Art and Nature seem to go together comfortably. Artists are often at the forefront of efforts to protect the environment and they put a high value on managing earth’s resources. They are neither wasteful or destructive. So we have had a lot of art to take on board in Singapore of late which also drew our attention to an article on Art and activism, bringing sustainability and poverty into the purview of the artist. Besides art, we draw attention to fossil fuel subsidies which do nothing but maintain the status quo of emissions and pollution and block the much needed clean energy revolution. Nicholas Stern admits he got it wrong: it is worse than he thought! Food for thought: the environmental impact of what we eat and what we waste. Forests and climate come into focus as t do some handy innovations in clean energy and energy efficiency.  Shipping and aviation are coming clean and two global companies – Lend Lease and Interface – show what more can be done for sustainability.  There’s wind in the willows and rock candy silicone. Really? And more news of the World Engineers Summit and its lead up event featuring next month none other than David Hood, engineer extraordinaire! The Year of the Snake arrives and we note one important prediction that research and development will flourish as the slippery water creature thrives. Snake’s alive! – Ken Hickson