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\"Tornadoes, ice caves, glaciers, lightening--no territory or phenomenon is too scarey for daring explorer Carsten Peter, who is right at home exploring the most outrageous places and raucous natural occurrences around the globe. Kids can follow along as he heads into extreme places and reveals the science and background behind these seemingly unexplainable natural places and phenomenon. Underlying each of his adventures is a dose of hard science, intriguing history, provocative images, tips, gear & gadget advice, and more to help kids learn about the Earth how they can help preserve the planet.\"--Amazon.com.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers are unlikely to embrace fully green packaging solutions, but there are aspects of the packaging life cycle where a philosophy of sustainability can be introduced to help reduce the environmental footprint, as well as manufacturing costs. Unfortunately, as [Michael Rubenstein] also pointed out, there are no \"silver bullets\" to achieve more sustainable packaging.

His inherent generosity towards other scholars and his editorial skills resulted in two volumes (Carstens 1985 and 1987) on the work of Winifred Hoernlé (1885-1960), sometimes referred to as \"the mother of social anthropology\" in South Africa. Hoernlé and Carstens had much in common. Both grew up in mining communities (Hoernlé in Kimberley) and conducted their early field work in Namaqualand. Both were devoted teachers and implacable enemies of apartheid. Neither of them published as much as their talents warranted, although in retirement Peter made up for lost time, producing three more books. Both were influenced by Radcliffe-Brown. Hoernlé had known him when they were students together at Cambridge University, and interacted with him when they later became colleagues in South Africa. Peter told me that he had been taught by Radcliffe-Brown during the latter's waning years (presumably at Rhodes University), and Peter's personal effects include a hand-written letter of reference from Radcliffe-Brown in 1955 strongly supporting his application for the position of lecturer at the University of Cape Town. Although Peter did not hesitate to criticize his illustrious mentor, especially the artificial separation of synchronie and diachronic analysis, his focus on social structure and his advocacy of community studies and the comparative method never wavered. Around the turn of the new millennium, Peter decided to revisit his Ñama material. He apparently had always been puzzled by what tradition meant to the Ñama. What did they mean by \"the old days,\" or \"the old-old days,\" or even \"the old-old-old days?\" The initial examination of his well-worn field notes almost led him to abandon the project. The topic was simply too elusive. Then, as he put it, \"the muse played a tune,\" calling on him to embark on a novel methodology, one which reversed the arrow of time. In the final product, Always Here, Even Tomorrow (2007), vignettes of everyday life are merged without regard to chronology with letters from Ñama individuals, government officials and missionaries, interspersed with Peter's field notes and memories. The last half of the book is absolutely stunning. Peter's friends and mentors in Namaqualand, dismayed at what they judged as his ignorance of their way of Ufe, decided to organize a series of \"Symposia in the Veld\" for his edification about the oldold-old days and the eternal fusion of past, present and future. IronicaUy, in view of the criticisms levelled against The Queen's People, the final book that Peter wrote represents postmodernism at its best, although he never identified it as such. Only a scholar in possession of superb rapport and ethnographic depth could have pulled off this innovative masterpiece.

Two followers of Jesus, we are told, are heading towards \"a village named Emmaus,\" not far from Jerusalem. Confused and frightened, they discuss recent events which culminated in the hideous execution of their master. A third man joins them: they do not recognize him at first, but St. Luke tells us that it is the resurrected Jesus. He asks them: \"What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?\" Cleopas - the other follower is not identified - replies: \"Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?\" Jesus asks them what they are talking about, and they speak of their hopes that the redeemer of Israel had come, of his death, and of the mystery of the empty tomb. Jesus - still unrecognized - sternly reminds them of \"the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.\" One man - Carsten Peter Thiede - refused to accept this scholarly surrender or to concede that the village was lost forever. Thiede - the renowned New Testament scholar, who died suddenly last December at his home in Paderborn, Germany, aged 52 - had already made his name as a pioneer in his field. Long before he tackled the Emmaus enigma, he had opened up a ferocious worldwide debate on the age of the Gospels. Using the most advanced forensic technology, as well as more traditional techniques, he had assigned very early dates to manuscript fragments of St. Mark and St. Matthew - between 50 and 70 AD, well within the lifetime of eyewitnesses to the events of Jesus's life. But Thiede's last book, published posthumously this week, is his most important. Thiede - as determined as he was meticulous - simply refused to accept that this crucial biblical site could not be located. Using survey maps, aerial photography, descriptions of Roman roads, and ancient texts, he decided that the village described by St. Luke must be at a place used after AD 70-71 by the Emperor Vespasian as a colony for Roman veterans, now called Qaloniyeh, near Moza, about nine kilometres west of Jerusalem. The site is, in fact, identified as Emmaus by the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus in his Jewish War (AD 75), but had never been systematically investigated because the distance between Qaloniyeh and Jerusalem is not quite as great as the distance described by St. Luke (60 stadia - about 16 kilometres). Thiede did not think this was reason enough to reject the site outright, and believed that it deserved full excavation.

