Spiders are gaining favour in ecological studies as indicators of environmental quality1 and as biological control agents in agricultural ecosystems. Coffee, a major commercial crop of India harbours rich spider diversity. The crop is also attacked by a variety of pests. This correspondence discusses the importance of gut content analysis of spiders in coffee ecosystem.

In the coastal community of Chabihau, Yucatan, Mexico, hurricanes Gilbert (1988) and Isidore (2002) opened breaches in the coastal dune. The government modified these breaches with a floodgate, channels, and bridges, allowing tidal influx that has transformed the swamp ecosystem into a coastal lagoon.

In suggesting an alternative to the current pattern of industrialisation we cannot ignore the environmental limits of industrial growth. Sustainable alternatives need to incorporate an understanding that non-industrial lifestyles and non-human life forms too deserve respect and space to flourish. This short piece offers a sympathetic critique of the Amit Bhaduri- Medha Patkar economic formula.