1 . Polar bear mothers invest a huge amount into their cubs (幼兽), isolating themselves in dens (兽穴) dug with great effort into piles of snow to provide care through the unforgiving conditions of Arctic winter. It’s little wonder that the bears are hesitant to leave when disturbed, even when oil drilling equipment is in operation nearby.

“We found that bears wouldn’t abandon their dens even with vehicles driving right overhead,” says Wesley Larson, who worked his way from office assistant to a graduate student position with Utah’s Brigham Young University, monitoring polar bears on Alaska’s North Slope.

Scientists have recorded an increase in human-wildlife conflict in the area, as offshore pack ice has decreased, forcing the bear population to create their dens closer to petrol industry activity. With increased industry interest in oil and gas leasing (租赁) in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, strong evidence to help support and carry out protective measures for the species has never been more important.

Wildlife managers in Alaska depend on a rule that industrial activity and research cannot take place within 1. 6 km of a den with newborn babies in it. Working with 15 years of monitoring records, and 30 years of notes concerning interactions between the industry and the bears, Larson and colleagues were able to confirm that the regulation was sufficient, but that more needed to be done to actively locate dens. He explains that with entrances quickly covered by snow and dens closed-up until spring, they are effectively undetectable to the naked eye.

“While technology such as forward-looking infrared cameras can be used to try to pick up a heat signature inside the den, it only works when conditions are perfect, and they rarely are in Arctic winter,” says Larson. He is now consulting on a project using radar technology to identify dens and ensure protection for the animals symbolic of the Arctic.

2 . Seventy-year-old Tububatu and his wife live in a village on the edge of Badain Jaran China’s third-largest desert. Since their retirement, they’ve been spending every day fighting the advancement of the desert with the help of plant-life. Others had tried fighting the desert and failed, but they just wanted to know if they could make a difference.

Relying only on their pensions, the retired couple have been slowly and steadily growing their little desert forest. They started out by planting just 50 trees, but kept doubling their efforts to the point where they now plant thousands of trees a year. Even though they mostly plant drought-resistant (抗旱的) species, they still water them at least once a day to make sure they grow better. Their small desert forest now covers over 266 hectares (公顷) and numbers tens of thousands of trees.

The couple stay behind in their village, nearly 100 kilometers away from the nearest town, despite their children’s efforts to get them to move with them to a more comfortable home. They’ve been made fun of by other villagers who believed their efforts to fight the desert were sure to fail, but they haven’t let that prevent them making their efforts. They may very well fail, but at least they’ve given it their all.

Over the last 19 years, the couple have planted over 266 hectares of desert and have no plan of stopping anytime soon. China Daily reports that Tububatu and his wife have so far planted over 70,000 trees and spent more than 1 million yuan of their savings in the process. The bad conditions have caused a lot of damage to their health. They look older than their age, and they both have been battling serious health conditions, but they refuse to abandon their battle against the desert.

3 . Imagine an island untouched by humans and without any large mammals.Colorful and strange birds of all shapes and sizes fly over forests and seaside hills. The sky is painted with endless clouds. Flightless birds nest safely on the ground, and seabirds cover the beaches. The sound of the bird song is overwhelming. The Maori named this place “Aotearoa,” Land of the Long White Cloud. The world now knows it as New Zealand.

When the Maori sailed their canoes across the Pacific Ocean from their homeland, Hawaiki, at least 120 different species of birds lived in Aotearoa. Eleven species of moa , an ostrich-like bird, moved freely, and the largest stood 11 feet tall. The Haast’s eagle dominated the skies with its wing span of nearly 10 feet. Because bats were the only mammals, Aotearoa was an actual bird paradise.

Unfortunately, the Maori overhunted the moa for meat. As the moa disappeared, the Haast’s eagle lost its primary food source. By the time Europeans arrived in New Zealand, both birds were extinct.

When European settlers arrived, they brought animals that attacked birds. These non-native animals exploded in number because they had no predators. Birds also lost habitat as forests were cut down for wood and pastures.

Within a few hundred years of humans discovering and living in New Zealand, more than half the unique bird species were extinct. The whekau,found throughout New Zealand in the 1800s, was declared extinct in 1914. The piopio,considered the best songbird in Aotearoa, was last seen in the mid-1900s.

Thirty percent of the species now alive are in danger because of other animals and loss of habitat. Scientists estimate nature would take 50 million years to replace the birds lost over the last 1,000 years. New Zealand conservationists are working to save the threatened species.

