1 . In the late 19th century Yellowstone became the first great National Park, described as America’s “best idea.” But the park was devastating for the Native Americans who had lived or hunted within their borders and who were displaced.

The U. S. has taken one small step to compensate by returning the National Bison Range to its Native owners as a first step. Next, at the 2021 UN Biodiversity Conference, the government should ensure new conservation plans support Indigenous (本土的) and local communities for their conservation achievements.

In 2016 biologist Edward responded to the biodiversity crisis by calling for half of Earth to be left to wilderness, birthing the“30×30”campaign to protect 30 percent of Earth’s land and sea surface by 2030. Backed by many scientists, major conservation organizations, the target is likely to be adopted by the CBD.

Critics argue that the “30×30” initiative, aimed at conservation, could become a tool for exploitation (剥削). They claim it may unjustly burden those least responsible for environmental issues like climate change and biodiversity loss. There’s concern that powerful entities could use the proposal as an excuse for seizing land from disadvantaged groups. Indigenous territories, which host 80% of Earth’s remaining biodiversity, are particularly at risk of being targeted in the name of protection. Tragically, the very communities that bravely protect nature against exploitation could face displacement, with estimates suggesting up to 300 million people could lose their homes.

There is a way to do global conservation right. Indigenous communities are as good as or better than governments at protecting biodiversity and already conserve a quarter of Earth’s land surface. The CBD needs to ensure that they get secure rights to their territories, as well as the resources to defend them.

The National Park could lead the way in this effort by helping rescue nature and its most passionate defenders from the militarized (军事化) conservation model it pioneered one and a half centuries ago. That is a crucial step toward a relief for the incredible life forms that share our planet, as well as their Indigenous guardians.

2 . Following a sustainable diet, also known as a “planetary health diet”, includes whole grains, fruits, nuts, green vegetables, and olive oil, can be a win-win for your health and the planet, according to a new research.

The new research conducted by scientists from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health has revealed that people who eat more environmentally sustainable food have a 25percent lower risk of mortality (死亡) compared to those with a less sustainable diet, like eggs, the red and processed meat. The findings show that the participants with a good planetary health diet had a reduced risk of all causes of death measured in the study.

The study involved over 100,000 participants in the USA, with a 30-year check-up period. According to Linh Bui, the PhD candidate at Harvard, the research team integrated data on the health outcomes of specific foods and their environment al impact, creating a Planetary Health Diet Index (指数), and gave the participants scores based on their diets. Using this, they assessed the relationship between the scores and the participants’ health outcomes. “The results confirmed our previous hypothesis (假设) that a higher Planetary Health Diet score was associated with a lower risk of death,” said Bui. The people with the highest Planetary Health Index scores had a 25per cent lower overall risk of death than those with the lowest scores.

The environmental impact of the foods was evaluated by factors such as water use, land use, package, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. The researchers hope that the eco-index can be used as a simple tool for policy makers and public health services to improve human health and tackle the climate crisis.

However, they acknowledge that the index does not take into account certain challenges that people may have in following a sustainable diet, such as health conditions of the subjects and what cultures they come from. They hope that further research will address these barriers,   as well as relationships between foods and diseases tailored to particular countries.

3 . On Friday, students around the world will walk out of their classrooms and gather in joint protests to highlight the global crisis created by climate change. The goal? To get elected officials and industry leaders to actually act to stop the coming disaster.

Climate change poses a terrible threat to humanity, and politicians aren’t doing enough to find solutions, protest organizers wrote on the Global Climate Strike website. Greenhouse gas emissions (排放) are a primary driver of global warming, but leaders have been irresolute about abandoning fossil fuels, even as global temperatures continue to climb.

Strikes and protests by students in more than 2,500 locations aim to show that the younger generations won’t stand easily by while their future — and their planet — hang in the balance. The strike follows a summer of extreme weather linked to climate change: strange global heat waves, wildfires and ice loss from glaciers (冰川). In July, three studies found that the global climate is changing more quickly than it has in the past 2,000 years.

Sixteen-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who is currently visiting New York City, is one of the strike’s key organizers. Thunberg will speak at a Friday demonstration at Foley Square there at 12 p. m. local time, after which protesters will march to Battery Park. Thunberg will also address the UN Climate Action Summit on September 23. The emergency meeting is being organized so that world leaders can present “concrete, realistic plans” for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with the goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050, according to a UN statement.

Thousands of protests are planned for Friday — just three days prior to the summit—and collectively, they will be the biggest climate action in history.

4 . The oceans play a crucial role in lightening global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide emissions. However, in a study conducted by the University of Texas, researchers found that the oceans’ capacity to absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) would reach its maximum by 2100 and decrease to half of its current efficiency by 2300, based on a climate simulation (模拟) that was set for a worst-case emissions scenario (设想).

