The result, after enough discharges, is that a reef can no longer provide food and shelter for animals and plants, and may well lose its ability to protect the coastline.

ECONOMIST: What price coral?

However, poor countries in Asia, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, lack the veterinary facilities for surveillance of the disease in animals, the laboratories to test samples and the ability to respond swiftly to eradicate outbreaks.

ECONOMIST: Bird flu

Here's hoping it will help Tugg regain the status he lost in his most recent cinematic outing, a brazen Oscar bid: the title role in "Simple Jack, " the tale of a mentally impaired lad with a desperate need for orthodontic intervention and the ability to talk to animals.

WSJ: 'Vicky Cristina' Is Slim, Charming Allen Roundelay

Our ability to understand these animals is very limited, and their only connection to the surface biosphere is through a few food chain connections (like sperm whales) that can survive diving to these depths.

FORBES: Why Don't We Spend More On Exploring The Oceans, Rather Than On Space Exploration?

The country's State Forestry Administration estimates that desertification affects 400 million Chinese, many of whom lose the ability to farm their land or graze their animals and join the ranks of the tens of millions of internal environmental refugees, who often migrate to the big cities in search of new homes and jobs.

CNN: Economic miracle, environmental disaster

However, some humans - infants, and those with severe intellectual disabilities - have less ability to reason and less self-awareness than some nonhuman animals.

BBC: EATING

The RSPCA warns owners that animals are not accessories and says that clothing should not restrict movement or affect their ability to relieve themselves.

BBC: Why do people dress up their pets?