1 . My kitchen may be the best kitchen on the planet. That is because when I look out of its window can see the west side of Grandeur Peak. Grandeur Peak is one of the most attractive mountains in central Wasatch, with its animals, trees, morning clouds, evening sunset, and the mountain’s paragliders (滑翔伞运动员).

The number of paragliders flying above Grandeur Peak has grown over the past 15 years, so much so that they have become part of the mountain. But during the past year they have largely disappeared. Some paragliders told me that the wind became too strong to fly in. The wind is too strong! Is this another character of our changing climate (气候)? Will paragliding be a sport affected by a warming planet? Utah has been much windier in the past few years. For me, a scientist who studies living things, it is easy to believe that our future will be windier. This year it’s getting super-hot, and the planet is warming faster than scientists expected. I can’t help but worry that the future of paragliding in Utah is not bright.

I’m writing to the brave people who fly from Grandeur Peak with beautiful wings. I want you to join Clean The Dam Air, a group that’ s working hard to fight climate change and air pollution — I’m part of it too. We are introducing a measure, which aims to remove the state sales tax (税) on grocery store food and put a carbon tax on fossil fuels (化石燃料) in its place: gas, electricity produced from fossil fuels, and natural gas. The goal isn’t to make taxes higher. The idea is to encourage everyone to reduce their use of fossil fuels. So, paragliders, join us. Now is the time to take care of our planet. If we succeed, then Utah can be an example to others in fighting climate change.

3 . Slobodchikoff, a biologist who has spent years working to better understand the calls of dogs, used that knowledge to help people who were having trouble with their pets.

A man reported his dog wanted to bite him. So Slobodchikoff went to the man’s house. He watched as the owner walked over to the dog, towered over the pet and then said, “Good dog!” in a low-pitched(音高) voice. “The dog ran into a corner,” Slobodchikoff recalled. The owner had scared the dog. Slobodchikoff recommended that the man should do the opposite. The owner took that advice—and ended up developing a great relationship with his pet.

Not everyone has the time to study dog communications or the money to bring in an expert. Slobodchikoff thinks tech could help. He thinks a cell phone app or device that you could point at a dog. This would record video and audio(音频) of a dog’s behavior and then upload it.An artificial intelligence(AI)system would later analyze it.

The AI “ would translate this for you into English or any other language,” says Slobodchikoff. The result, he explains, may be something like “‘I’m hungry’ or ‘I need to go outside to pee’ or ‘I want to go for a walk.’”

To train the AI system, Slobodchikoff planned to get data directly from pet dogs, but for some reason, he hasn’t yet restarted the project to date, but hopes to soon.

Search an app store for a pet translator and you’ll find plenty. Some are completely unscientific and silly. MeowTalk, however, is a cat-translation app based on an AI model. In 2021, its creators reported that the AI model achieved 90 percent accuracy at identifying nine different emotional states in meows. These included angry, happy, hunting, pain and rest. The app picks conversational phrases based on these emotions, like “nice to see you,” or “let me rest.”

People who have tried the app say it doesn’t always work well. But better translations of barks and meows may be just around the corner.

5 . Yang He, a 64-year-old man from Yichang, Hubei, has observed the changes in finless porpoises (江豚) population with his camera for six years. As a(n) _________ of the finless porpoise, he has taken more than 100,000 photos of them so far.

Every day, Yang wakes up early and drives to the _________ of the Yangtze River. He waits _________ there for hours for finless porpoises to capture (捕捉) their _________ with his camera. Yang _________ finless porpoises very well. They are just like his children. As soon as one of them comes out from the water, he can tell which family it _________ .

The Yangtze finless porpoise is so _________ to the Yangtze River that any change in the health of its living environment can support or _________ its survival. “When I was a teenager, I could see many finless porpoises. I would often observe them _________ boats in the river,” Yang says. “But __________ human activities, finless porpoises became fewer.”

However, the situation has changed as __________ measures have been taken to protect the species. In 2017, Yang was __________ enough to take a photo of a finless porpoise after a long waiting. In 2019, he was able to take more photos, including images of the porpoises __________ fish near the riverbank.

Thanks to his camera, he once discovered and __________ a porpoise whose tail became entangled (缠住) with a rope. “I will make it my life’s work to __________ this amazing creature.” Yang says.

8 . A 36-year-old man is attempting to set a new record by rowing 5,000 miles solo from Hawaii to Australia while dedicating his journey to saving the planet.

