1 . Nanako Hama gets a lot of mail, mostly from strangers who live in her home city of Tokyo. In light envelopes, they send locks of their hair, hoping to recycle it.

People generate a huge amount of hair waste. Nearly all of that waste ends up in landfill, where it can release harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

But hair possesses useful qualities and it’s a shame to simply throw it away. That’s why people all around the world, like Hama, have been collecting hair and finding innovative ways to recycle it, including making mats (垫子) out of it for removing oil leaks,

Hama is part of the nonprofit Matter of Trust (MoT) members working at more than 60 centers dotted across 17 countries, using machines to make hair donated from local salons and individuals into square mats, which are then used to clean up the floating oil.

“Hair is particularly well-suited for this,” says MoT co-founder Lisa Gautier, “That’s because its rough sort of outer layer lets oil stick to it.” MoT’s mats have been used in major oil leaks, including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 2007 Cosco Busan incidents.

In a 2018 study, Murray, an environmental scientist at the University of Technology Sydney, in Australia found that mats made of recycled human hair could absorb 0.84 grams of oil onto its surface for every gram of hair — significantly more than polypropylene (聚丙烯), a type of plastic that’s typically used to clean up floating oil.

Besides, hair is also useful as fertilizer (化肥). Hair contains a relatively high nitrogen (氪), a chemical element crucial for plant growth, and each lock of hair is made of roughly 16 percent of this essential nutrient. Last year, more than 560 gallons of liquid fertilizer made from human hair was sold to farmers in northern Tanzania and the feedback from the farmers has been very encouraging.

“It’s just a great way to use hair in a productive way. Hair is an answer literally hanging in front of our eyes-for oil and soil, ” Hama says.

2 . Artificial intelligence (AI) is showing promise in earthquake prediction, challenging the long-held belief that it is impossible. Researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, have developed an AI algorithm(算法) that correctly predicted 70% of earthquakes a week in advance during a trial in China and provided accurate strength calculations for the predicted earthquakes.

The research team believes their method succeeded because they stuck with a relatively simple machine learning approach. The AI was provided with a set of statistical features based on the team’s knowledge of earthquake physics, and then instructed to train itself using a five-year database of earthquake recordings. Once trained, the AI provided its prediction by listening for signs of incoming earthquakes within the background rumblings(隆隆声) in the Earth.

This work is clearly a milestone in research for AI-driven earthquake prediction. “You don’t see earthquakes coming,” explains Alexandros Savvaidis, a senior research scientist who leads the Texas Seismological Network Program (TexNet). “It’s a matter of milliseconds, and the only thing you can control is how prepared you are. Even with the 70% accuracy, that’s a huge result and could help minimize economic and human losses and has the potential to remarkably improve earthquake preparation worldwide.”

While it is unknown whether the same approach will work at other locations, the researchers are confident that their AI algorithm could produce more accurate predictions if used in areas with reliable earthquake tracking networks. The next step is to test artificial intelligence in Texas, since UT’s Bureau TexNet hastions and over six years worth of continuous records, making it an ideal location 300 earthquake sta for these purposes.

Eventually, the authors hope to combine the system with physics-based models. This strategy could prove especially important where data is poor or lacking. “That may be a long way off, but many advances such as this one, taken together, are what moves science forward,” concludes Scott Tinker, the bureau’s director.

6 . Do you remember all those years when scientists argued that smoking would kill us but the doubters insisted that we didn’t know for sure? That the evidence was inconclusive, the science uncertain? That the anti-smoking lobby(游说) was out to destroy our way of life and the government should stay out of the way? Lots of Americans bought that nonsense, and over three decades, some 10 million smokers went to early graves.

There are upsetting parallels today, as scientists in one wave after another try to awaken us to the growing threat of global warming. The latest was a panel from the National Academy of Sciences, enlisted by the White House, to tell us that the Earth’s atmosphere is definitely warming and that the problem is largely man-made. The clear message is that we should get moving to protect ourselves. The president of the National Academy, Bruce Alberts, added this key point in the preface to the panel’s report: “Science never has all the answers. But science does provide us with the best available guide to the future, and it is critical that our nation and the world base important policies on the best judgments that science can provide concerning the future consequences of present actions.”

Just as on smoking, voices now come from many quarters insisting that the science about global warming is incomplete, that it’s OK to keep pouring fumes into the air until we know for sure. This is a dangerous game: by the time 100 percent of the evidence is in, it may be too late. With the risks obvious and growing, a prudent person would take out an insurance policy now.

Fortunately, the White House is starting to pay attention. But it’s obvious that a majority of the president’s advisers still don’t take global warming seriously. Instead of a plan of action, they continue to press for more research — a classic case of “paralysis by analysis”.

To serve as responsible stewards of the planet, we must press forward on deeper atmospheric and oceanic research. But research alone is inadequate. If the Administration won’t take the legislative initiative, Congress should help to begin fashioning conservation measures. A bill by Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, which would offer financial supports for private industry, is a promising start. Many see that the country is getting ready to build lots of new power plants to meet our energy needs. If we are ever going to protect the atmosphere, it is crucial that those new plants be environmentally sound.

10 . Within the beautiful scenery of Wisconsin’s Lake Chippewa lies a natural wonder that is a unique challenge for the local community. This hidden wonder is exactly a giant floating island. The island, made up of plants and trees, sometimes floats around the lake, causing a major inconvenience by blocking (阻塞) an important bridge. Later, the local people came up with a solution to this problem. Every year, local boat owners work together and push the island away from the bridge.

Lake Chippewa was born in 1923 when a vast bog (沼泽) was changed through flooding. Soon after that, many of the dark bogs started rising to the surface and became perfect growing places for plants, with seeds carried by wind and wild birds to this floating place. Over the years, these bogs have grown plants and trees and turned into full islands. As time goes by, plants take root, and the oldest islands even have trees that act as sails (船帆) when the wind blows, moving the entire floating island around the lake.

Although the years-old floating island does not relocate (重新迁移) so often, when it does, it causes trouble for the community by blocking the important bridge that serves as the only passage between the lake’s East and West sides. The only solution is to gather a group of boats, and not just one or two, but dozens of boats working together to push the island away. “It takes a community’s effort, and you must have the winds at your back to push them in,” said a resident. Moving the island also requires precision (精确), as just relocating it a short distance may result in its return within days.

Some people have suggested destroying the floating islands to get rid of the problem. However, the big bog in Lake Chippewa has been around for many years, and during that time a variety of animal and plant species have made it their home. Therefore, local government advises they be dealt with in a way that won’t do harm to wildlife, paying more attention to the fine-drawn balance between human convenience and environmental protection. The annual tradition of relocating Lake Chippewa’s floating island is evidence to the coexistence of man and nature, a heartwarming display of community unity, and a reminder of the importance of preserving the unique areas that enrich our world.