【推荐1】Would it surprise you to learn that the vast majority of adults—around 75 per cent—tell up to two lies every day? That’s according to a recent US study. What this suggests then is that you’ve probably told a lie or two in the past 24 hours and chances are you’ve also been lied to.

Before you start protesting your innocence or confronting loved ones and colleagues, though, it’s worth noting that the bulk of these lies fall into the “hardly worth mentioning” category. Think little white lies such as attempting to spare someone’s feelings or gently twisting the facts to avoid looking bad.

People tell lies for a variety of reasons, say the US researchers. Just over 20 percent are told in a bid to avoid other people; a further 20 percent are jokes; 14 percent are told in self-protection; 13 percent are attempts to make a good impression; 11 percent are told to protect others; and 9 percent are for personal gain. Still, less than 12 percent of lies can be categorized as “big lies”— and these are usually the ones that really matter. An example of a big lie, according to the study’s authors, would be saying “I love you” without being sincere.

So, are there any body language giveaways that can help “out” someone who’s lying? Back in 2015, University of Michigan researchers identified some common behaviors among liars, including frowning or grimacing (扮怪相), looking directly at the questioner in a bid to appear trustworthy, and overcompensating by gesturing with both hands. A more recent study, from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, found that liars may unconsciously mimic the body language of those around them while their brains are otherwise engaged in telling lies. It’s also worth looking out for the “eye dart”: when we glance to the left, we’re attempting to recall facts and events; when we look to the right, we’re thinking more creatively.

Vocal factors can offer a good clue, too. People who are being deliberately dishonest — or who lack certainty in what they’re saying — tend to speak slower and place less emphasis on the middle of words, according to a study at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Interestingly, the researchers also found that listeners automatically registered these voice changes as a sign of dishonesty, even when they weren’t being asked to do so.

Earlier studies have suggested that we may know intuitively when someone is lying. It’s important to remember though that none of these pointers offer undeniable evidence that you’re dealing with a liar. After all, some people just grimace more or speak slower than others.

【推荐3】Animal keepers use the term enrichment to describe the introduction of environmental stimuli into the surroundings of caged animals. In recent years, “environmental enrichment” also known as behavioral enrichment, providing animals with challenges, opportunities, and stimulation that are species-appropriate, has grown more popular in zoos and aquariums. A latest study does, however, identify potential to “diversify the enrichment types being supplied and the species being examined.”

The study conducted by the University of Exeter and Sparsholt College, Hampshire, looked into whether zoo enrichment is based on evidence of what each species requires. It was discovered that this was true for specific animals as well as certain forms of enrichment, but the quantities of both could be larger, especially the samples of certain species of animals. “Based on our findings, we would encourage zoos to continue enrichment, but with a stronger emphasis on using available knowledge on what works for each species. Keepers should also consider what behaviors are being taught and whether there is evidence that this behavior is normal and good in the long run.” stated University of Exeter’s Dr. Paul Rose.

The research looked at a database of peer-reviewed works as well as two magazines for zoo workers. Almost 77 percent of the enrichment articles identified focused on mammals, with 11 percent on birds, 6 percent on considerable species, 4 percent on reptiles, and only a few on some other species. This emphasis on popular species may result in greater and higher-quality enrichment for some species than others. What’s more, in the case of mammals, the application of biological evidence to inform this enrichment was inconsistent.

There are many ways to enrich an animal’s surroundings such as adjusting animal care, forming social groups, and enhancing sensory stimulation. The purpose of any enrichment program should be to generate ideas for providing a species-appropriate stimulating environment that encourages positive behaviors while keeping in mind that both species and individuals will have varied demands.

【推荐1】Trees are symbols of hope, life and transformation. They are also increasingly labeled as a straightforward, relatively inexpensive, and best solution to climate change. Lately, society has been putting a lot of pressure on trees to get the whole world out of the climate change emergency. Accordingly, enthusiasm is worldwide popular among governments, businesses and individuals for ambitious projects to plant billions, even a trillion more, so as to help cut current emission (排放).

