【推荐1】For many travelers these days, finding a way to make travel more meaningful has become a top priority. They are increasingly pursuing journeys that include time to volunteer, work on a conservation project, protect endangered animals or to do other activities that allow for giving back while exploring a new part of the world. Here are some opportunities that combine travel with doing good deeds.

The Azores

The trips offer the opportunity to work on carefully selected projects alongside famous scientists while also enjoying encounters with some of the world’s most fascinating sea creatures in water. It allows participants to join a research team in the Azores that s studying the animals to support future conservation of the species. Advanced diving experience is required.

Red Sea, Egypt

Combining an opportunity for world-class diving with being part of an important research effort conducted by Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association. The seven-night trip includes learning how to gather water data with state -of- the -art scientific equipment and conducting onboard and underwater experiments.

Australia

Explore Queensland, Australia, while also supporting a registered charity that rescues farm animals from abuse, neglect, and situations where they’re in danger. Participants help with daily cleaning of barns (牲口圈) and cages. feeding, health checks, light repair, monitoring animals’ movements, and intensive care of ill, old and baby animals. The experience includes free accommodations with Wi Fi and a swimming pool.

Romania

Work with bears at Romania’s largest bear sanctuary (庇护所), a place that was created as a heaven for bears that have been abused. Located in the Carpathian Mountains, the sanctuary needs volunteers to help with preparing food, monitoring animal well-being and leading conservation tours. The sanctuary is home to 84 bears, with 20 more due to be rescued.

【推荐2】Philadelphia in the US passed a significant soda tax proposal that will levy (征税) 1.5 cents per liquid ounce on distributors.

Philadelphia’s new measure was approved by a 13-to-4 city council vote. It sets a new bar for similar initiatives across the country. It is proof that taxes on sugary drinks can win substantial support outside super-liberal areas. Until now, the only city to successfully pass and implement a soda tax was Berkeley, California, in 2014.

The tax will apply to regular and diet sodas, as well as other drinks with added sugar, such as Gatorade and iced teas. It’s expected to raise $410 million over the next five years, most of which will go towards funding a universal pre-kindergarten programme for the city.

While the city council vote was met with applause inside the council room, opponents to the measure, including soda lobbyists, made sharp criticisms and a promise to challenge the tax in court.

“The tax passed today unfairly singles out beverages — including low and no-calorie choices,” said Lauren Kane, spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association. “But most importantly, it is against the law. So we will side with the majority of the people of Philadelphia who oppose this tax and take legal action to stop it.”

An industry-backed anti-tax campaign has spent at least $4 million on advertisements. The ads criticized the measure, characterizing it as a “grocery tax”.

Public health groups applauded the approved tax as a step towards fixing certain lasting health issues that plague Americans. “The move to recapture a small part of the profits from an industry that pushes a product that contributes to diabetes, obesity and heart disease in poorer communities in order to reinvest in those communities will sure be inspirational to many other places,” said Jim Krieger, executive director of Healthy Food America. “Indeed, we are already hearing from some of them. It’s not ‘just Berkeley’ any more.”

Similar measures in California’s Albany, Oakland, San Francisco and Colorado’s Boulder are becoming hot-button issues. Health advocacy groups have hinted that even more might be coming.

【推荐3】Google recently announced that it has begun using carbon-free electricity from a geothermal (地热能) project to power data centers in the state of Nevada.

Tim Latimer is chief and co-founder of Fervo Energy based in Houston, Texas. His company is working with Google on its geothermal project. Latimer said that getting electricity on the grid from geothermal resources is an event many new energy companies never reach. He added that he believes geothermal energy will become more well-known than in the past.

The International Energy Agency(IEA) has long suggested geothermal could be an answer to climate change. The IEA said in a 2011 document that geothermal could reach 3.5 percent of global electricity production each year by 2050. The Paris-based international group says geothermal energy could prevent almost 800 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Fervo Energy is using this first test to launch other projects that will provide more electricity to the grid. The company is currently completing some work in southwest Utah for a 400-megawatt project. Google and Fervo Energy started working together in 2021 to develop geothermal power. The plant near Winnemucca, Nevada, is now operating and is sending about 3.5 megawatts to the grid.

Google announced in 2020 that it would use what it calls “carbon-free” energy every hour of every day, wherever it operates, by 2030. Many energy experts believe huge companies like Google can play a part in increasing the use of clean energy.

Terrell noted the company was also an early supporter of wind and solar projects, helping those markets grow to where they are today. “It’s a very similar situation. Now that we’ve set a goal to be 24/7 carbon-free energy, we have found it will take more than just wind, solar and storage,” Terrell said.

The United States leads the world in using heat from the Earth for electricity production. U. S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said earlier this year that advances in new geothermal systems will help introduce this form of energy to areas where it has been thought to be impossible. This makes it possible to find energy in more places.