4 . Common water plant could provide a green energy source. Scientists have figured out how to get large amounts of oil from duckweed, one of nature’s fastest-growing water plants. Transferring such plant oil into biodiesel (生物柴油) for transportation and heating could be a big part of a more sustainable future.

For a new study, researchers genetically engineered duckweed plants to produce seven times more oil per acre than soybeans. John Shanklin, a biochemist says further research could double the engineered duckweed’s oil output in the next few years.

Unlike fossil fuels, which form underground, biofuels can be refreshed faster than they are used. Fuels made from new and used vegetable oils, animal fat and seaweed can have a lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels do, but there has been a recent negative view against them. This is partly because so many crops now go into energy production rather than food; biofuels take up more than 100 million acres of the world’s agricultural land.

Duckweed, common on every continent but Antarctica, is among the world’s most productive plants, and the researchers suggest it could be a game-changing renewable energy source for three key reasons. First, it grows readily in water, so it wouldn’t compete with food crops for agricultural land. Second, duckweed can grow fast in agricultural pollution released into the water. Third, Shanklin and his team found a way to avoid a major biotechnological barrier: For the new study, Shanklin says, the researchers added an oil-producing gene, “turning it on like a light switch”by introducing a particular molecule (分子) only when the plant had finished growing. Shanklin says, “If it replicates (复制) in other species-and there’s no reason to think that it would not — this can solve one of our biggest issues, which is how we can make more oil in more plants without negatively affecting growth.”

To expand production to industrial levels, scientists will need to design and produce large-scale bases for growing engineered plants and obtaining oil — a challenge, Shanklin says, because duckweed is a non-mainstream crop without much existing infrastructure (基础设施).

5 . For millions of years, sea turtles (海龟) have been making the great journey from Costa Rican beaches to the ocean.

Female sea turtles come to shore to nest (筑巢) on the same beach where they were born. Scientists are not sure how sea turtles remember where they were born, but they believe that sea turtles can use the Earth’s magnetic field (磁场) to help them find their way back. Mother sea turtles usually nest every two to three years, but they might lay two or three nests in one year.

Unlike most animals, the temperature inside the nest determines whether the turtles will be male or female. Warmer nests produce more female turtles. It can take from six weeks to two months for baby turtles to appear from the nest. Once they sense cooler nighttime temperatures, they will begin their perilous journey towards the sea. The little turtles’ journey to the ocean isn’t a leisurely walk on the beach. In fact,on some beaches, only 10 percent of them make it to the ocean.

Natural hunters are not the only threat to sea turtles. Humans and their activities have also severely reduced the number of sea turtles in the oceans. Fishing activities, boat traffic, artificial (人工的) lighting, and pollution are making the trip from beach to ocean difficult. Due to a variety of these threats, six out of seven sea turtle species worldwide are considered endangered or threatened.

While sea turtles may face several threats to their survival, there are many opportunities for humans to help them. For example, avoid fishing in waters that are known to have sea turtles. If you do accidentally hook (钓) a turtle, do not remove the hook. Instead, call local wildlife authorities to help with removal. Lights draw baby turtles away from the ocean. Turn off your lights at night when you are near a sea turtle nesting area. Another way to help sea turtles is to reduce your plastic use. Plastic litter is among the number one causes of deaths of sea turtles. Last, get involved with sea turtle protection efforts.

6 . It was around 3 p.m. I was lined up at the train ticket counter to reserve a trip to Nagoya to_______ some photos for a magazine called “Today Fashion”. It was then that I felt the ground moving slightly like a subway shooting through a tunnel far beneath my feet. It was so mild that I_______it, as did everyone around me. Seconds later,a(n)   _______shake occurred. Things started falling over to the ground, and signs hanging from the ceiling began swinging violently. An elderly man next to me smiled at me_______and just said one word: “Earthquake.”

I _______ for the door, about 60 feet away. The ground was shaking so violently that it was_______to run in a straight line. My heart was still pounding so wildly_______.I reached the street. I longed to get as far away from these buildings as possible, but in Tokyo, finding any truly open space is actually_______.Ultimately, I stood in a_______for a good two hours as did most everyone else. During this time, the ground of the spacious park continued to________less violently. I would________later that afternoon that the quake was a magnitude 8.9, the strongest earthquake in recorded history. There were a few women________with people pointing up at the buildings as they shook, ________many others appeared calm and relaxed. Even though I have witnessed many big events in the world, I really________Japanese for their calmness and timely________.

