates.
• LANDMINE BEAUTIES : "Ten women will show off their beauty and brains — and their landmine injuries — in Angola
next April in a competition to win a golden prosthetic limb and the title of Miss Landmine 2008." Read more.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, December 3, 2007
Photo credit: El Nuevo Día
| 11.19.2007 | Monday
I attended the pageant and I am very happy with the winners, both of whom possess
great beauty and class. I think Massachusetts will do very well in the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants next year.
It was great to see my good friend Steve Mocanu - this time without Harrison Gonzalez (shame on you, Harrison! LOL).
There were several New England state titleholders who were in the audience. Mister USA Jacob Hill also attended.
There were fewer participants this year, and there was stiffer competition in the Teen division than in the Miss
division. The ballroom was filled to capacity and there were hardly any gaffes on stage. After taking pictures with
the press, the winners were led to the coronation ball to meet with their families, friends and supporters. Special thanks
to state director Laurie Clemente for her gracious hospitality, and to the entire staff of the Miss Massachusetts
USA committee for a job well done. Congratulations also to Laurie for becoming the new state director for Miss Vermont
USA and Miss Vermont Teen USA!
• MISS WORLD UPDATES : The second fast-track event in Miss World took place last week with the announcement of
Abigail McCary, Miss USA, as Miss World Sports Champion. Her runners-up include Annie Oliv of Sweden
and Nieve Campbell of Scotland. McCary automatically advances to the semi-finals. Three more
fast-track events (Talent, Top Model, Beauty With a Purpose) are yet to take place. Meanwhile, the girls
seem to be enjoying themselves, either visiting interesting tourists spots like Deer Park and shopping for
souvenirs. They were also honored during the colorful Hainan Carnival Parade.
• THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL MAN title was won by Sweden's Taro Alexander Nordmark, who was crowned in
Bali, Indonesia yesterday. The first runner-up is Reinaldo Samosir of Indonesia and the second runner-up is
Lucas Gil of Brazil. The other finalists were Jemmy Jin Yin Yan of China and Jonas Caetano
of Fernando de Noronha. Due to the low number of contestants, the organizer John Pupella had to recruit foreign models
from a modeling agency to represent their countries of origin. Pupella said that he had tried many times to contact the national
directors, but they would never respond to him on time, thus the urgency to contact a modeling agency. The official site has not been
updated and there is no mention of the prize package or the judges. Another controversy: the age of the winner, 19,
is two years younger than the required minimum age of 21 (see the pageant regulations here).
You can view the photos of the winner and the candidates in Global Beauties.
• WHY THEY DIDN'T QUALIFY : Last week, a new Miss Earth was crowned and many people are wondering why some of the
heavy favorites did not make the cut, such as Patricia Andrade of Brazil, Jee Eun Yoo of Korea and
Volen Auma Owenga of Kenya. A reliable source informed me that all three beauties had the primadonna attitude;
they may have appeared all nice and sweet in front of the camera, but transformed themselves into pretty monsters off camera.
Miss Brazil would always demand that she use the bathroom first. Miss Korea talked on her cellphone most of the time; during
rehearsals, an impatient Carousel staff member grabbed the phone of Miss Korea's hand. Miss Kenya appeared haughty and
unfriendly. These women should have been smart enough to realize that Carousel would never cater to their whims, and
that's why they were eliminated.
• BARRED : A group of 26 beauty contestants were prevented from watching the Brazil football team train last week.
The young women were said to be particularly keen on getting a glimpse of this year's favourite to land the European
Footballer of the Year award, AC Milan's Kaka. However the backroom staff of coach Dunga did not allow them access to
the training facilities, though they remained behind the perimeter fence shouting encouragement to the players.
Brazil will play Uruguay in Sao Paolo on November 21 in South American World Cup qualifiers.(AFP, 11/16/2007)
• NIGERIA: MEET BEAUTY QUEEN who saved 6,000 marriages. Read more.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, November 26, 2007
Photo credits: Critical Beauty, Cromos
| 11.12.2007 | Monday
• THE NEW MISS EARTH is Jessica Trisko (photo, second from left), a 22-year-old Eurasian beauty born and raised in
Vancouver, Canada. She was crowned last
night at the University of the Philippines Theater in Manila. Her court includes Pooja Chitgopekar of India
(Miss Earth-Air), Silvana Santaella of Venezuela (Miss Earth-Water) and Angela Gomez Duran of Spain
(Miss Earth-Fire). Completing the top eight finalists are the delegates from Georgia, Peru, Switzerland, and Thailand. Rounding
up the semi-finalists are Misses Martinique, Nigeria, Romania, Czech Republic, South Africa, Lebanon, Sweden and the Dominican Republic.
