Nature is quite good at working out what needs to go where, and in what quantity. After all, it's had millions of years to become good at it; far longer than humans have been on the planet and building cities. Ecological systems are a balance, working in harmony to maintain order. When we tamper with that harmony, we cause problems.
There have been more forest fires within the Amazonian rainforest during the past twenty years than there have been in any previous twenty-year period on record. Climate change - which we contribute to - is partially responsible for this, but so is drought and deforestation. Densely packed forests stay damp and are difficult to burn. With less density, they dry out, and become prone to fire. A severe drought during 2007 led directly to the largest forest fire known so far, in which an area roughly equivalent to a million football fields burned to the ground, along with the animals that called it home.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.