Where are the bees?
Bees are essential to the production of food we eat. Bees make honey, but they also pollinate large areas of crops, such as straw berries, apples and onions. About a third of the food we eat is a result of pollination of the bees. Unfortunately, bees have been disappearing at an alarming rate.
In 2006, bee keepers started reporting about something called Colony Collapse Disaster (CCD).The main sign of CCD is the loss of adult honey bees from a hive. In October of 2006, some beekeepers reported that they had lost between 30 and 90 percent of their hives.
There were many theories for the disappearance of the bees. But the most convincing one has to do with pesticides and lifestyles of bees today. Nowadays, beekeeper get most of their income not from producing honey but from renting bees to pollinate plants. This means that the life of the typical bee now consists of travelling all around the country to pollinate crops as the seasons change. That means a lot of traveling on trucks, which is very stressful to bees. It is not unusual for up to 30% of the hive to die during transport due to stress. In addition, bees that spend most of their time locked up on trucks are not exposed to what they usually live on. Instead, they live on a sweet liquid from corn, usually polluted with pesticides.
The exact reason for the disappearance of bees is not sure, but losing bees is very costly to the economy. The bee pollination services are worth over $8 billion a year. With no bees, pollination will have to be done by hand, which would have effects on the quality of food and increased food priced. We hear a lot about big environmental disasters almost every day. But one of the biggest may just be the less of that tiny flying insect.
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2 . Composite image of Europe and North Africa at night, 2016. Credit： NASA Earth NPP Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Suomi VIIRS data from Miguel Roman, is oftenNASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Artificial light seen as a sign of progress: the march of civilization shines a light in the dark； it takes back the night； it illuminates. But a chorus of scientists and advocates argues that unnaturally bright nights are bad not just for astronomers but also for nocturnal (夜间活动的)animals and even for human health.
Now research shows the night is getting even brighter. From 2012 to 2016 the earth's artificially lit area expanded by an estimated 2. 2 percent a year (map), according to a study published last November in Science Advances. Even that increase may understate the problem, however. The measurement excludes light from most of the energy-efficient LED lamps that have been replacing sodium-vapor technology in cities all over the world, says lead study author Christopher Kyba, a postdoctoral researcher at the German Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam.
The new data came from a NASA satellite instrument called the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). It can measure long-wavelengths of light, such as those produced by traditional yellow-and-orange sodium-vapor street lamps. But VIIRS cannot see the shortwavelength blue light produced by white LEDs. This light has been shown to disrupt human sleep cycles and nocturnal animals, behavior.
Credit: Mapping Specialists ； Source: Artificially Lit Surface of Earth at Night Increasing in Radiance and Extent," by Christopher C. M. Kyba et al. , in Science Advances, Vol. 3, No. 11, Article No. E1701528 ； November 22, 2017.
The team believes the ongoing switch to LEDs caused already bright countries such as Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the U. S. to register as having stable levels of illumination in the VIIRS data. In contrast, most nations in South America, Africa and Asia brightened, suggesting increases in the use of traditional lighting. Australia actually appeared to lose lit area一but the researchers say that is because wildfires skewed the data.
"The fact that VIIRS finds an increase (in many countries) , despite its blindness in the part of the spectrum that increased more, is very sad," says FabioFalchi, a researcher at Italy's Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute, who did not participate in the study. In 2016 Falchi, along with Kyba and several other members of his research team, published a global atlas of artificial lighting that showed one third of the world's population currently lives under skies too bright to see the Milky Way at night.
The data also cast doubt on the idea that the LED lighting revolution will lead to energy cost savings. Between 2012 and 2016 the median nation pumped out 15 percent more long- wavelength light as its GDP increased by 13 percent. And overall, countries, total light production correlated with their GDP. In other words, Kyba says, "we buy as much light as we are willing to spend money on."