South Africa's Bokang Montjane won the Beauty With a Cause award. Eighty-eight young women participated
in the pageant's seventh year. This is the third year in a row that Venezuela has made the finals, which reconfirms that
country's dominance in international pageantry. Last year, India also placed second.
The pageant started with an infectious, fast-paced opening number with the delegates - dressed
in yellow cloaks resembling trash bags - singing the Miss Earth theme song in five languages (English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Filipino). Adding to its global flair, the
co-hosts VJ Utt and former Miss Earth Priscilla Meirelles greeted the viewers in Thai and Portuguese respectively.
I saw the videoclips from the pageant and I have
to say that I was quite impressed by the production number and the stage set-up, although the overall production was not on
par with previous ones (like 2004 and 2005). However, many pageant fans including myself were shocked by the exclusion
of the strong favorites such as Misses Ukraine, Brazil, Korea, Poland and even the candidate from the host country, Philippines.
In CB's top 16 poll, only two countries - Venezuela and Sweden - made the cut, which proves that the public's choices
do not always match those of the judges. Canada's victory is harshly criticized in the Belezas Brasileiras message board, where one poster
named "Rondon" compared Trisko to a capuchin monkey. Several posters claim that the only reason Trisko won is because of her Filipino extraction and her
national director's (who is Filipino) close ties with Carousel Productions. No matter what her detractors say, Trisko
gave the best response to the final question, "How will you describe the beauty of Mother Nature to a blind child?".
She stated, "Nature smells as sweet as the rose, soft as the softest leaves, to hear the singing of birds in the trees."
There were a few quirks that bothered me. The problem of translation continues to plague the pageant; the Spanish-speaking interpreter (the same guy for
the last three years) kept using the third person ("She said...," "she feels that...,") instead of the more accurate first
person. Also, host VJ Utt, a Thai-American, sloppily translated for Miss Thailand. Even though the telecast was considerably
shorter than last year's, it was still too long to be shown live internationally. And as much as Priscilla Meirelles was bubbly and
looked pretty to look at, she should never co-host in English ever again.
Now that the Miss Earth winners have been crowned and the excitement has subsided, let's not forget
the real heroes of the environment and
truly support them!
• MISS WORLD UPDATES : The first fast-track event in Miss World took place last week with the announcement
of Ada De la Cruz, Miss Dominican Republic, as the winner of the Beach Beauty competition.
De la Cruz bested twenty other finalists, including second placer Yendi Phillips of Jamaica and third placer Zi Lin Zhgang
of China People's Republic. De la Cruz automatically advances to the semifinal round. Earlier, a Welcome Dinner was held in which each of the candidate was officially
introduced to the press and the public. Meanwhile, the reigning Miss World Tatana Kucharova has arrived in Sanya to
partake in the rest of the activities. (From the Miss World website).
• RESPECT : Former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres is asking the press to give her some respect. Dayanara
attended last week's Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas looking even more beautiful, though she appeared to be bothered by the media's
constant probing of her former relationship with singer and actor Marc Anthony, whom she divorced for years ago, and
her children's soon-to-be half-sibling, a product of Marc and Jennifer Lopez. Dayanara remarked, "I ask you respectfully
to stop asking me that type of questions. If you want to know about me and my career, I'll be happy to tell you." (El Vocero, San Juan,
11/10/2007)
• TWICE HAPPY : A pregnant Miss France 2001 Elodie Gossuin and her husband Bertrand Lacherie announced that they
are expecting twins this Christmas. I just hope both babies will grow up normally and that no one will question their gender. LOL!
(Plurielles, 11/10/2007)
• AN "IMMORAL" PAGEANT : "Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia walked out of a beauty pageant on the eve
of the fiesta celebration of Boljoon town last Friday." Read more.
