【推荐1】Last fall, beekeepers from states with warm climates began to report a sudden loss of honey bees. Losses were reported in twenty­four states and spread to Canada. Today, some beekeepers say thirty percent to ninety percent of their honey bees are gone. Food price could go up as a result. And some beekeeping businesses have failed.

Many kinds of plants, trees and grasses need bees to pollinate them.Bees gather nectar from flowers during this process. The liquid gives them food and material to make honey. As the bees land on flowers, their bodies pick up and drop off particles of pollen (花粉). Most flowering plants need pollination to reproduce.

Honey bees can die during the winter. But few dead bees have been found this time. Instead, the bees seem to have disappeared. Experts call the condition “colony collapse disorder”.

Agriculture Department official Caird Rexroad said the colony collapse disorder threatens about fifteen billion dollars worth of the country's farm economy. Mr. Rexroad commented at a hearing of a House of Representatives agriculture subcommittee.

Mr.Rexroad said the cause of the sudden loss of bees was not clear. The number of honey bees had already fallen before the colony collapse disorder began.

Experts say the varroa mite is at least partly responsible for the earlier decrease in honey bees. The mite is a tiny creature that feeds on honey bees. It may play a part in colony collapse disorder by carrying bee viruses. Or the problem may be caused by other disease and weather conditions.

Diana Cox­Foster of Pennsylvania State University is part of the scientific group. Ms. Cox­Foster says the nation needs honey bees that can defend themselves better against disease and insects. The recent mapping of most of the honey bees' genes offers the hope of a stronger honey bee some day.

【推荐2】Mareus Eriksen was studying plastic pollution when he met camel expert Ulrich Wernery. He went deep into the desert and spotted a camel skeleton（骨架）.Eriksen was not prepared for what he saw in the desert. It was justappalled," he said. “Inside the camel's body was a mass as big as a medium-sized suitcase, all plastic bags. "

Wernery is a scientist working in a researeh lab in Dubai. Since 2008. Wernery s team has examined 30,000 dead camels. Of these, 300 had gutspacked with plastic. As camels wander in the desert, they eat plastic bags and other trash that drift into trees and pile up along roadsides. "To a camel, if it s not sand, it's food," explains Eriksen.

Tightly packed masses of indigestible things can build up in the gut of people or animals. Scientists call them bezoars. Normally, these are made of vegetable fibers or hair. Wernery and Eriksen call those found in the camels “polybezoars”. It points to their origin：plastic polymers.

A bezoar can be dangerous. As it fills the stomach. an animal may stop eating. No longer feeling hungry, they might starve to death. Plastic can also release harmful chemicals. The polybezoars may even carry bacteria that can poison camels.

In a new study, Eriksen and Wernery report data suggesting that each year these polybezoars are killing off around 1 in every 100 of camels. Of five camel bezoars analyzed for this study, the plastic content ranged from 3 to 64 kilograms. "If 1 percent mortality（死亡率）due to plastic is confirmed by future and more detailed studies, then plastic pollution will certainly represent a reason of concern for camels." says Luca Nizzetto. an environmental scientist. Such studies are important, he says, because they "raise social awareness about this pollution”.

Banning plastic bags and single-use plastics is crucial for protecting camels and other wildlife, Eriksen says. “Plastic bags are escape artists. They blow out of garbage cans, out of landfills and out of people's hands. ”What's more, he adds, “They travel for hundreds of miles.”

【推荐1】Let’s look at some inventions that had their roots in the UK.

There are some things we don’t know we need until someone invents them. For example, the bagless vacuum cleaner. James Dyson came up with the idea after spending a lot of money on an expensive cleaner that simply pushed dirt around.

Most of us would have given it up, but Dyson went on to change the basic principle of a vacuum cleaner --- an idea that hadn’t been challenged for 100 years --- by designing a system that removed the necessity of the bag for good. His final version took five years of research.