1. Which is not true about the spread of lit areas?| A．Lit area expanded by an estimated 2. 2 percent a year. |
| B．Artificial light is often seen as a sign of progress. |
| C．The increase in GDP is due to the increase in light. |
| D．It is bad for noctumal animals and even for human health. |
| A．It is a kind of NASA satellite device. |
| B．It can record and analyzed long-wavelength light. |
| C．The blue light generated by white LEDs can disrupt human sleep cycles. |
| D．VIIRS has found an increase of traditional lighting in lots of nations. |
| A．Artificial LED lights at nights are harmful to people's health. |
| B．It is a sign of civilization in modern society. |
| C．The blue light disrupts human and animals" life cycles. |
| D．Artificially lit surface of Earth increasing because of LEDs. |
| A．show the VIIRS data from NASA |
| B．demonstrate the significance of VIIRS for its measurement of wavelengths |
| C．reveal the relationship between wavelength light and GDP |
| D．arouse peoples awareness of light pollution |
3 . Everything about nuclear energy seems terrifically big: the cost, construction and decommissioning—and the fears of something going badly wrong.
The future, however may well be much smaller. Dozens of companies are working on a new generation of reactors that, they promise, can deliver nuclear power at lower cost and reduced risk.
These small-scale plants will on average generate between 50MW and 300MW of power compared with the 1,000MW-plus from a conventional reactor. They will draw on modular manufacturing techniques that will reduce construction risk, which has plagued larger-scale projects. Supporters believe these advanced modular reactors (AMRs)—most of which will not be commercial until the 2030s—are critical if atomic power is to compete against the rapidly falling costs of solar and wind.
“The physics hasn’t changed. It’s about much cleverer design that offers much-needed flexibility in terms of operation,” said Tim Stone, long-term industry adviser and chairman of Nuclear risk Insurers, which insures nuclear sites in the UK.
Since the Fukushima meltdown in Japan in 2011, safety fears have threatened nuclear power. But the biggest obstacle today is economic. In western Europe, just three plants are under construction: in the UK at Hinkley point C in Somerset; at Flamanville in France; and at Olkiluoto in Finland. All involve the European Pressurized Reactor technology of EDF that will be used at Hinkley Point. All are running years late and over budget. In the US, the first two nuclear projects under way for the past 30 years are also blowing through cost estimates.
The UK, which opened the world’s first commercial nuclear reactor in 1956, is one of the few western nations committed to renewing its ageing fleet to ensure energy security and meet tough carbon reduction targets. It is seen as a proving ground, by many in the industry, of nuclear power’s ability to restore confidence.
However, the country’s agreement with EDF to build two units at Hinkley Point—which together will generate 3.2GW of electricity—has come under severe criticism over its cost. The government is looking at different funding models but said it still sees nuclear power as vital to the country’s future energy mix. Small reactors, it believes, have the potential to generate much-needed power from the 2030s.
A nuclear sector deal, unveiled last month, promised up to ￡56m in funding for research and development into AMRs and attracted interest of start-ups from around the world. The government hopes the funding will give the UK a lead in the global race to develop these technologies, helping to provide energy security while also creating a multibillion-dollar export market for British engineering companies.
1. Which of the following is true about the advanced modular reactors (AMRs)?| A．AMRs produce more power than traditional reactors |
| B．Small in scale, AMRs rose more safety risks |
| C．So far, most AMRs have not been put into use yet |
| D．Governments prefer energy of solar and wind to that of AMRs |
| A．prove that nuclear power has been threatened by safety concern. |
| B．show that the construction of nuclear power plants cost more that the budget available. |
| C．indicate the construction of nuclear plants are slow in speed. |
| D．point out that most power plants have adopted the latest nuclear technology. |
| A．Some people have lost confidence in the development of nuclear plants |
| B．The UK government seeks to reduce the negative impact of nuclear power on its economy. |
| C．The plan to build two power plants in Hinkley Point has been deserted |
| D．a kind costs for small modular reactors would be higher relative to large nuclear reactors. |
| A．Britain counts on nuclear energy to keep lights on |
| B．Traditional nuclear plants boom with mini reactors |
| C．Nuclear’s share of power generation remain stead |
| D．Nuclear power looks to shrink its way to success |
Millions of Baby Olive Ridley Turtles Emerge in Orissa
Nature is full of wonders. In
Orissa is the home to three mass nesting sites of the Oliver turtles, a species
The female turtles drag
The baby turtles emerge from the eggs after 45— 0 days, then the babies grow without their mother, which is a rare phenomenon in nature. Interestingly, it is on the same beach where they were born
In the recent years, sea erosion has led to many turtles' nest
