1 . One million species face extinction, more than ever before in human history, according to a UN report released in May. And humans should be responsible.

The researchers based the assessment (评估) on some 15,000 sources considering the causes and results of environmental changes over the past 50 years.

The findings are clear and alarming. The researchers have found that about 25 percent of the world’s plants and animals are at risk of extinction. These include sea and land animals. Even the domesticated (驯养的) animals are at risk: Over 9 percent of the domesticated animal species used for food and agriculture might have been lost.

There are some big problems. This rapid decrease of the natural world endangers global food safety and quality of life. For example, about 4 billion people rely on natural medicines, produced by the disappearing species, for their health care.

The researchers identified five drivers responsible for the bad news. They think at the top of the list is the change of land and sea use. The change in ecosystems towards agriculture, aquaculture and other human developments has led to changes in the natural living space of species. It is followed by the direct overuse of creatures (harvesting crops, cutting down the trees, hunting and fishing) and climate change, including rising sea levels and increasing extreme-weather events, wildfires, floods and droughts. The final causes of species extinction are pollution, especially plastics, and the spread of non-native species that can kill native plants and animals. In fact, good ecosystems can promote the growth of species.

The researchers say it is time for humans to act. They think maybe a new global way to save food and refuse waste in our life can turn the tables. Whether that is possible is an open question.

2 . For centuries, historians and archaeologists have defined periods of human history by the technologies or materials that made the greatest impact on society — like the Stone Age, Bronze Age, or Iron Age. But what age are we in now? For some researchers, according to Atlas Obscura’s Cara Giamo, that question can be answered with one word: plastics.

“Plastic has redefined our material culture and the artifacts we leave behind. It will be found in stratified (分层) layers in our trash deposits (沉积层)” That’s according to archaeologist John Marston.

The wide variety of synthetic polymers (合成聚合物) would not exist if it weren’t for human action. Since the first plastic polymers were invented, about six billion tons of plastics have been made and spread around the planet, from forests to oceans ever since the first plastics polymers were invented.

Plastics are one of the most significant changes that humans have made to the Earth’s makeup. Most plastics don’t easily degrade. This only adds to the problem. Recycling isn’t an adequate solution. Not all types of plastic are easily recyclable. And there are only a few recycling plants that can process all varieties of plastic.

According to Debra Winter, writer for The Atlantic, this means that many of the materials thrown into recycling bins can cross the planet several times before they are processed. They are made into produce rugs, sweaters, or other bottles. Although millions of tons of plastic are recycled every year, millions more end up in landfills or the ocean. The problem has reached the point where it’s possible that in just a few decades there might be more plastic in the world’s oceans than fishes.

“Plastics have a supposed life span of over 500 years, it’s safe to say that every plastic bottle you have used exists somewhere on this planet, in some form or another,” Winter writes. 

The damage may already be done. It may be too late for human populations worldwide to change their plastic-using ways. So the Plastic Age might soon take its place next to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the history of human civilization.

Located in Ordos, North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Kubuqi Desert (库布齐沙漠) is the closest desert to China’s capital Beijing. It was once known as the “sea of death”. However, in the past 30 years, the government, social organizations and local farmers     1     (work) together to control desertification (沙漠化) in Kubuqi Desert.

Historically, Kubuqi was a rich city filled with water and grass. But due     2     climate change and over-exploitation from humans, the farmlands gradually turned to desert. Controlling desertification was the only way out for people still living in Kubuqi. With the first highway going through the desert     3     (build) here, people started planting trees in     4     whole desert. It was common for planted trees to die. But the next year, people just continued to plant more trees.     5     (ultimate), their hard work inspired the term “Kubuqi spirit”, encouraging local people     6     (devote) themselves to the desert greatly. Over three decades, tree planting technology saw further     7     (improve) in Kubuqi. Now workers can plant a tree in just ten     8     (second), and the survival rate of trees is over 80 percent.

The 102,000 residents in the desert have enjoyed the benefits of managing with desertification. Meng Keda,     9     family has lived deep in Kubuqi Desert for generations, began a tourism business in 2006     10     earned about 300,000 yuan last year.

When     1     (ask) by a TV reporter to talk about air and water quality in his hometown, Qi Mu noted, “The air is great now, and we can take more walks and enjoy being outdoors again.” He felt quite pleased because the villagers were living     2     (harmonious) with nature once more. However, he could not forget about an earlier time     3     his village had been struggling with a serious air quality problem.

In the 1990s, garbage from nearby city was usually brought to the village. “How can we make use of this?” The villagers wondered. Soon they found that garbage could be used     4     (feed) pigs. “Over the next few years,     5     (dozen) of pig farms were set up,” Qi recalled. But then nobody in the village wanted to open their windows. “The smell from the garbage and pig waste was making us sick,” Qi said. The numbers of mosquitoes and flies were also     6     (horrify). “Under such circumstances, no single women wanted to marry anyone in our village and move here,” Qi     7     (sigh).

The villagers could no longer tolerate the situation. So     8     initiative was launched and “clean-up” campaign was added to the government agenda, including restricting large vehicles     9     passing through the village. Garbage from the city was no longer disposed of in the village and more trees were planted. “We can all breathe more freely now that the natural beauty of our village     10     (restore) since then,” said Qi.

5 . Ever been hungry enough to eat a house? Now, you actually could.

Food waste is a big problem in Japan and globally. Japan produced around 5.7 million tons of food waste in 2019. The government plans to reduce that by around 2.7 million tons by 2030. Tokyo University researchers Kota Machida and Yuya Sakai have developed a way to transform food waste into cement(水泥) for construction use and more. This is the first-ever process created for making cement entirely from food waste. The researchers say their product is four times as strong as traditional concrete. This particular cement can be used to make things like tea cups or chairs as well. However, there’s one additional feature — it’s also edible(可食的).

Kota and Yuya are the intelligence behind the formation of Fabula Inc., a company with purposes of reducing food waste, and helping fight global warming.

As expected, something this unique took years to develop. It took a few attempts to find just the right process. Kota and Yuya created the unique technology while researching possible environmentally-friendly materials to replace cement-based concrete. Cement production accounts for 8% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.

After a few failures, they realized they could get the cement to bind(黏合) by adjusting the temperatures. “The most challenging part was that each type of food waste requires different temperatures,” Yuya said. So the researchers had to observe them and respond in time. In the experiments, Kota and Yuya have successfully made cement using tea leaves, coffee grounds, cabbage and even lunchbox leftovers.

Fabula Inc. is currently working to make tea cups and furniture, but Yuya is thinking a little bit bigger. Their product could provide relief in the form of edible emergency shelters in disaster ones. “For example, if food cannot be delivered to the people, they could eat makeshift beds made out of food cement,” he said. To eat the material, a person needs to break it apart and boil it.

As we can see, the environment around us is getting worse and worse.

Thank you!

The Students’ Union