The decline happens because of a surface layer of low-alkalinity (碱度) water that can hinder the ability of the oceans to absorb CO₂. Alkalinity affects how much CO₂ can dissolve in seawater. Although the emissions scenario used in the study is unlikely because of global efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions, the findings reveal a previously unknown tipping point that if activated would release an important brake on global warming.

“We need to think about these worst-case scenarios to understand how our CO₂ emissions might affect the oceans not just this century, but next century and the following centuries. Climate simulations had previously shown that the oceans slow their absorption of CO₂ over time, but none had considered alkalinity as an explanation. We recalculated pieces of a 450-year simulation until we hit on alkalinity as a key cause of the slowing.” said Megumi Chikamoto, who led the research at the University of Texas Institute.

The effect begins with extreme climate change, which slows ocean currents. This leaves the surface of the oceans covered in a warm layer of fresh water that won’t mix easily with the cooler, more al kaline waters below it. That means more of it is left behind in the atmosphere. This in turn produces faster warming, which sustains and strengthens the low-alkalinity surface layer. Co-author, Pedro DiNezio, said that the discovery was a powerful reminder that the world needs to reduce its CO₂ emissions to avoid crossing this and other tipping points.

6 . People have different ways of dealing with waste paper, specifically used newspapers. Some put them in the recycling area, while others keep them as wrappers (包装纸). While these are both good measures, a Japanese publishing company had a better idea for their end use.

The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. invented the “Green Newspaper”, which allows people to grow plants with it. This unique newspaper was published on Greenery Day, which is focused on environmental news and made of green paper with seeds placed into it. What makes it even more special is the ink (油墨) used to print words and photos, which is made from plants. The publisher advises readers to tear the used newspaper into small pieces and plant them in a container with soil. They should water them, like they would do for any plant. Within a few weeks, the seeds will grow into plants.

This brilliant concept was invented by Dentsu Inc., one of Japan’s most famous advertising agencies, which works with the publishing company on the initiative (倡议). The publisher’s belief is environmental sustainability (持续性). As its mission statement says, “The Mainichi doesn’t take action only through information, but also by solving global issues.” With joint efforts, this initiative has reached the corners of Japan and sold around millions of copies daily. Other such initiatives producing plantable paper are also seen in India and the US.

About 95 million trees are lost for producing newspapers every year. The Internet, the number of whose users stands for 62.5 percent of the population worldwide, has influenced how people read news and the print readership has dropped greatly. However, the reinvention and reimagination of this newspaper will bring about a change in the publishing industry as well as having an environmental influence.

8 . A flood can develop slowly, over time or rapidly, as in the case of flash floods which can develop in just a few minutes and without signs of rain.

    1     This is the first thing that a person should do. It is unwise to just depend on history to decide whether your area is at risk of flooding.

Create an evacuation plan in case you have to evacuate your home. Pay attention to the safe areas you can go to. Prepare food kits for natural disasters that you can easily take with you if you have to leave your house.     2    

If there is a possibility of a flash flood, leave your home and move to higher ground at once. Do not wait for instructions to move. Evacuation may also cause a shortage in the food supply.     3     To survive, one must depend on food storage.

While evacuating, avoid walking through moving water. Even six inches of moving water can make you fall. If you have to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving.     4    

Do not drive into flooded areas. If floodwaters rise around your car, abandon (舍弃) the car and move to higher ground, when water is not moving or not more than a few inches deep.     5     If your car is trapped in rapidly moving water, stay in the car. If the water is rising inside the car, move on to the roof (顶部).

9 . Back in 2007, Uruguay had a serious problem with no obvious answer: The economy was growing very fast, but there wasn’t enough energy to power the rapid _________.

Then Ramón Méndez Galain, a physicist, started _________ different potential paths for Uruguay’s energy future. Finally, he wrote a plan that Uruguay could almost entirely _________ renewable energy. There would be less _________ and it would be the most economical choice Uruguay could make in the long run.

Méndez Galain’s plan was built around two simple _________ about his country. First, while there wasn’t a domestic (国内的) supply of coal or oil, there was a great deal of _________. Second, that wind blew over a country that was known for _________ grassland. His plan for Uruguay’s energy future was to _________ the empty grassland into hundreds of wind farms.

To solve the problem of how to pay for all those wind farms, Méndez Galain came up with a variation on a(n) _________ used by some electric plants in neighboring Brazil, in which state owned power plants handled energy generation, while __________ companies were in charge of power distribution and customer service. Méndez Galain’s plan changed the relationship to the __________, so that private companies would be in charge of setting up and __________ the wind farms, while the state-owned power companies would distribute that energy to its customers.

The strategy worked __________ well. Just within a few years, Méndez Galain had __________ what he had set out to do: 98% of Uruguay’s __________ comes from renewable sources.