【推荐2】Large gatherings such as weddings and conferences can be socially overwhelming. Pressure to learn people’s names only adds to the stress. A new facial-recognition app could come to the rescue, but privacy experts recommend proceeding with caution.

The app, called SocialRecall, connects names with faces via smartphone cameras and facial recognition, potentially avoiding the need for formal introductions. “It breaks down these social barriers we have when meeting somebody,” says Barry Sandrew, who created the app.

After receiving an invitation to download SocialRecall from an event organizer, the user is asked to take two selfies and sign in via social media. At the event, the app is active within a previously defined geographical area. When a user points his or her phone camera at an attendee’s face, the app identifies the individual, displays the person’s name, and links to his or her social media profile. To protect privacy, it recognizes only those who have agreed to participate and automatically deletes users’ data after an event.

Ann Cavoukian, a privacy expert who runs the Privacy by Design Center of Excellence praises the app’s creators for these protective measures. She cautions, however, that when people choose to share their personal information with the app, they should know that “there may be unintended consequences down the road with that information being used in another context that might come back to bite you.”

The start-up has also developed a version of the app for individuals who suffer from prosopagnosia, or “face blindness,” a condition that prevents people from recognizing individuals they have met. To use this app, a person first acquires an image of someone’s face, from either the smartphone’s camera or a photograph, and then tags it with a name. When the camera spots that same face in real life, the previously entered information is displayed. The collected data are stored only on a user’s phone, according to the team behind the app.

【推荐1】Balancing preservation of the land with our desire to travel is a challenge for us travelers. When seeing cities face constant resource and waste problems, I couldn’t help but think about how much travel can affect the environment.

Back in my youth, I was an environmental activist. But over the years, I leave the lights on. I fly a lot. I drink out of plastic bottles. I eat a lot of meat. And I love fish, especially tuna. However, recently, I’ve begun thinking harder about how travel affects the environment and how I affect the environment. In doing so, I’ve tried to be a lot more aware of my actions.

I don’t know if there is an easy solution for this problem. The most environmentally friendly activity is not to travel at all, but that’s unrealistic and too extreme. There’s so much money in travel that I don’t think the government and regulation can do much. Only when their profits are hurt will hotels, operators, and the industry as a whole begin to listen. Instead, it’s all about the consumers. The only good way is to get people to be more environmentally conscious and make better decisions.

Consumers have a lot of power. Why did Wal-Mart start selling only sustainable fish and whole milk? Consumers wanted it. I think if we as travelers begin to demand more environmentally friendly practices and avoid companies with poor environmental records, we can change things.

Now, I recycle more, I use fewer water bottles, I shut off the lights, Most importantly, I use operators and stay at places that are reducing their environmental impact.

Travel can destroy the environment but it doesn’t have to. We have the power to make things better. We can do small things and demand more of the places we stay and visit. We can and should demand more of places, and of ourselves.

【推荐2】Recently it is said that a dog has received an award for picking up a number of beer cans, coffee cups, and other pieces of trash, helping clean up her neighborhood in the process. It's unclear if Daisy is aware of her service, but her help has not gone unnoticed, by any means.

In fact, it is reported that this nine-year-old dog has picked up more than 5,000 pieces of rubbish. Daisy has been collecting rubbish for the last eight years, at least two times a day. Coming from the city of Worcester in the United Kingdom, Daisy has become the first dog to receive an honor from the mayor(市长). Unlike other dogs, Daisy prefers sniffing around for beer cans, among other things. She carries them back home to her owner, Judy Owens, who then takes her pet's offerings and recycles them.

“I wish Daisy understood how special she was and the award just marks what a special little dog she is,” Judy said. “She started picking up rubbish when she was around a beer can and I think she discovered it by accident.”

“One day she just sniffed out a beer can, then began picking it up," she continued. “She gets very attached to rubbish, and she must think it's some kind of treasure.”

Daisy has become something of a celebrity in her town, often known as the dog that helps get rid of all the rubbish. Then, the mayor invited Judy and Daisy to come to his office. “When we arrived he told us that Daisy would be receiving the award because he wanted to make people more conscious of protecting the environment and to thank her for her contributions over the years,” Judy said. “It was such a surprise... Daisy thought this was great and went to sit on the mayor's chair with a beer can in her mouth. Everyone thought she was funny and started laughing.”

【推荐3】British shoppers will take home about 6 billion fewer single-use plastic bags this year because the government introduced a 5p charge, according to data published July 30. The 5p charge has resulted in donations of more than ￡29 million from retailers toward charities(慈善机构) and community groups.

About 8 million tonnes of plastic pollutes the oceans each year, and experts judge the plastic is swallowed by 31 species of marine(海生的) mammals and some 100 species of seabirds.

＂Taking six billion plastic bags out of circulation is fantastic news for all of us — it will mean our precious marine life is safer, our communities are cleaner, and future generations won’t suffer from mountains of plastic taking hundreds of years to break down in landfill sites,＂ UK Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said. ＂The 5p charge has clearly been a huge success — not only for our environment but for good causes across the country that have benefited from an impressive ￡29 million raised. It shows small actions can make the biggest difference, but we must not be complacent as there is always more we can all do to reduce waste and recycle what we use.＂

More than 7 billion carrier bags were issued by seven leading retailers in 2014, but that number has fallen to slightly more than 500 million in the first six months of the 5p charge for single-use carrier bags introduced in October 2015.

＂We are delighted to see that the bag charge in England is showing positive results. This is a significant reduction that will benefit the environment as a whole, and our sea life in particular,＂ said Dr. Sue Kinsey, a technical specialist. ＂There is always more that we can do, and we encourage everyone to join in our Great British Beach Clean to help keep our coastlines clean.＂

【推荐2】TRADITIONAL belief has always had it that a not-so-clear-thinking---Vincent Van Gogh cut off his own ear after a fight with the French artist Paul Gauguin in 1888.Van Gogh is said to have handed the ear to a woman named Rachel. Then, doing what any person who had just lost an ear might do, he went home to take a nap.

But a new book titled In Van Gogh’s Ear argues that it was Gauguin who cut off the Dutch painter’s ear. Authors Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans explained inconsistencies(矛盾) in Gauguin’s description of the event and his ability as an expert swordsman(剑客). “Vincent might have attacked him; Gauguin wanted to defend himself and to get rid of this “madman’,……

They believe that Gauguin and Van Gogh agreed to hide the incident. But that doesn’t mean Gogh never dropped a hint about the “real” story. He once told his brother Theo in a letter, “Luckily, Gauguin is not yet armed with machine guns and other dangerous war weapons”.