The trio arrive at Emmaus and Jesus is urged by his hospitable companions to stay. They sit down for supper. [Jesus] takes the bread and blesses it and -- in a moment captured dazzlingly by [Caravaggio] - - \"their eyes were opened and they recognised Him.\" Jesus vanishes and the astonished Cleopas and his companion recall: \"Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road?\" They return from Emmaus to Jerusalem, where they meet the remaining disciples and share the news of the Resurrection. Durer, Titian and Rembrandt are only three of the artists other than Caravaggio who have depicted the moment of stunning recognition when Jesus reveals himself over dinner at the village. In modern art, Tarkovsky's cinematic masterpiece Stalker is explicitly influenced by the Emmaus story. T.S. Eliot's question in The Waste Land -- \"Who is the third who walks always beside you?\" -- is only the most famous literary reference to the road to Emmaus. There are Christian communities, projects, retreats, welfare services, publishing ventures and websites, all of which take their name from the ancient village. It pervades Christian culture, practice and art. [Carsten Peter Thiede] -- as determined as he was meticulous -- simply refused to accept that this crucial biblical site could not be located. Using survey maps, aerial photography, descriptions of Roman roads, and ancient texts, he decided that the village described by St. Luke must be at a place used after AD 70/71 by the Emperor Vespasian as a colony for Roman veterans, now called Qaloniyeh, near Moza, about four miles west of Jerusalem. The site is, in fact, identified as Emmaus by the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus in his Jewish War (AD 75), but had never been systematically investigated because the distance between Qaloniyeh and Jerusalem is not quite as great as the distance described by St. Luke (60 stadia -- about seven miles). Thiede did not think this was reason enough to reject the site outright, and believed that it deserved full excavation. \"When I suggested as much to my colleagues at the Israel Antiquities Authority, they smiled benignly,\" he writes in The Emmaus Mystery. \"We have been driving past this place for years, they told me, there is nothing to be found. But as good friends, they agreed to do me a favour.\"

The trio arrive at Emmaus and Jesus is urged by his hospitable companions to stay. They sit down for supper. [Jesus] takes the bread and blesses it and -- in a moment captured dazzlingly by [Caravaggio] - - \"their eyes were opened and they recognised Him.\" Jesus vanishes and the astonished Cleopas and his companion recall: \"Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road?\" They return from Emmaus to Jerusalem, where they meet the remaining disciples and share the news of the Resurrection. Durer, Titian and Rembrandt are only three of the artists other than Caravaggio who have depicted the moment of stunning recognition when Jesus reveals himself over dinner at the village. In modern art, Tarkovsky's cinematic masterpiece Stalker is explicitly influenced by the Emmaus story. T.S. Eliot's question in The Waste Land -- \"Who is the third who walks always beside you?\" -- is only the most famous literary reference to the road to Emmaus. There are Christian communities, projects, retreats, welfare services, publishing ventures and websites, all of which take their name from the ancient village. It pervades Christian culture, practice and art. [Carsten Peter Thiede] -- as determined as he was meticulous -- simply refused to accept that this crucial biblical site could not be located. Using survey maps, aerial photography, descriptions of Roman roads, and ancient texts, he decided that the village described by St. Luke must be at a place used after AD 70/71 by the Emperor Vespasian as a colony for Roman veterans, now called Qaloniyeh, near Moza, about four miles west of Jerusalem. The site is, in fact, identified as Emmaus by the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus in his Jewish War (AD 75), but had never been systematically investigated because the distance between Qaloniyeh and Jerusalem is not quite as great as the distance described by St. Luke (60 stadia -- about seven miles). Thiede did not think this was reason enough to reject the site outright, and believed that it deserved full excavation. \"When I suggested as much to my colleagues at the Israel Antiquities Authority, they smiled benignly,\" he writes in The Emmaus Mystery. \"We have been driving past this place for years, they told me, there is nothing to be found. But as good friends, they agreed to do me a favour.\"

Two followers of [Jesus], we are told, are heading towards \"a village named Emmaus,\" not far from Jerusalem. Confused and frightened, they discuss recent events which culminated in the hideous execution of their master. A third man joins them: they do not recognize him at first, but St. Luke tells us that it is the resurrected Jesus. He asks them: \"What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?\" The trio arrive at Emmaus and Jesus, still unrecognized, is urged by his companions to stay. They sit down for supper. Jesus takes the bread and blesses it and -- in a moment captured by [Caravaggio] -- \"their eyes were opened and they recognized Him.\" Jesus vanishes and the astonished [Cleopas] and his companion return from Emmaus to Jerusalem, where they meet the remaining disciples and share the news of the Resurrection. [Carsten Peter Thiede] refused to accept that this crucial biblical site could not be located. Using survey maps, aerial photography, descriptions of Roman roads, and ancient texts, he decided that the village described by St. Luke must be at a place used after AD 70/71 by the Emperor Vespasian as a colony for Roman veterans, now called Qaloniyeh, near Moza, about four miles west of Jerusalem.