“Trees are having a bit of a moment right now,” says Joe Fargione, an ecologist with The Nature Conservancy based in Minneapolis. “There’s no anti-tree lobby. Trees have lots of benefits for people. Not only do they store carbon, they help provide clean air, prevent soil erosion, shade and shelter homes to reduce energy costs and give people a sense of well-being.”

Yet, as global eagerness for adding more trees grows, some scientists are urging caution. Before moving forward, they say, such massive tree projects must address a range of scientific, social and economic concerns. Poorly designed projects that don’t address these issues could do more harm than good, the researchers say, wasting money as well as public goodwill. “There’s a real feeling that forests and trees are just the idea we can use to get some unspeakable support for many, perhaps more complicated, types of landscape restoration initiatives”, says ecologist Joseph Veldmanan.

The concerns are myriad: There’s too much focus on numbers of seedlings planted, and too little time spent on how to keep the trees alive in the long term, or in working with local communities. And there’s not enough emphasis on how different types of forests store very different amounts of carbon. There’s too much talk about trees, and not enough about other carbon-storing ecosystems. And over the last decade, a diverse garden of tree-centric proposal has spread across the globe. That can lead to all kinds of problems, Joseph adds. “For me, the devil is in the details.”

【推荐2】Emissions Trading Systems—carbon pricing policy instruments for carbon emissions reduction—have become very popular in recent years. Under a typical ETS, a central authority allocates emissions permits to enterprises and requires them to submit permits equal to their emissions for compliance at the end of a “compliance cycle”. Enterprises that are short of permits can purchase them from the permit market, creating a carbon price signal that is crucial to reducing emissions cost-effectively.

Unlike a typical ETS in the developed countries that imposes a hard emissions cap, the main feature of China’s national ETS is its permit allocation rules that guarantee carbon policy stringency without introducing strong adverse shocks to economic growth. China’s national ETS is so far a rate-based system—the permit allocation in each sector is based on the companies’ actual output levels and a corresponding “benchmark” (emissions-output ratio) that matches an appropriate emissions intensity reduction target in that sector. For example, if a plant’s emissions intensity exceeds its predetermined benchmark, it will face an allowance deficit and need to buy permits for compliance. Conversely, a plant with relatively low emissions intensity can sell surplus permits.

China’s national ETS has been in operation for a year now. It has made progress on multiple fronts.

First, the institutional framework has been formed. The National Measures for the Administration of Carbon Emission Trading (Trial), released in December 2020, has provided a regulatory basis. It has been supplemented by additional technical documents for permit registration, trading, settlement, permit allocation, and emissions reporting for the power generation sector. All these directives have gradually formed a “1+N emissions trading policy system”.

Second, infrastructure for the system has been established. The National Carbon Emissions Permits Registry in Wuhan (responsible for recording permit holdings, modifications, payments, and retirements) and the National Carbon Emissions Exchange in Shanghai (serving as a permit exchange) have been operating smoothly.

Lastly, for the monitoring, reporting, and verification of emissions, enterprises have been encouraged to take “on-site” measurements of their coal consumption, significantly improving the integrity of China’s carbon emissions data.

Although there have been important milestones for China’s national ETS in its first year, several challenges were also encountered. There is still no official roadmap for future sectoral coverage. Trading was very much concentrated just ahead of the compliance date, which reveals a less active market which limits price discovery. Risk control regarding data quality still needs to be improved, given that some data manipulation cases were detected.

A medium-and long-term development roadmap is very much needed for China’s ETS. Higher-level legislative support to strengthen market supervision and penalties for non-compliance are also necessary. With regard to the permit allocation, China’s national ETS needs to continuously tighten the benchmarks under a rate-based design and carefully plan a transition to a mass-based system to introduce a clear cap for covered emissions. Moreover, auctioning needs to be introduced to reduce free permit allocation and facilitate price discovery. In the next few years, China’s national ETS is expected to expand from the power sector to multiple industries and eventually to cover more than 8,000 companies, whose emissions account for 70 percent of China’s energy-related emissions. We are confident that a full-fledged national ETS can help China achieve its “dual-carbon” goals and lead the development of a global carbon pricing regime in the near future.