8 . More than 50 percent of the largest lakes in the world are losing water, storing less water than they did three decades ago, according to a new assessment published today in Science. The key causes are not surprising: The warming climate and unsustainable human consumption.

Lead author Fangfang Yao, a climate fellow at University of Virginia, and his team created a technique to measure changes in water levels of nearly 2,000 of the world’s biggest lakes and reservoirs (水库), which represent 95 percent of the total lake water storage on Earth.

They used 250,000 lake-area pictures taken by satellites between 1992 and 2020 to survey the area of 1,972 of Earth’s biggest lakes. They collected water levels from nine satellite altimeters (测高计) and used long-term water levels to reduce any uncertainty. For lakes without a long-term level record, they used recent water measurements made by newer instruments on satellites. Combining recent level measurements with longer-term area measurements allowed scientists to reconstruct the volume of lakes dating back decades.

The result was staggering: 53 percent of lakes globally experienced a decline in water storage. The authors compare this loss with the size of 17 Lake Meads, the largest reservoir in the United States.

To explain the trends in natural lakes, the team used recent advancements in water use and climate modeling. “Climate change and human water consumption were mainly responsible for the global net decline in natural lake volume and water losses in about 100 large lakes,” Yao said. “And many of the human and climate change footprints on lake water losses were previously unknown, such as the dryness of Lake Good-e-Zareh in Afghanistan.”

And their research offers an understanding into possible solutions. Yao said, “If human consumption is a large cause of lake water storage decline, then we can adapt and explore new policies to reduce large-scale (大范围) declines.” This happened in one of the lakes the team studied, Lake Sevan in Armenia. Lake Sevan has seen an increase in water storage, in the last 20 years, which the authors linked to the enforcement (实施) of conservation laws on water withdrawal since the early 2000s.

9 . On April 10, the University of Utah became officially Bee Campus certificated. This process was started by senior Zoē Bross in her second year on campus. Bee Campus USA hopes to protect the native pollinators (传粉者) on college campuses by increasing the number of native plants, providing nest sites, reducing the use of pesticides, and offering educational opportunities that help with pollinator conservation.

After first hearing her school wasn’t certificated a Bee Campus and finding becoming Bee Campus certificated would give the University more point s on the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) program, which decides ratings to campuses according to their sustainable efforts, Bross wanted to help.

There are many requirements to become Bee Campus certificated. The first major step for Bross was to create a standing Bee Campus committee with a mix of students and staff. Bross tried to reach out to professors and people specializing in this field. After many efforts, the program was finally passed through and a garden for it was created.

Over 100 people showed up to help plant in the garden. After the planting was done, Grounds, responsible for planting the pollinator gardens, set up their hydroseeder (水力播种机) and let attendees take turns spraying the hill, with a mixture of water and wildflower seeds, making the area more pollinator-friendly. Rocky, the school robot, even made an appearance, taking turns spraying.

Certificated by Bee Campus USA, Bee Campuses are expected to continue maintaining or improving pollinator habitats on campuses, as well as maintaining an educational online presence. “I see the campus continuing to be very interested,” Bross stated.

Future plans for the campus include more pollinator gardens, native wildflowers, and even bee sculptures to provide new habitats. As for Bross? She pictures herself somewhere warm and sunny in the near future, working in environmental communications and doing something for the change she wants to see in the world.