【推荐1】European Union scientists said on Wednesday that 2023 would be the warmest year on record. The average world temperature for the first 11 months of the year hit the highest level on record, 1.46 degrees Celsius above the 1850 to 1900 average.

The record comes as governments are in negotiations at the COP28 meeting in Dubai. Governments are deciding whether to gradually stop the use of coal, oil and gas, the main source of warming emissions.

The 2015 Paris climate agreement set a goal of limiting worldwide temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial times. Above that limit, scientists warn of severe effects on weather, health and agriculture.

Diplomats, scientists, activists and others have been meeting in Dubai to find ways to limit warming to those levels. But the planet is not cooperating. They say Earth is on its way to reach 2.7 to 2.9 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. C3S records go back to 1940. United States government records go back to 1850. Using information from ice cores, tree rings and corals, scientists have said this is the warmest 10-year period Earth has seen in about 125,000 years. That dates back to the time before human civilization.

Scientists say there are two driving forces behind the six straight months of record hot temperatures. One is human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. And El Nino, the natural warming of surface waters in the Pacific, is making it worse.

Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, said in a statement that “the November temperatures, including two days warmer than 2C above preindustrial, mean that 2023 is the warmest year in recorded history, which is very likely to be a cool year in the future unless we do something about our dependence on fossil fuels.”

【推荐2】Lord Ashcroft, one of the Conservatives’ biggest donors, has issued an attack on Norway for its cruel practice of commercial whaling.

“Norway often kills more whales than Japan and Iceland combined. And it’s no less cruel than in the past,” the peer wrote before the opening of the Norwegian whaling season this week.

Norway increased its fixed maximum from 999 in 2018 and has authorized the killing of 1,278 whales this year. Killing the animals, often with gun powder, was similar to inhumane traditions such as human slavery or boy chimney sweeps. “Now is the time for Norway to recognize that commercial whaling is cruel, outdated and unnecessary—and must be stopped.”

Last year Japan authorized whaling after years of carrying it out in the name of scientific research. Norway, like Iceland, refused to recognize the 1986 international act and restarted whaling in 1993. It says there are 100,000 whales in its waters.

Greenpeace Norway has appealed to its government to pay attention to the opposition “as well as the lack of a local market for the products”. It said, “Whaling is only maintained for narrow political reasons and should be phased out.”

A Norwegian government spokesman said, “The whales are harvested in a sustainable manner based on the best available scientific advice. The availability of whale products in Norway is wholly consumer-driven and international trade in whale products is regulated by and according to relevant international framework.”

It is used for pet food and to feed animals in fur farms or is exported to Japan and Iceland. Pippa Middleton, sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, said that she ate smoked whale in Norway, comparing it to smoked salmon. Peta, the animal rights group, condemned her for being “invisible to the debate about Norway’s mass murder.”

Lord Ashcroft sent researchers to Norway to investigate and said four ships were seen preparing for “the killing activity.” “The biggest concentration of ships is in the Lofoten Islands, which are popular with tourists,” he wrote.

【推荐2】Culdesac, which describes itself as “the first car-free neighborhood in the Us”, admitted its first 36 residents in Tempe, Arizona, US, earlier this year. The $170 million neighborhood, with its white buildings and narrow walkways, is expected to hold around 1, 000 people when the full 760 units are completed by 2025. Similar projects in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Houston, Texas, are also underway.

In a country as car-dependent as the US, Culdesac is no lack of foresight (远见). Although some densely populated (人口密集的) coastal Us cities like Boston and New York City are walkable and have ample public transportation options like taxis, buses and light rails, the majority of Americans are entirely dependent on cars to get around.

This dependence on cars doesn’t come cheap, unfortunately. In a 2023 study, the American Automobile Association said that it costs an average of about 89,000 yuan per year to own and maintain a car in the US.

So, what is stopping Americans from abandoning cars and accepting relatively cheaper choices like e-bikes? In a word, unsafe roads that prioritize cars over people. According to a 2018 report by WHO, the US traffic accident death rate is about 50 percent more than similar nations in Western Europe. At the same time, walkers and cyclists in the US are often blamed for being hit by drivers rather than the other way around.

Still, there’s hope. By choosing a new car-free way of living, US projects like Culdesac can provide another way of living that’s both healthier and more affordable and, in turn, influence others to live a better way as well. As Vanessa, a resident of Culdesac, said, “For some, cars equal freedom, but for me, it’s limitation, Freedom is being able to just simply walk out and access places. “

【推荐3】My wife and I have always had a non-negotiable when looking for a place to rent: a gas stove. We love cooking together, and countless food shows have impressed upon us that there is nothing more essential to a tasty meal than a flame.