4 . The loss of natural land isn’t just a problem for the Amazon or the rainforests of Southeast Asia. The United States is losing its forests, grasslands, wetlands, and deserts at a truly startling pace.

Between 2001 and 2017, some 97,124 square kilometers of natural land-around the size of Indiana-were destroyed in the US to make way for roads, industry, farms, and other signs of human civilization. That’s equal to a football field-sized piece of land being lost every 30 seconds. Some of the most serious losses have been experienced in the South and Midwest, where human development took over 47 percent and 59 percent of all land area, respectively, in the 16 years studied.

These findings come from a report published by The Center for American Progress Using available satellite data and open-source databases, they calculated the rate of loss of natural lands and its relationship to oil and gas extraction（开采）, road construction, urban development, agriculture, and other human-related activities. If national trends continue, a South Dakota-sized expanse of forests, wetlands, and wild places in the continental United States will disappear by 2050.

Now only 12 percent of the country’s land area has been conserved as national parks, wilderness areas, national monuments, or other protected areas, while 26 percent of ocean area is safeguarded from oil and gas extraction. According to this report, it’s now time to extend this level of protection even further. Keeping in line with present scientific recommendations, they conclude that the US should aim to protect at least 30 percent of lands and oceans in a natural state by 2030.

However, it isn’t all about desperation. The authors conclude on a remarkably optimistic note（well, relatively optimistic for an environmental report, at least）. “The United States is entering new times when it will rely more than ever on the integrity（完整）and stability of the natural world to provide economic boom, safeguard the health of communities, and weather（平安渡过）the effects of a changing climate,” they write.

9 . Some 128 baby squids from Hawaii are in space for a study. The baby Hawaiian squids come from the University of Hawaii's Kewalo Marine Laboratory. They are about 7.6 centimeters long. There are plenty of these tiny animals in Hawaiian waters. The squids will come back to Earth in July. They rode on a SpaceX spacecraft along with thousands of kilos of supplies for the International Space Station on June 3.

Jamie Foster is conducting the study as a researcher at the University of Hawaii with the help of Dr. Margaret McFall-Ngai, a member of the National Academy of Sciences. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspapers reported that she studies how spaceflight affects the squids. The research, started in 1989, can help scientists learn about human health during long trips in space.

Squids have a relationship with natural bacteria that help them control their giving off light. Margaret said, “When astronauts are in low gravity, their bodies' relationship with bacteria changes. Bacteria are very important to the human body and health. The relationship of humans with bacteria is disturbed in low gravity, and Jamie has shown that it is true in squids," said Margaret. "And, because it's a simple system, she can get to the bottom of what happens."

“As astronauts spend more and more time in space, their immune systems don't function well,” Jamie said. "Their immune systems don't recognize bacteria easily. They sometimes get sick. Understanding what happens to the squids in space could help solve health problems that astronauts face."

She said, "The immune system does not work properly on long spaceflights. If humans want to spend time on the moon or Mars, we have to solve health problems to get them there safely.”

10 . Living on the Florida Emerald Coast, people view a hurricane as a common thing. So it is not unusual for a family to have several full gas cans and bottled water stored in their houses all summer.

Though unwilling to evacuate from a hurricane, on September 15,my family was forced to leave our home for my grandfather's house several miles away. We spent the early part of that evening watching the hurricane draw closer on the Weather Channel. Around nine o'clock, a loud sound shook the house, turned over the roof and carried it off. Soon came an indoor rainstorm.

Realizing the damage, my grandfather began to be afraid. The storm had started, but he still ran out into the heavy rain and wind to see how much of the roof was left. We got him back inside. I had never seen him so scared. Mom finally asked him to lie down in his room.

The leak had progressed rapidly. It soon became a race against time to protect what was saved. Some people may think it necessary to save material things, but I hoped to save those items with emotional value, such as the photos. I still feared the storm, but I more feared the influence it brought.

The next morning, it started to clear up. Thankfully, my family weathered the storm, though the same could not be said for the house. Only the wooden beams remained, but inside many of his things were safe. My mom and I had worked tirelessly through the night.

It was late, but we were still unwilling to go to bed. We discussed the rebuilding of the house. Under the beautiful sky, we suggested looking after my grandfather more often in the future. After this disaster, I realized the truth that the hurricane itself was not so terrible if we loved each other.