• HYPOCRISY IN BEAUTY : "What happens when SELF’s beauty editors (who have a combined 26 years of experience) don’t
follow their own look-good advice? Well, the results can be ugly! Now they’re coming clean about their offenses in
the hopes that it will keep you out of trouble." Read more.
• WHO WILL SUCCEED Megan Coleman, the outgoing Miss South Africa? Check this year's beautiful contestants.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, November 19, 2007
Photo credits: Julles Roberto, AFP
| 11.05.2007 | Monday
• EARTHLY OBSERVATIONS : The Miss Earth pageant enters its third week with continuous fanfare. Last week, a group consisting
of some thirty delegates were flown to Vietnam for a special competition. You can see a videoclip of the
opening in YouTube (thank you, Carousel, for bringing back the fabulous and catchy theme song!) Special awards were given to Miss Korea Ji-Eun Yoo (Miss Charm), Miss Peru Odilia García
(Miss Fitness), Miss Vietnam Truong Chi Truc Diem (Miss Fashion), and Miss Brazil Patricia Silva Ferreira
(Best in Ao Dai, the traditional costume for Vietnamese women). Notice that most of the delegates from this group are currently in CB's Top 16 list, and
I have a feeling that the final top four will be from this group as well. A talent competition also took place and the winner
will be announced during the coronation night. You can view pics from the talent show in this OPMB page.
And check out this Miss Earth 2007 calendar photoshoot (Misses
Mexico and Martinique looking good!).
Have you guys read the environmental platforms of this year's Miss Earth candidates?
I have to say that some of the platforms look identical, as if the contestants basically copied each other off.
However, there are several that look substantially profound and meaningful, such as that of Miss Australia's Victoria Stewart:
that of Miss Northern Ireland Aine Gormley:
that of Miss Sierra Leone Theresa Turay:
and my favorite - a topic that no one likes to talk about - and raised by Miss New Zealand Claire Kirby, left, who
is my personal favorite to win the crown:
After reading Kirby's environmental platform, I decided - when I die - to be buried the natural way and have a baby oak tree
planted over my grave with the initials "CB" engraved on it! LOL! Then all CB fans can visit my grave and have an organic
picnic under the tree! Just make sure to pick up after your trash and dispose of it properly! And I don't want dog poop
littering my grave either! LOL!!!
But on a serious note, I urge everyone - if you haven't done so - to watch CNN's special, "Planet in Peril" to realize the horrible
effects of global warming, deforestation, illegal animal trafficking, and other grave (no pun intended!) ecological problems
that affect our planet today.
• WORLDLY OBSERVATIONS : Most of the delegates have already arrived in Sanya, China for the Miss World 2007 pageant,
and pageant fans are now clamoring for their early favorites, which are also mentioned in several betting agencies.
• ANOTHER CROWN FOR VENEZUELA : Venezuela's Jennifer Schell won the "Miss Tourism of the Millennium" beauty pageant,
which was held in Ethiopia for about three weeks. Contestants from 37 countries competed in this international event.
A contestant from the Congo was nominated as “Miss Millennium Queen of Africa” Different kinds of awards were also given
as Hezbayesh Amare of Ethiopia won the “Miss National Costume,” another contestant from Somalia won "Miss Most Valuable Person"
and a Kenyan took the title of "Miss Millennium Heritage". A student of political science, Schell said she plans to do
internship at the African Union and also promote Ethiopia’s tourism potentials. The event was part of the ongoing
Ethiopian millennium celebrations. (Jimma Times, Ethiopia, 11/4/2007)
• UNDER INVESTIGATION : POLICE are investigating a case in which a Miss Rural Zimbabwe pageant contestant was
allegedly raped two weeks ago. The girl is believed to have been raped by a man in Dzivaresekwa after being deceived
into believing that she would get money for the models' breakfast. Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent
Oliver Mandipaka confirmed the investigations. "I can confirm that police are conducting investigations of an
alleged rape case involving one Miss Rural Zimbabwe contestant. "The case has been brought to our attention that
the girl was raped while she was in camp and general abuse cases have reached our office," Chief Sup Mandipaka said.
Former patron for the pageant Susan Jason and another model, Sinikiwe Nyikayaramba, confirmed receiving a
rape report from one model. The rape is alleged to have occurred the day after the Tourism Night show.