7 . The beautiful city of Montreal, Canada, is these days receiving negotiators, scientists, environmentalists and political leaders from all corners of the world to agree on a framework to halt and reverse nature loss by the end of this decade. One of the heated discussions in Montreal is about conserving 30 percent of the world’s land, freshwater and oceans by 2030.

The history of mankind as of the end of the 20th century has been a story of development at the expense of nature. Now, in order to restore nature, we need to mobilize the citizens of the world for win-win solutions to the crisis.

First suggestion, if we want to create harmony between man and nature, we need to win the hearts and minds of the local people. One of the shining examples is Rwanda, which, though a small, landlocked (内陆的) country in Africa, has one of the most immensely beautiful landscapes I have seen anywhere in the world. It has been incredibly successful in increasing the number of previously threatened gorillas. If you’re a tourist, you pay a significant amount of money to see Rwanda’s gorillas. And that creates a fantastic economy for the taxi drivers, the hotel staff, the teachers and the tourist guides in the neighborhood of Volcanoes National Park. That means that no one in the neighborhood will kill a gorilla for bush meat (野味). The local residents there are the first line of defense for the gorillas, because it is a crucial source of income and a big job creator in the region. It’s a win-win solution.

Second suggestion, we need to ask businesses to participate. In the past, business was a force of destruction for nature. Jobs came from destroying the beautiful landscapes on Earth. In other words, we created economic development by destroying nature. Now, in the 21st century, we can create economic growth and restore nature at the same time. Indonesia stopped deforestation last year, thanks to a combination of good government policy and good business practice. RGE, a paper, pulp (纸浆) and palm oil company, develops huge harvests.

Third suggestion, we need to work with citizens at large. In India, the chief minister of conservation a reason the island of Sumatra and protects as much of the green trees as it the big state of Madhya Pradesh is planting one tree every day to inspire 80 million people in his state to do likewise.

9 . In July 2017, Hoh Xil became a world heritage (遗产) site and there live more than 70, 000 Tibetanantelopes. Every year, pregnant (怀孕的) Tibetan antelopes migrate (迁徙) to Hoh Xil between the end of May and early June to give birth and leave with their children around August. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the “delivery room” for the species.

About 40 female Tibetan antelopes with three young were spotted crossing the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Saturday. Experts say that in recent years, the number of young Tibetan antelopes among the migrating groups consisted of between a fifth and quarter of the population.

“In the early stage of migration, Tibetan antelopes face a high risk of falling prey to predators (盗猎者) so the number of young Tibetan antelopes is relatively small, and there may even be none,” said Lian Xinming, an associate research fellow at Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

According to research, the number of Tibetan antelopes that migrate back has been rising. A total of 5, 952 Tibetan antelopes were spotted migrating in 2020, and 233 more in 2021. “This year’s migration season is expected to finish in early September. The population is expected to continue to increase,” Lian said.

Tibetan antelopes are mostly found in Tibet autonomous region, Qinghai province, and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The species is under first-class state protection in China.

In the 1980s, the Tibetan antelope population declined sharply from 200, 000 to 20. 000, due to illegal hunting. It has recovered thanks to the country’s efforts to improve its habitat and crack down on poaching (盗猎).

To make sure the species go back to their habitats safe and sound, the reserve’s management bureau has staff monitor their migration. When they come over in large groups, they temporarily close some sections of the road to make way for the animals and prevent them from having interactions with humans.

10 . Within a few decades, global temperatures are expected to climb to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. And that’s going to be really bad for corals, according to the latest report out from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

So the recent IPCC report says that up to 1.5 we can expect 10 to 30 percent coral survivorship. And above that, it decreases sharply.

Andrea Grottoli is a distinguished professor at the Ohio State University. Amid the doom and gloom of the IPCC report, Grottoli has some rare good news. Corals may be more adaptable to future conditions than we thought.

Her team studied three species of coral from the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. They put them in tanks with either heat stress, more acidic water or both. And what really matters in this study is the one where both increases in temperature and ocean acidification, because that’s exactly what’s happening on reefs now.

Twenty-two months later, they assessed the winners and losers. They found that on average more than half the corals survived. Even after being punished with warmer, more acidic waters — the kind they’d face under two degrees of global warming, the corals survived. Two of the three species were actually physiologically performing normally. They were doing more than surviving. They were coping. They’d adapted. They were doing well.

The results appear in the journal Scientific Reports. Grottoli says the study provides hope. The world’s corals may be more resilient than we thought — especially since one of the Hawaiian species they studied is widespread around the planet.

But will this good news motivate world leaders to control warming? Well, corals may be able to wait just a little longer to find out.