One man - my friend and collaborator, [Carsten Peter Thiede] - refused to accept this scholarly surrender or to concede that the village was lost forever. Thiede - the renowned New Testament scholar, who, sadly, died suddenly last December at his home in Paderborn, in Germany, aged only 52 - had already made his name as a pioneer in his field. Long before he tackled the Emmaus enigma, he had opened up a ferocious worldwide debate on the age of the Gospels. Using the most advanced forensic technology, as well as more traditional techniques, he had assigned very early dates to manuscript fragments of St Mark and St Matthew - between 50 and 70 AD, well within the lifetime of eyewitnesses to the events of [Jesus]'s life. Thiede had also courted controversy by reassessing relics which had long been assumed to be risible fakes - notably the alleged fragment of the headboard, or Titulus, of Jesus's Cross at the church of Santa Croce, in Gerusalemme, Rome. I knew Thiede for a decade, wrote two books with him and accompanied him throughout Europe and Thiede - as determined as he was meticulous - simply refused to accept that this crucial biblical site could not be located. Using survey maps, aerial photography, descriptions of Roman roads, and ancient texts, he decided that the village described by St Luke must be at a place used after AD 70/71 by the Emperor Vespasian as a colony for Roman veterans, now called Qaloniyeh, near Moza, about four miles west of Jerusalem. The site is, in fact, identified as Emmaus by the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus in his Jewish War (AD 75), but had never been systematically investigated because the distance between Qaloniyeh and Jerusalem is not quite as great as the distance described by St Luke (60 stadia - about seven miles). Thiede did not think this was reason enough to reject the site outright, and believed that it deserved full excavation. ``When I suggested as much to my colleagues at the Israel Antiquities Authority, they smiled benignly,'' he writes in The Emmaus Mystery. ``We have been driving past this place for years, they told me, there is nothing to be found. But as good friends, they agreed to do me a favour.'' Why is this archaeological find so important? There are no secret scrolls at Qaloniyeh, no astonishing sacred relics. But Thiede's painstaking detective work bridges the gap between pilgrimage and scholarship, reclaiming a vital site in the Easter story which has been lost for centuries. As he explains in his book, the real Emmaus was ``a leafy suburb of Jerusalem'', close enough to the Temple for its Jewish inhabitants to perform the necessary observances, but pleasantly close to fresh water and blessed with the fresh air of the Sorek Valley. Those who lived here - as the artefacts unearthed by Thiede's team show - were well-heeled, living and eating well, as is suggested by the tantalising discovery of the scales of imported Nile perch.

Four years ago, the New Testament historian Carsten Peter Thiede wrote on this page: \"What the Gospels tell us is that the family is, as it has always been, the only true fortress against the hostilities and uncertainties of the world... In celebrating the birth of Jesus - in declaring with unqualified joy in hymn and prayer that a child is born - we accept the challenges of life and assert our ability to conquer them through the strong family. It is in the loving warmth of a stable 2,000 years ago that enduring truth is to be found.\" This Christmas, the words of the Rev Professor Thiede - who sadly died 12 days ago - are more topical then ever. Two other stories in which this newspaper has taken the lead in 2004 speak to the same core principles. In October, we disclosed that the British Pregnancy Advisory Service had links with a Spanish clinic practising illegal abortions and that a sinister marketplace of death had arisen with the connivance of this NHS-funded charity. Predictably, these reports were caricatured as an assault upon the woman's \"right to choose\", as if the morality of abortion were simply a philosophical branch of feminist dialectic.

[Carsten Peter Thiede] felt that the Gospel authors deserved to be read in a similar spirit. In this context, his most influential book was The Jesus Papyrus (1996), co-written with [Matthew] d'Ancona, which examined the evidence of the earliest surviving New Testament papyri and argued that these fragments - of St Mark and St Matthew - could be dated, using revolutionary forensic technology as well as traditional techniques, to the early Sixties AD, and perhaps earlier. It followed that the so-called \"tunnel\" separating Jesus's life from the work of the Gospel writers was short - possibly years, rather than generations. This radical analysis meant that the recollection of the Evangelists could no longer be assumed to be faulty or folkloric, and that the first readers of the Gospels could, quite conceivably, have heard the sermons recorded in them. Four years later, he re-entered the scholarly lists with The Quest for The True Cross, an exploration of the holy relics and sites of early Christianity, which focused on the Titulus, or crucifixion headboard, at the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome. This largely-forgotten artefact, allegedly unearthed in the fourth century by Constantine's mother, Helena, had long been dismissed as a quaint forgery. Thiede showed that the more the Titulus was analysed, the less reason there was to suppose it was the work of a Constantinian or medieval fraudster. This book - which also led to a Channel 4 documentary - sought to demonstrate the critical importance in early Christianity of sacred sites. Thiede's final major project was his most secret, and probably his most important: the location of Emmaus, the ancient village mentioned in Luke Chapter 24, where the resurrected Christ dines with two of His followers and reveals His true identity (\"their eyes were opened and they recognised Him\"). The site of the village has foxed biblical detectives for centuries, and the trail had run cold until Thiede's remarkable excavations in the Holy Land with his students from the Independent Academy of Theology in Basle, where he held a chair in papyrology. The full fruits of this archaeological work will be published next year in a book he completed shortly before his death.