The Tourism Night show marked the climax of the Zimbabwe International Expo held in Harare from October 11-14.
(The Herald, Harare, 11/3/2007)
"We didn't want the bare facts," contest spokeswoman Anne Raab said.
After 13,000 votes online, 42 finalists got to turn their other cheek to the judges. But before the final choice
was announced, the finalists had to convince the jury with their modelling know-how on an unusual catwalk - a
moving conveyor belt. And only two pairs of cheeks were left flexing on stage. The best female bottom award went
to Bulgarian Kristina Dimitrova, 19, and the best male bottom award went to Andrei Andrei, 24,
of Romania (photo left). Awarded the title 'Most Beautiful Bottom in the World', they each won a modelling contract for
the next international Sloggi campaign, 10,000 euros ($21,000) prize money and, in case anything goes wrong,
an insurance cover for their bottom. (The Electric New Paper, Singapore, 11/3/2007)
• LOYAL TO HER CAUSE : Here's an excellent article
about Nazanin Afshin-Jam, Miss World 2003 first runner-up from Canada, who continues her campaign for
human rights.
• GETTING EXPOSED : The Mister Handsome Venezuela pageant is not the only male pageant that
has been plagued with sexual scandal. Another male pageant, Mister Expo World, whose finals
will take place on November 17th, is also involved in sexual controversy. A reliable source informed me
that the pageant organizer Toni Berganza attempted to seduce all the contestants from last year's
pageant (there were less than 10 countries), and the contestant who would have sex with him would win the title. This informant - who had
attended last year's pageant - also reported that he had seen the Mexican delegate Julio Jiménez
enter Berganza's hotel room the night before the pageant. And guess who won? Mister Mexico, olé! It was
also reported that the candidates were not fed for an entire day and that half of them withdrew.
I remember last year, a week after the Mister International 2006 pageant
in Singapore, Berganza called me and invited me to send Chaka Sedgwick, Mister USA 2006, to his pageant.
Thank God I did not send Chaka, because if Chaka had gone and if Berganza had made a pass at Chaka,
Chaka would have gored him to death with his buffalo headdress! LOL! Despite the scandal, new and gullible directors
are sending their candidates to the 2007 edition. Let's see which of these candidates
will enter Berganza's room this time! Ewwwww!!!
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, November 12, 2007
Photo credits: Miss Earth, The Electric Newspaper
OCTOBER 2007
• TOO MUCH DRAMA : The new Miss Puerto Rico Universe is Ingrid Marie Rivera, 25, left, representing the
town of Dorado. Rivera was crowned Friday night at the Centro de Bellas Artes in Santurce. Her court includes
first runner-up Claudia Cruz Bosch of Santurce, second runner-up Kristina Ruisanchez of Trujillo Alto,
third runner-up Maribel Montalvo of Utuado, fourth runner-up Amanda Diaz of Isabela and fifth runner-up
Ivelisse del Valle of Bayamón who was chosen by Sprint text voters. 
• BAY STATE QUEENS : The new Miss Massachusetts USA is Jacqueline Bruno of Assonet, 22, left, who was crowned last night
at the Marriott Hotel in Quincy. Her court includes first runner-up Grace Im, second runner-up Stefanie
Sitzer, third runner-up Jessica Cookson, and fourth runner-up Nicole Johnson. Bruno, who
is a graduate of Boston University, was Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 2003 and placed fourth in the nationals. This was
her third try for the state crown. The new Miss Massachusetts Teen USA is Caroline Lunny. Her court includes first runner-up Chelsea Chudolij,
second runner-up Brianna Muñoz, third runner-up Taylor Kinzler and fourth runner-up Jessica Tocci.
The show was co-hosted by Cristina Nardozzi, Miss Massachusetts USA 2005.
• THE NEW MISS COLOMBIA is Taliana María Vargas, 19, left, who represented the department of Magdalena.
Vargas was crowned last November 12th in Cartagena. Her court includes María Cristina Diaz Granados of
Bogota (Virreina), Cristina Lucía Camargo of Atlático (First Princess) and Catalina Giraldo of
Valle (Second Princess). Vargas was born in Santa Marta and is currently attending college in Virginia. She speaks
fluent English, Spanish and Italian. Interesting note: Vargas was initially prepared last May by pageant coach Alex
Quintero in the Florida house of Mario Bermudez who is a CB fan. Way to go, Alex and Mario! You
can watch the coronation of the new queen in this YouTube video.
