【推荐1】If you turn over a plastic bottle, like those we use to drink water, you'll notice a number "1"— that means it's made of a material called PET. Some bags, like the kind that holds milk or coffee, get a "2", meaning they're made of a material called HDPE. At material recovery factories, plastics get sorted (分类) based on these numbers (they go up to 7), which shows how recyclable (可回收的) they are.

Plastic marking numbers 1 and 2 are recyclable. They can be made into carpet, clothing, plastic package, as well as other products, according to Live Science.

Recycling gets more difficult with higher numbers, called "mixed plastic". This waste makes up 69% of all the plastic we use in the daily life. It's much more expensive to deal with than numbers 1 and 2. In the past, mixed plastics would be sent to other countries. But two years ago, almost no country was allowed to buy foreign plastic waste.

Recycling companies had to find a new market, but many failed. For example, in Los Angeles, recycling companies still won't recycle any plastics with numbers higher than 2. Instead, they are burying or burning them.

According to Live Science, what the USA needs is machines that can be used to recycle other kinds of plastic. But Hocevar, a scientist, comes up with a different solution: "The really simple answer is there isn't so much throwaway plastic in the world."

Someone may ask, "Is recycling worth it?" For bottles with "1" or"2", the answer is "yes", said Hocevar. There's also a growing market for plastics marked "5", a flexible (灵活的) plastic that includes yogurt containers (酸奶容器). For other numbers, the answer was simpler; a "no" on numbers3, 4, 6 and7.

【推荐1】In recent months, the U. S. media and politicians have launched fierce attacks on China’s new energy industry, claiming that China has flooded the world with too many clean products, including solar power, new energy vehicles and lithium-ion batteries, which have lowered market prices and hurt American workers and factories. However, experts’ data and analysis overturned the Western argument about overcapacity (产能过剩).

Exports do not mean overcapacity. In a global economy with a high division of labor and specialization, it is normal for a country’s productive capacity to go beyond its domestic demand. For example, about 80% of the cars produced in Germany are exported. Commercial aircraft giants Airbus and Boeing export most of their planes to other countries. While Chinese clean technology accounts for only a small fraction of China’s exports, about 4.5 percent last year, far less than Germany. In fact, the Global Electric Vehicle Outlook, released last year, claimed that the global demand for new electric vehicles will reach 45 million units, which China’s new energy products do not go beyond.

America’s new energy industry falls behind due to underinvestment in green technology and infrastructure (基础设施). Take wind energy for example. A recent report from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) shows that the United States is struggling in its development of wind energy. Building a wind farm requires huge turbine blades (涡轮叶片) and a lot of custom engineering to produce huge towers and foundations, which makes wind energy difficult to trade between countries, so the supply chain needed to run a wind farm smoothly faces great trouble.

China is the only country with enough supply chains to keep wind energy growing without difficulties. Chinese Vice Finance Minister Liao Min said green technology products in China will help the country meet its carbon emission targets and contribute to the global response to climate change and green development.

【推荐2】Malaysia’s last rhinoceros(犀牛), Iman, died last November. Some skin, eggs and tissue are all that remain of her. Now, scientists plan to use experimental technology to try to bring back Malaysia’s rhinos by using cells from Iman and two other dead rhinos.

Muhammad, biologist at the International Islamic University of Malaysia, said, “If everything...well and everybody supports us, it’s not impossible.”

Malaysia’s rhinos, the smallest among the world’s rhinos, once lived across Asia. But hunting and forest losses reduced their numbers. There are about 80 such rhinos left in Indonesia. But, in Malaysia, the species disappeared from the wild in 2015. Iman was 25 when she died at her home in a protected natural area on Borneo island. Tam, the country’s last male rhino, died there in May of 2019. Efforts to get the two to mate and produce young had failed.

John Payne of the Borneo Rhino Alliance has worked to save Malaysia’s rhinos for about 40 years. He said that Tam was likely too old to produce good sperm. “To increase the chances of success, one should get sperm and eggs from the rhinos in Indonesia,” he said. But, Payne said Indonesia is not supportive of the idea.

The Malaysian scientists plan to use cells from the dead rhinos to create an embryo. The embryo will then be placed into a living rhino, or a closely related animal, such as the horse. The plan is similar to one for the African northern white rhinoceros, of which there are only just two left. Even if it worked, the animals’ lack of diversity could create a threat to their long-term survival, Galli told Reuters.

Indonesian scientist Arief Boediono is among those helping in Malaysia. Arief hopes that suecess there will help his country’s rhinos.

“It may take five, 10, 20 years. I don’t know,” Arief said. “But there has already been some success involving lab rats in Japan, so that means there is a chance.”

For now, however, Iman’s skin will be used to create a reproduction of the animal. It will be placed alongside a reproduction of Tam in a Borneo museum.

【推荐3】Huang Qinqin, a 29-year-old Chinese shoe designer, found her “personal legend” through her academic journey in China and the UK. She recently won the Culture and Creativity Award of Study UK Alumni Awards 2023-2024 for her contributions to arts and culture.

Huang’s education in both countries shaped her into what she is today. She started her own shoe brand, “ouvrir la boîte”, which means “to open the box” in French. Her designs have been featured in high-end stores and international fashion shows. Huang believes that the value of her products lies in the unique design philosophy itself.

Huang’s journey into design was unforeseen. She initially studied engineering but switched to international communications studies in college. It was during writing an essay on social sciences that she discovered her passion for shoe design. She went on to study design at Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion in the UK. To her astonishment, Huang discovered she was the only Chinese participant in the shoe design class. “While international luxury shoe brands like Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin are household names, Chinese brands are rarely seen in this field,” said Huang.

This finding fueled Huang’s determination to pursue her career as a shoe designer, hoping to fill the blank in the international market. She established her own brand and has been exploring her design concept of “the art of practical wear”. Her designs incorporate Chinese cultural heritage, such as materials from historical artifacts like jade (玉).

Looking back, Huang said that it took her a long time to find her lifelong passion. However, she believes that it is never too late to unlock one’s potential. Her diverse experiences, including garden design and dance, have become precious treasures in her life and have helped her develop self-directed learning abilities, which are essential skills for her startup business today.