Cemetery overcrowding is an issue that resonates around the world, particularly in its most cramped cities and among religions that forbid or discourage cremation. The reality of relying on finite land resources to cope with the endless stream of the dying has brought about creative solutions... (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

“Scott Linstead is an internationally published, freelance wildlife photographer/writer. His clients include Natural History Magazine, Hewlett Packard, Ranger Rick Magazine and a number of wildlife publications in North America and Europe. Scott's column on the techniques of bird photography appears in every issue of Outdoor Photography Canada”.

Photo: A veiled chameleon extends its tongue to catch a cricket. Canadian wildlife photographer Scott Linstead, formerly an aerospace engineer and high school teacher, uses a device called Phototrap “to not only photograph the elusive, but also the unimaginably quick”. (Photo by Scott Linstead)

A woman wearing a mask walk in a street in a Yonghegong Lama temple compound seen shrouded in smog in Beijing, China, 30 November 2015. Beijing issued an orange alert for heavy smog 30 November, the highest level this year. Authorities in the Chinese capital warned of 'severe pollution' and advised the capital's 20 million inhabitants to stay indoors. (Photo by How Hwee Young/EPA)

Beloni (34) gives a bath to his son, 6, on a small street in the neighborhood of Cite Vincent, on March 21, 2016 in the commune of Cite Soleil in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. World Water Day, marked on March 22, 2016, is an international observance to learn more about water related issues and to take action for sustainable management of freshwater resources. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

Tibetan boys dressed in traditional attire take part during a function organised by the Tibetan Refugee Community in Nepal,commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize conferment to exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama and the 66th International Human Rights Day in Kathmandu December 10, 2014. Nepal ceased issuing refugee papers to Tibetans in 1989 and recognizes Tibet to be a part of China. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

“Cassowaries are large, flightless birds related to emus and (more distantly) to ostriches, rheas, and kiwis”, writes Olivia Judson in the September issue of National Geographic magazine. How large? People-size: Adult males stand well over five foot five and top 110 pounds. Females are even taller, and can weigh more than 160 pounds. Dangerous when roused, they’re shy and peaceable when left alone. But even birds this big and tough are prey to habitat loss. The dense New Guinea and Australia rain forests where they live have dwindled. Today cassowaries might number 1,500 to 2,000. And because they help shape those same forests – by moving seeds from one place to another – “if they vanish”, Judson writes, “the structure of the forest would gradually change” too. (Photo by Christian Ziegler/National Geographic)

Natan Dvir, an Israeli photographer, focuses on the human aspects of political, social and cultural issues. For his “Coming Soon” series, Dvir says that in recent years, a kaleidoscopic net of huge billboards has enveloped the commercial hubs of New York. Seen here, a man looks at a Juicy Couture billboard while passing it on 52nd street close to 5th Avenue in New York, June 5, 2012. (Photo by Natan Dvir/Polaris)