【推荐1】Despite more than a month of efforts to rescue Tenora, a young green sea turtle, pollution-related issues made it difficult to save her. Tenora was finally put to death to reduce her suffering.

Tenora was brought in by Rainbow Reef Dive Center staff and customers on October 3, 2020.The rescue team was led by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors)Instructor Josh Phillips who had made it his “personal mission” to help Tenora after seeing her with a softball-sized tumor (肿瘤) out on the reefs (暗礁). He connected with the Turtle Hospital, a nonprofit in the Florida Keys for permission and guidance about how to rescue her.

After over a month of searching and failed attempts, Phillips was finally able to rescue her on a rainy Saturday. Shelby Ferguson of the Turtle Hospital met the boat at the dock to bring Tenora in for evaluation and care. Ferguson explained that green see turtles are the species most easily affected by the virus that causes fibropapilloma (FP) tumors like the one Tenora had. Generally, she said, the more polluted the water, the more turtles present with FP tumors.

In Hawaii, nitrogen ( 氯) runoff from pineapple farms increases the disease incidence in green sea turtles near the islands, explained Bette Zirkelbach, manager at the Turtle Hospital. Scientists there first made the link between poor water quality and increased FP tumors in green sea turtles. The Turtle Hospital is building on this knowledge by leading an in-water scientific study on sea turtle health in the Florida Keys for the next three years, she added.

While external masses can be surgically removed, there is currently no treatment for internal FP tumors in sea turtles, so animals like Tenora are humanely put to death to reduce their suffering, Zirkelbach said.

Phillips reflected on Tenora’s loss, saying, “I think it is terrible to consider that this is mostly caused by humans.” He urged everyone, “Wake up. Do better. We’re all in this together, and if we don’t try to change how we live our lives, things aren’t going to get any better. This is our chance lo do something today for the next generation.”

【推荐2】I need a new phone. Like many of us with older model iPhones, my battery life is just a few hours and I’ve stopped updating the operating system to extend the phone’s life. But I’m having a tough time making the final decision. It’s not the cost. It’s not the inconvenience either. It’s the environment.

Making smartphones, laptops, and other tech products takes a lot of resources. This is partly due to the carbon emissions from the producing process. Still, the most negative impact comes from the mining of the rare earth metals that make your phone work. If you’re reading this on your phone right now, you’re holding about 0.034 grams of gold, 0.34 grams of silver, and smaller amounts of other rare elements. These are tiny amounts, but consider the demand for smartphones around the world.

All of these rare elements have to be mined from inside the Earth, in places like China and some African countries. Mining is hugely environmentally destructive: forests are destroyed, the ground is disturbed, and water quality in the area takes a dive.

Now take these environmental risks, and combine them with the fact that the average lifespan (使用寿命) of a smartphone is just two years, the length of your contract with your cell phone company. After that, if you’re lucky, you get a “free” upgrade. Awesome, right? Sure, if you ignore the fact that the environmental impact of a new phone is about the same as using your old one for a decade.

It’s nearly impossible to live in the 21st century without contributing to the destruction of the environment and climate change. I am guilty as well — eat meat and occasionally fly. But that doesn’t mean that we should stop trying to do better, or ignore the consequences of our actions. I urge you to think carefully about your next smartphone purchase no matter what those Black Friday ads may be trying to tell you.