1 . Over the past four decades, more than 450 butterfly species have been hit by the falling numbers. In the US alone, the number of monarch butterflies (黑脉金斑蝶) has seen a drop of 80%, from scientists recording millions of them in the 1980s, and only 29,000 in 2020. It’s part of a wider possibility across the insect group. In 2017, scientists in Germany raised alarm bells after finding that insects had fallen by more than 70% in 30 years.

For farmers, monarch butterflies pollinate (授粉) a very large percentage of food crops. It is very important t protect them because their disappearance could have a huge economic influence. Butterflies are also helpful in the coal mine for other insects, as it is easier for them to feel the environmental change. and relatively easy to record.

Leading environmental organizations have been working hard to find new ways of recording the number of butterflies. As of now, there is no long-term data to develop good protection methods. The scientists wanted to address the challenge that long term recording programs worldwide have faced: they are focusing on training locals as insect experts, which requires much money. They came up with a new method to the problem. In Yasuni National Park, they hired park rangers (护林员) who were trained and then carried out recording. The rangers were able to recognize butterflies with an 85% success rate, which is important for these kinds of recording programs to be successful.

Compared with other recording projects, this study represents a long-term solution. “Our method increases the chance of recording in the long term by reducing the money spent on it such as wages,” said lead author Maria Checa. “Furthermore, it also offers opportunities for public organizations to achieve their environmental goals.”

5 . The process by which rich land becomes desert is called desertification(沙漠化).     1    The U. N. says up to 45 percent of Africa’s land is impacted by desertification, worse than any other continent.

Africa’s Great Green Wall is a project to build an 8000-kilometer-long forest across 11 of the continent’s countries. The project is meant to contain the growing Sahara Desert and fight climate change.     2    They include limited political support, lack of money, weak organizational structures, and not enough consideration for the environment. Just 4 million hectares of land have been turned into forest since the work on the Great Green Wall began 15 years ago.     3    

Launched in 2007, the project aims to plant a forest from Senegal on the Atlantic Ocean in western Africa to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti in the east.     4     It could also reduce levels of climate-related migration in the area and capture hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the air.

    5    They say some progress has been made in recent years in the east of the continent. For example, efforts in Eritrea and Sudan have resulted in nearly 140, 000 hectares of newly planted forest.

The U. N. desertification agency says the project will need to plant an average of 8. 2 million hectares yearly to reach its goal of 100 million hectares by 2030.

7 . After taking a few steps back to get a running start, Hadj Benhalima dashed toward the building, pushed against its wall with his foot, pushed himself upward and stretched out his arm.

At the peak of his leap, he fingered oft a light switch, more than 1o feet off the ground. The bright lights of a nearby barbershop went off instantly

Groups of young athletes practicing Parkour—the practice of passing obstacles in a man—made or natural environment through the use of running, vaulting (腾跃), jumping, climbing, rolling, and other movements in order to travel from one point to another in the quickest and most efficient way possible without the use of equipment—have been swinging around big French cities switching off wasteful shop signs at night, in an effort to fight light pollution and save energy.

These so—called Light Off operations have become extra popular in recent months, with France embarking on energy conservation efforts.

Paris, the City of Light, is a favorite target. While its landmark monuments now go dark earlier than usual, many store signs still stay lit all night.

“Everyone can contribute in their own way” to save energy, said Kevin Ha, the leader of the Paris—based Op he Spot Parkour group, with about 20 members. “We put our physical abilities to good use.”

Enforcing the orders in place of the authorities certainly enters a legal gray area. But the group said all the police officers they have met during their rounds have approved of their deeds—as long as it causes no damage.

8 . Several big wildfires have been brought under control in Chongqing with the help of local motorcyclists. The city government has called for volunteers to join in the tough firefighting, and a large number of motorcyclists have played an important role and won widespread praise.

According to the city emergency management bureau on Wednesday, wildfires in Chongqing’s Dazu and Tongliang districts have been brought under control, and other fires-in Fuling, Kaizhou and Wanzhou districts-have been extinguished (熄灭).

The local government mobilized 1, 152 emergency rescue workers and four helicopters to put out the fires in the city’s Beibei district and evacuated (疏散) 46 people to safety shelters.

“It is my honor and duty to guard my hometown, ” said 27-year-old Li Xin, owner of Yueqi Motorcycle Club. On Sunday night, upon hearing the fire breakout, Li organized a team of 15 club members to sign up to support firefighting in Beibei’s Xiema county, the center of the local blazes.

The team members, with an average age of 29, took turns using five dirt bikes and four road bikes to carry materials and equipment to firefighters and to transport people and necessities.

“The unpaved mountain paths and newly dug fire barriers require really good motorcycle skills, ” Li said, adding that even the best motorcyclist on the team might lose his balance and fall as he carried heavy materials and equipment in a large farmer’s back-basket. He said that to prevent heatstroke in the extreme outdoor heat, the team gave up dressing in thick riding suits. They also joined in cutting wood and putting out fires, working more than 12 hours a day on average. “We will stick to the site until the fire is out, ” he added.

In the extreme heat and drought (干旱) conditions, motorcyclists have been devoted to fighting against fires.

9 . Chinese scientists say they have developed a robotic fish that can remove microplastic particles from water environments. Researchers working on the project say the robots could help to clean up plastic pollution in oceans around the world.

The robotic swimmers are about 1.3 centimeters long. They are made of a soft chemical Compound. The robots are designed to absorb microplastics while moving through the water. The project was launched by a team at Sichuan University in southwestern China. The researchers said the robots have already performed well in shallow water and they plan to carry out more tests in deeper waters. The scientists reported their findings in a new study in Nano Letters. The publication comes from the American Chemical Society, a nonprofit organization supported by the U.S. Congress. The robotic fish were built to target microplastic particles, which are smaller than five millimeters. Studies have confirmed that microplastic pollution has been discovered in many natural environments. The material comes from the breakdown of manufactured plastic products and industrial waste.

The team said the robots can be controlled by light. Turning “a near-infrared light laser” on and off causes the fish’s tail to move back and forth, the American Chemical Society said. The robotic fish can swim up to 2.76 body lengths per second. The researchers said this is faster than most similar soft robots. Wang Yuyan was a member of Sichuan University’s research team. She told Reuters news agency that the small, lightweight robot is currently being used to collect microplastics for research purposes. But Wang added that the team plans to expand that use so the robot fish can remove larger amounts of microplastic waste from deep ocean areas. The fish can take in different kinds of microplastics and even repair itself when damaged, the researchers said. And if a robot fish is accidentally eaten by a real fish, it could safely digest the material, the team added. Wang said similar robots could be developed to be placed inside the human body to remove unwanted materials or disease.