alternatives? : Come November, the temperatures drop and we return to a familiar subject : firewood. It is a particularly interesting situation this year because the popular hard wood has been banned and the Thimphu community in Bhutan is expected to survive the winter on soft wood, both for cooking and bukhari fuel. The forestry rules are clear. There will be no hard wood supplied in Thimphu dzongkhag. The three licensed contractors are allowed to sell only soft wood. This rule is enforced by forestry officials out in the forests and at the Semtokha check point, the only entrance into the valley. Without special permits no truck can carry hard wood. All firewood, cut to bukhari or cooking stove size, must be the identified soft wood. (editorial)