【推荐1】Hundreds of scientists, writers and academics sounded a warning to humanity in an open letter published last December: Policymakers and the rest of us must engage openly with the risk of global collapse. Researchers in many areas have projected the widespread collapse as “a credible scenario(情景) this century”.

A survey of scientists found that extreme weather events, food insecurity, and freshwater shortages might create global collapse. Of course, if you are a non-human species, collapse is well underway.

The call for public engagement with the unthinkable is especially germane in this moment of still-uncontrolled pandemic and economic crises in the world’s most technologically advanced nations. Not very long ago, it was also unthinkable that a virus would shut down nations and that safety nets would be proven so disastrously lacking in flexibility.

The international scholars’ warning letter doesn’t say exactly what collapse will look like or when it might happen. Collapseology, the study of collapse, is more concerned with identifying trends and with them the dangers of everyday civilization. Among the signatories(签署者) of the warning was Bob Johnson, the originator of the “ecological footprint” concept, which measures the total amount of environmental input needed to maintain a given lifestyle. With the current footprint of humanity, “it seems that global collapse is certain to happen in some form, possibly within a decade, certainly within this century,” Johnson said in an email.

“Only if we discuss the consequences of our biophysical limits,” the December warning letter says, “can we have the hope to reduce their speed, severity and harm”. And yet messengers of the coming disturbance are likely to be ignored. We all want to hope things will turn out fine. As a poet wrote,

The hundreds of scholars who signed the letter are intent(执着) on quieting hope that ignores preparedness. “Let’s look directly into the issue of collapse,” they say, “and deal with the terrible possibilities of what we see there to make the best of a troubling future.”

【推荐2】THE NIGHT THE EARTH DIDN’T SLEEP

Strange things were happening in the countryside of northeastern Hebei. For several days，the water in the village wells rose and fell，rose and fell. There were deep cracks that appeared in the well walls. At least one well had some smelly gas coming out of it. Chickens and even pigs were too nervous to eat，and dogs refused to go inside buildings. Mice ran out of the fields looking for places to hide，and fish jumped out of the water. At about 3：00 a.m., on 28 July 1976，bright lights were seen in the sky outside the city of Tangshan and loud noises were heard. But the city’s one million people were asleep as usual that night.

At 3:42 a.m., everything began to shake. It seemed as if the world were coming to an end! Eleven kilometres directly below the city, one of the most deadly earthquakes of the 20th century had begun, a quake that even caused damage more than 150 kilometres away in Beijing. Nearly one third of the whole nation felt it! A huge crack, eight kilometres long and 30 metres wide, cut across houses, roads, and waterways. Hard hills of rock became rivers of dirt. In less than one minute, a large city lay in ruins. Two thirds of the people who lived there were dead or injured. Thousands of children were left without parents. The number of people who were killed or badly injured in the quake was more than 400,000.

Everywhere survivors looked，there was nothing but ruins. Nearly everything in the city was destroyed. About 75 percent of the city’s factories and buildings，90 percent of its homes，and all of its hospitals were gone. Bricks covered the ground like red autumn leaves，but no wind could blow them away. Most bridges had fallen or were not safe to cross. The railway tracks were now useless pieces of metal. Tens of thousands of cows，hundreds of thousands of pigs，and millions of chickens were dead. Sand now filled the wells instead of water. People were in shock—and then，later that afternoon，another big quake shook Tangshan again. Even more buildings fell down. Water，food，and electricity were hard to get. People began to wonder how long the disaster would last.

But hope was not lost. Soon after the quakes，the army sent 150，000 soldiers to Tangshan to dig out those who were trapped and to bury the dead. More than 10，000 doctors and nurses came to provide medical care. Workers built shelters for survivors whose homes had been destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people were helped. Water and food were brought into the city by train，truck，and plane. Slowly，the city began to breathe again.

Tangshan started to revive itself and get back up on its feet. With strong support from the government and the tireless efforts of the city’s people，a new Tangshan was built upon the earthquake ruins. The new city has become a home to more than seven million people，with great improvements in transportation，industry，and environment. Tangshan city has proved to China and the rest of the world that in times of disaster，people must unify and show the wisdom to stay positive and rebuild for a brighter future.