Then came the shift of work forcing us to move into a new apartment with an induction cooker. Past encounters with the slow and inconsistent heating elements of early electric stoves had soured us to the idea of cooking with electricity, but it took only a couple of days for us to realize that our new induction cooker was far superior: Water boiled at lightning speed; I could set a timer and walk away knowing the heat would automatically turn off.

Our belated switch to induction came amid a rise of horrifying stories about the health and climate risks of gas stoves. Studies have found cooking with gas is like having secondhand smoke in the kitchen. Worse still, the primary ingredient that fuels gas stoves are methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. That’s why I finally quit using gas stoves and abandoned my prior conviction that I could never live in a home without one.

Don’t get me wrong—there’s still a place for flame, and there’s a reason why barbecued—food is so delicious. Barbecuing food imparts special flavour that you can’t experience with an electric cooker. But dishes that truly require cooking over an open flame are the exception, not the rule.

Changing the fundamentals of our lives is hard. But just as we have stopped commuting by horse, or have replaced a coal fireplace with central heating, it’s time to move gas out of our kitchens. Some might be horrified. The rest of us, though, can step calmly into the future. Hopefully the governments, too, will soon smell the gas.

【推荐1】“Human activity has wiped out two-thirds of the world’s wildlife since 1970,” CNN reported on September 10, 2020. Later that month, the Guardian reported that “40 percent of the world’s plant species are at risk of extinction”. Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich and his colleagues argued that “the ongoing sixth mass extinction may be the most serious environmental threat to the persistence of civilization”. Around the same time, the Daily Mail warned that “human civilization stands a 90 percent chance of collapse within decades due to deforestation”.

These horrible calculations and projections come from authoritative-sounding reports issued by international agencies, conservation groups, and peer-reviewed scientific journals. But is the future of wild nature and human civilization really so poor?

Data from uncontroversial mainstream sources strongly indicate that both humanity and the natural world are likely to be flourishing rather than collapsing at the end of this century. Humanity is becoming an urban species, and that’s good for the environment, since urban dwellers generally use less electricity, produce less globe-warming carbon dioxide, and have smaller land footprints than people living in the countryside. By 2100, it is estimated that 85 percent of people will be city dwellers, which would leave only 1.2 billion still living in the countryside. That means more space for the wildlife and less pollution from the agriculture.

The global tree-covering area increased by 865,000 square miles between 1982 and 2016. The researchers found that gains in forest area in the mild, subtropical and northern climatic zones are offsetting declines in the tropics. The Maryland researchers owe much of that increase to “natural afforestation on abandoned agricultural land”. “Furthermore, forests in mountainous regions are expanding as climate warming enables trees to grow at higher altitudes,” they added.

Humanity does face big environmental challenges in the coming century. But the scientific and economic evidence shows that most of the trends are positive or can be turned in positive direction by human wisdom. Rather than an age of extinction, the 21st century promises to be an era of environmental renewal.

【推荐1】Parents And Children Together provides afterschool drop-in centers for children aged 7-15 who live in and around two public housing complexes, Kuhio Park Terrace and Puuwai Momi in Halawa. These programs promote the development of healthy children, families and community with an abundance of positive experiences for children and family members including educational, recreational, community building and support services. Services, activities hours may vary by site.

Educational Activities

All children are encouraged to show progress in school through Power Hour educational activities. Activities include homework help, encouragement and management.

The centers offer a computer lab and Internet access. Special training and projects are offered for children who wish to learn programming skills.

Students may participate in special reading and STEM projects offered throughout the year.

Sports and Recreational Activities

Children may watch videos, cook, sing, dance, listen to music and enjoy many relaxing activities with partners. Videos, video games, board games and football are available.

Organized outdoor activities and sports are offered, weather permitting.

Community Services

Children may participate in special projects to make positive contributions to our community such as:

Wall painting

Park, beach and road clean-ups

Youth Development and Skill Building

All teen center activities are designed to promote the growth and development of our children. Leadership skills, self-understanding and life skills are included at the centers.

Parent/Family/Participation

Parents and family members are encouraged to be a part of program activities. Specific activities for parents and family members include:

Game nights

Education sessions

Come to these activities and bring your family!