Thoughts provoked

How green is your valentine gift? Nothing shouts romantic intent like jewels, but the industry's glittering allure has been tarnished by exposes of unethical practices! Oh! never knew all this until I read it... dunno how much you'd be interested, but ah! the life's not all about the "glitters" Top five green and ethical choices 1. Fifi Bijoux – sells ethically mined gold pendants and certified diamonds mined and polished in Canada. The brand is the brainchild of Vivienne Johnston, a leading campaigner for ethical jewellery who thinks nothing of lobbying the leaders of gold-producing nations for better conditions – in person. From £120. 2. Uncommonly beautiful – solves the problem of the impact of precious metals by ingeniously using something else: an abandoned chest of drawers or a discarded wine box, beautifully reworked with, say recycled bronze. Who needs diamonds? Around £25. 3. Made – Fairtrade-certified and works with independent artisans and small co

Snowflakes form when a cloud droplet first freezes into a tiny particle of ice Came across these beautiful intricate patterns while reading something on photonics- are they not simply awesome... mother nature.. bowing to you! Microphotographic images of snowflakes capture d by California Institute of Technology physics professor Kenneth Libbrecht will appear on US postal stamps beginning this month. His research is aimed at better understanding how structures arise in material systems, but it is also visually compelling and, from the start, has been a hit with the public: Libbrecht said his Web site, www.snowcrystals.com , is getting about two million hits a year. Ah! can any jewellery designer match this beauty....? Nature's intricate patterns