【推荐2】Emoji (表情符号) might not be your first choice of communication in a disaster, but researchers feel they could make a difference during emergencies, where every second counts. Now, the Emoji-quake campaign(运动) is lobbying for an earthquake emoji to be added to the Unicode set — the standard group of icons available on digital devices worldwide. The campaign aims to find an earthquake-appropriate design to be added to Unicode.

“Approximately up to one third of the world’s population are exposed to earthquakes,” explains University of Southampton seismologist (地震学家) Dr. Stephen Hicks, a founder of the campaign. “So we really want to be able to communicate to all of those regions, all of those different languages, and an emoji is an amazing way of doing that.”

Unlike many other weather and climate related events, where longer warning times or visible signs are available, earthquakes move incredibly quickly and are difficult to measure while they are still occurring. Populations in areas like Japan and Mexico are dependent on earthquake early warning technology, which issues an alert (警告) on digital devices and broadcast media. “You may have seconds to get under a table or to protect yourself,” explains Dr. Hicks. “That can be life saving in many cases. Naturally you don’t want too much wording in the warning message.”

Pictographs (象形文字) and other visuals like emoji have a track record of being faster and easier to understand than written information. Dr. Sara McBride, a communications specialist, who is also part of the campaign, told BBC News, “Emoji can cross the boundaries of written languages, helping communicate valuable information to people who may struggle to read a certain language.”

The potential usefulness of emoji in emergencies could extend well beyond earthquakes. A team of designers also came up with emoji — an entire set of emoji dedicated to climate and environmental events.

【推荐3】The worst outbreak of desert locusts (蝗虫) in decades is presently underway in the Horn of Africa. It is the biggest of its kind in 25 years for Ethiopia and Somalia — and the worst Kenya has seen for 70 years.

What we are seeing in East Africa today is unlike anything we’ve seen in a very long time. Its destructive potential is enormous, and it’s taking place in a region where farmers need every gram of food to feed themselves and their families. Most of the countries hardest hit are those where millions of people are already vulnerable (脆弱的) or in serious humanitarian need, as they endure the impact of violence, drought, and floods.

We have acted quickly to respond to this outbreak. The primary method of battling locusts is the aerial spraying of pesticides (杀虫剂). FAO’s “Locust Watch” service explains that “although giant nets, flamethrowers, lasers, and huge vacuums have been proposed in the past, these are not useful for locust control. People and birds often eat locusts but usually not enough to significantly reduce population levels in large areas.”

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has released $10 million from its Central Emergency Relief Fund to support a huge scale-up in aerial operations (空中作业) to manage the outbreak.

But the window to contain this crisis is closing fast. Before the beginning of March we must bring this infestation (虫害) under control as that is when the rain and planting season begins. If left unchecked (未受制止的) — and with expected additional rains — the number of locusts in East Africa could increase 500 times by June.

We must act now to avoid a full-blown catastrophe. And we will. At the same time, we need to pay attention to a bigger picture. This is not the first time the Greater Horn of Africa has seen locust outbreak approach this scale, but the current situation is the worst in decades. This is linked to climate change. Warmer seas mean more tropical storms, generating the perfect breeding conditions for locusts.

【推荐1】Most teens are trying to find their purposes in life. However, Gitanjali Rao, a 15-year-old girl has been coming up with creative solutions to worldwide problems since she was 10. It is, therefore, not surprising that the teen has won the honor of “America’s Top Young Scientist”.

In the 3rd grade, Rao was inspired to do something after seeing the city’s primary water supply in her hometown was polluted by a factory nearby and that high levels of lead (铅)made its way into people’s drinking water.

After 2 months’ research, Rao designed a tool that used sensors to instantly discover lead in water. Called Tethys, after the Greek Goddess (女神)of freshwater, it informs the residents via an app if their drinking water contains lead. The design earned her the 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2017. She is now working with scientists and medical professionals to test Tethys’ potential and hopes the device will be ready for market in the near future.

Later, Rao took on another social issue — drug (毒品)addiction. Her app, called Epione, which won the Health Pillar Prize in May 2019, is designed to catch drug addiction in young adults before it’s too late.

More recently, the teen has developed an app named Kindly, which uses AI technology to find possible signs of cyberbullying (网络欺凌). When users type in a word or phrase, Kindly is able to pick it up if it’s bullying, and then it gives the choice to edit it or send it the way it is. It gives them the chance to rethink what they are saying so that they know what to do next time.

Gitanjali Rao has been selected from 5, 000 equally impressive nominees (被提名人)for TIME’s first-ever “Kid of the Year”.