• TRANNY QUEEN : Dressed in a flowing yellow gown with matching earrings, a demure Thai business student wept and
embraced her rivals after being crowned the world's most beautiful transsexual. Tanyarat Jirapatpakon, left, was named Miss
International Queen 2007 on Sunday, besting 23 stunning transsexuals who had come to the Thai beach resort of Pattaya
from as far as Germany and Puerto Rico for a shot at the diamond crown. The Thai's extravagant yet elegant costumes
and dedication to environmental causes helped carry the day, taking her past runners-up Aleika Barros of Brazil
and Chanel Madrigal of the Philippines. "I feel excited and so happy. Everybody enjoyed the contest and I didn't expect anything like this,"
the 21-year-old said from atop her throne after winning 10,000 dollars and the title. (AFP, 11/11/2007)
I want to create a project to get business sectors involved in cleaning up rubbish. This will run as competition
to get hundreds of businesses on board to clean up an area of our earth each. Each business will compete
to clean up their chosen area, the business that can prove they gave the biggest effort to clean up our
precious earth will win donated prizes. Big businesses is a major cause of environmental stress so if
we can get them involved and care for our environment through projects such as this then we can help
them make a difference and counteract the damage.
For over two years I have been working on a Ph.D. in freshwater pollution at the Environmental Science
Research Institute (ESRI) in the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. This focuses on toxic metals in the
aquatic food chain and stems from an increase in atmospheric trace metal burden due to the growth of the global
economy since the early 20th Century. Consequently, toxic metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and mercury
(Hg) have entered freshwater lakes. This has posed a threat to ecosystems and humans as these metals are
accumulated by the primary producers (the phytoplankton) and subsequently transferred through the aquatic food
chain. Therefore the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe adopted the Heavy Metals Protocol to
encourage modelling, research and descriptions of metal pathways. (Read the rest here.)
Day by day globalization makes our MOTHER EARTH a global village. We must respond to the challenges of this
new millennium by supporting the campaign for sustainable environment. My environmental platform is to serve
as an ambassador in this campaign. In this direction I am going to undertake an aggressive campaign strategy
that banners sustainability for future generations. We have often said this earth is the very same one we will
bequeath to the next generation. But how many times have people simply paid lip service to these ideas?
I am taking this vision higher as it encourages and works for ecological awareness, appreciation, and action
among all stakeholders. (Read the rest here.)
Although it is a very sensitive issue, I believe a major concern facing the environment today is the way in which
we lay our loved ones to rest. Traditional burial has a negative effect on the environment with the toxins, including
formaldehyde in embalming fluid, leak into the soil and waterways, not to mention the impact on the environment in clearing
land to create room for cemeteries and the excessive cost in tending them for hundreds of years to come. Cremation,
often promoted as the more environmentally friendly option, releases harmful dioxins into the atmosphere. Increasingly more harmful gases are released each year as more and more people have mercury fillings and steel or plastic plates and pins.
57 million people die every year and it is universally unavoidable, yet generally, people do not like to think of death
and therefore aren’t aware of the harm caused to the environment by popular burial methods today. I would like to raise
world awareness to the fact that there are other options. Natural burial uses no chemicals and environmentally
friendly coffins and gravesites. A tree is planted over each grave in a reserve setting rather than manicured lawns.
It is slowly gaining popularity but is mainly hindered by misconceptions and ignorance of the public to death in general.
For my environmental project, I would like to educate people on how to not only care for the environment in life,
but also in death. I would like to see more natural burial sites around the world and the option freely available to all nations.
• BEAUTIFUL BOTTOMS : It's a rear view worth a second glimpse. No 'butts' about that. And there certainly hasn't been a
beauty contest quite like an international quest to find the world's best bottom. Organized by underwear brand Sloggi,
the Show Me Your Sloggi contest to find the most beautiful bottom in the world did just that in Munich, Germany,
on Wednesday. More than 15,000 entrants from 26 countries sent in pictures of their 'rear-ends' to the Sloggi website,
reported the Daily Telegraph. The only stipulation? Their bottoms had to be covered.