鈥淚t鈥檚 not good enough for diners to be treated as cheapskates just because they asked for tap water.鈥�
Yve Buckland, chair of the UK鈥檚 Consumer Council for Water, launching an initiative to persuade restaurants to stop pushing bottled water at customers 鈥� the transport of which accounts for 32 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year in the UK (The Guardian, London, 11 February)
鈥淎 lot of arranged marriages are with first cousins, and that produces lots of genetic problems in terms of disability.鈥�
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UK environment minister Phil Woolas warns that inbreeding has triggered a surge in birth defects (The Sunday Times, London, 10 February)
鈥淭o claim that this is in any way scientific is to continue the charade that surrounded this issue from day one.鈥�
Australia鈥檚 environment minister Peter Garrett on photos of a Japanese whale hunt, taken from an Australian customs vessel, which could be used in a legal bid to stop Japanese whaling in Antarctic waters (Brisbane Times, 7 February)
鈥淵ou鈥檙e looking at a different quality of kid to be a petty officer on a nuclear ship.鈥�
Timothy LaFleur, ex-head of the US Naval Surface Forces command, considers the crewing ramifications if rising oil prices were to persuade the Pentagon to buy more nuclear-powered ships (The San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 February)
鈥淚鈥檝e seen buyer鈥檚 remorse. It kicks in after they realise that new pair of shoes didn鈥檛 make them feel better, and there鈥檚 that sense of 鈥極h my God, why did I spend money on this?'鈥�
Personal shopper Kalyn Johnson of New York City-based Style by Kalyn Johnson on the finding that people鈥檚 spending judgement goes out the window when they鈥檙e feeling sad (Associated Press, 8 February)