Tez Steinberg, of Boulder, Colorado, plans to leave Hawaii on December 20 on his solo trip across the Pacific Ocean. Actually, it’s the second leg of an adventure that began in 2020 when he rowed solo for 71 days from Monterey, California, to Oahu, Hawaii.

Steinberg began to experience depression while he was in college. At the time, he found a solution by participating in endurance sports. “It helped me feel better,” he said. “But as I went farther and farther, pushing myself through marathons and triathlons, I discovered this belief in myself that I’m so much stronger than I thought I was.”

However, in 2016, his life took a big turn after the sudden death of his dad. The blow caused him to challenge himself even more by solo rowing across an ocean. After successfully completing the task without any prior professional experience, Steinberg realized he could use his story to inspire other people to believe in themselves and their potential to change and grow.

Recalling the first journey at sea, he said, “I was so surprised by how beautiful the ocean was, and also how much plastic I saw. So it was that realization at sea that led me to want to go back out again.” Inspired by his first expedition, Steinberg’s new mission is to focus on ocean conservation, and specifically ocean plastics. “All the plastic I saw at sea was just heartbreaking,” he said.

The upcoming voyage will be part of an attempt to break a Guinness World Record. Nevertheless, breaking records isn’t his priority. “Personally, although a world record is exciting, that’s not why I’m in it. The world record is fun for media attention, but through it we can get more donations, support and action for ocean plastics,” Steinberg said.

9 . In the northernmost edge of Colombia sits the coastal town of Acandí. Access to the town is only by water or air; there is no road that leads there. The residents there are faced with the struggles of balancing livelihoods while protecting biodiversity.

In the past, traditional community fishing methods, passed down by the elders, focused on the reasonable fishing and management of resources. However, the introduction of large-scale trawling vessels(拖网渔船) decades ago gradually depleted the area’s fishing resources, leading to damage to marine(海洋的) life seriously.

Jesús Antonio Julio Cuestas, who serves in the region’s conservation and management of marine resources, stresses the bad impact of these developments and calls for new fishing techniques. “Fishing and conservation co-exist as long as we have good management practices and reasonable use of our fishing resources,” says Cuestas. He and other officials actively monitor fishing activities in Acandí. Each morning, they visit the fish markets to gather data on fishery resources—including prices and sizes—to monitor the state of the local fishing industry.

Along with Cuestas, the fishers work to reduce their impact on the marine ecosystem. By changing fishing methods and adopting new practices, they aim for a more balanced approach to fishing. “This year the local fishermen have not used the trawl net s that were causing the death of the leatherback sea turtles,” explains Cuestas proudly. Changes include the efforts of boats to protect the seagrass that serves as feeding grounds for marine life and an end to fishers throwing net s where turtles lay their eggs.

This marine reserve in Acandí, Cuestas believes, is their greatest treasure. He attaches great importance to working together with local residents to improve the quality of life while preserving the marine ecosystem. By doing so, he imagines a picture where individuals from the fishing community can pursue various careers, such as engineers or lawyers, proudly stating that they are the products of the fishing tradition in Acandí.

10 . The spotlight shines brightly on the dancers as they gracefully leap across the stage. But what sets this performance apart from others is not just the skill and grace of the dancers but the unique and meaningful use of recycled materials in their costumes and set design.

The famous Japanese ballet company, K-Ballet, recently showed their new production “Plastic”, which aims to raise awareness about the global plastic pollution crisis. The costumes worn by the dancers are made from used bubble wrap, the stage is surrounded by four massive walls constructed from recycled plastic bottles, and even the 100 umbrellas used in the performance were found abandoned in the streets of Tokyo.

The dancers, including guest star Julian MacKay, look like space-age creatures with hand-cleaned plastic bottles tied to their bodies as they dance on stage. MacKay, from the United States, notes that the issue of plastic waste “really hasn’t gotten that spotlight” in the dance world and believes that the performing arts can inspire people to take action.

The problem of plastic waste is a pressing one. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), plastic waste has doubled globally in the past 20 years, and only 9 percent of it is successfully recycled. The United Nations predicts that the volume of plastic entering the oceans will nearly triple (成为三倍) by 2040.

K-Ballet plans to keep its costumes and set design for at least a year with the hope of restaging the show and after that, the bottles will be recycled by Shirai, a waste management company. The chow’s experience and message moved audience members who attended the performance. Ayumi Kisaki, a 30-year-old actor, said, “It’s an issue I don’t usually think about. But these dancers highlighting the issue of plastic call me and all of us to find ways to recycle and reuse the plastic.”