However, when Dyson first approached manufacturers (制造商) with his idea, he couldn’t interest them. But he didn’t give up and set up a factory in Wiltshire in 1993 to produce them himself. Two years later, Dyson’s products were outselling the competition.

While the Americans were driving supersize Cadillacs, Britain famously went in the opposite direction and came up with a small car.

Alec Issigonis was responsible for the design and made a name for himself in motoring history with its launch (投放市场) in 1959 for the British Motor Corporation(BMC).

The Mini’s success wasn’t overnight. Many thought it “strange”, but it developed into a love affair with the British that’s never decreased, helped by the fact that many stars loved it.

Like any major city, London has always produced large amounts of waste. Give thanks to Joseph Bazalgette, an engineer who developed a far-reaching underground sewage system. It changed the process of getting rid of waste by dumping it into the Thames River. Even more impressive was his idea to construct pipes that would function for nearly 150 years and still be large enough to meet the need of the increasing population. As he said, “We’re only going to do this once.”

【推荐2】Climate change is already affecting water access for people around the world causing more severe droughts and floods. Climate change impacts the water cycle by influencing when, where, and how much rain falls It also leads to more severe weather events over time. Increasing global temperatures causes water to rise into the air in larger amounts, which will lead to higher levels of atmospheric water vapor and more frequent, heavy, and intense rains in the coming years.

Climate scientists predict that this change will lead to more floods since more water will fall than vegetation and soil can absorb. The remaining water, or runoff, flows into nearby waterways, picking up pollutants like fertilizers (肥料) on the way. Too much runoff eventually travels to larger bodies of water like lakes, and the ocean, damaging the water supply and limiting water access for humans and ecosystems.

When fertilizers from farming wash into lakes and the ocean, they promote the rapid growth of algae (藻类). These resulting algal blooms fill waterways with clouds of green, blue-green, red, or brown algae. They block sunlight from reaching underwater life and reduce oxygen levels within the water Poisons from the algae can kill off fish and other aquatic animals, make people sick, and even kill humans. These poisons are especially dangerous because they can survive rainfall processes, making tap water unfit to consume once polluted. Algal blooms also impact industries that rely on the water for business, and often cause local waterfronts to shut down during blooms.

There are many things that everyone can do to lessen the impact of climate change. Some measures include growing your own fruits and vegetables or buying locally grown produce, since produce is often transported to grocery stores from far away by trucks, which add more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. You could also walk or bike instead of driving a car.

【推荐3】SEA Summer High School Programs 2022

Science at SEA

Science at SEA is a four-week program for rising high school juniors and seniors, as well as recent high school graduates, which focuses on the coastal and offshore marine(海洋的) environment around Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The program includes a shore component on the SEA campus in Woods Hole and a sea component aboard the Sailing School Vessel (SSV) Corwith Cramer.

July 21- August 13            Expense: $4, 000

SEA Quest

SEA Quest is a two-week program that welcomes high school students and recent graduates. Participants will gain hands-on experience conducting field research, sailing a tall ship, and understanding of the complexities of creating and managing marine reserves. They return home with a broader sense of the ocean’s importance to our planet and the need to preserve this precious resource for future generations. Life here is fast-paced. No prior sailing experience is necessary. Strong desire to learn is required!

July 11 - July 22             Expense: $ 3, 200

SEA Cape

This three-week summer program at SEA offers current high school students the opportunity to study the marine environment from a variety of perspectives: scientific, historical, and literary. Participants live and study at our campus in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

June 27 - July 14            Expense: $ 3, 800

SEA Expedition

This two-week summer program for high school students, including graduating seniors, is centered on learning by doing. SEA Expedition is a multidisciplinary experience that welcomes students to participate in every aspect of a challenging offshore sailing , and occurs entirely aboard the ship SSV Corwith Cramer. Life at sea is fast-paced and tough.

July 5 - July 17             Expense: $ 3, 500