Janding in Beijing, I kept my face to the window for my first view of the capital ofthe most populous nation onearth. Tnever saw it. T saw a few streetlights and occasional moving headlights, but none of the glow ofa modern city. By contrast, Thad left from Los Angeles, where hundreds of square miles glitter like a Times Square theater marquee. China cannot afford the luxury of turning night into day. In truth, neither ean we. A conservative estimate indicates that Americans consume 20 times as much fossil fuel per capita as do the Chinese. And we pay a budget-busting price for our extrava- gance. Our streets and highways carry a steady stream of 3,000-pound cars and their lone passengers. Sealed buildings still air- condition to the point where sweaters are needed in the heatof summer, Acresof auto- mobile sales lots bask night after night under millions of watts of electricity. ‘This will change, None of uscan continue to be insensitive to the energy crisis. Shortof ‘war, no subject has so dominated ourthink- ing, our economy, our life-style, or our fu- ture. Nor has any issue come upon us with vetan “itean't hap- Il go away when gas prices rationale still seems to A“ PLANE descended for a night pen here” or “it go up enough” prevail. Already because of the fuel crisis we see our once world-dominant automobile in- dustry becoming a welfare recipient. We all suffer from soaringliving costs. Wesee more and more of our citizens unemployed, Even thoughtful leaders suggest that we could find ourselves at war to protect our foreign coil sources. Because of the seriousness of the energy problem, the editors of NaTTONAL GrO- GRAPHIC, with the full support of the Soci- ety's officers and trustees, are preparing a special bonus edition of the magazine, which all of you will begin receiving in the next few weeks, This energy special, pre- pared under the direction of Science Editor Kenneth F, Weaver, will discuss how wegot into our present position and what wecando individually and collectively to deal with it, This edition will carry no advertising. All costs will be borne by the Society asa service to you the members, tithes & Plaats EpiToR NATIONAL AIC February 1981 Where Oil and Wildlife Mix ras Industry and nature shure bountifiul shorelands along the Gulf coast of Texas. Biologists Steven C, Wilson and Karen C. Hayden assess a long-term. suecess—and a recent near disaster, SkiingaChinese Peak 174 U. S.adventurersclimb and ski down a 24,757-foot moutitdin in western China. Ned Gillette and Gulen Rowell describe and photograph the feat. Strange Ride inthe Deep 200 Author Peter Benchley tells ofan extraordinary undersea event: Filmmakers aid an injured manta ray, and it carries them gently around on itsback. Minoan Human Sacrifice 203 Ind. 3,700-year-old temple in Crete, archaeologists Yannis Sakellarakis and Efi Sapouna-Sakellaraki find dramaticevidence of a priest performing ritual tilling amida violent earthquake. With photographs hy Spyros Tsuvdaroglou end Otisdmboden, and an overview by Joseph Alsop, Paradise Comes of Age: the U.S. Virgin Islands 225 A tidal wave of tourists and new settlers brings social strains as well as fresh vitality. By Thomas J. Colin, William Albert Allard, and Cary Wolinsky, The Seething Caribbean 244 Noel Grove and photographer Steve Raymer visita dozen island nations to document a rising gule of political problems and iniman discontent, A special double map supplement focuses on the region. Liechtenstein: A Modern Fairy Tale 273 Robert Booth und John Launois discover that less really can be more, ina pastage-stamp land nestled high in the Aips. COVER: A whooping crane—which wildlifeexperts and concerned oilmen strive to save jromextinction —soars from Aransas refuge in Texas. Photograph bySteven C. Wilson and Karen C. Hayden. 143