3 . A new study by the world’s top scientists says that humans need to cat less meat and dairy and change the way we farm to save the planet from climate change. Climate change means the global changes in the Earth’s average temperature, mostly caused by humans.    1    .

Burning fossil fuels (化石燃料) (coal, oil and gas) to power our homes, cars and factories is a major cause of climate change, yet the report says that limiting the use of fossil fuels will not be enough on its own to stop the harm being done to the planet.    2    The two-year study was carried out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) —an organization that advises governments on climate change. It was prepared by 107 top scientists from 52 countries.

In the past 100 years, the planet’s population has increased from 1.9 billion to 7.7 billion.    3     Raising animals creates a number of problems. Firstly, it uses far more water and other resources than farming crops. Secondly, plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air.    4     Farmed animals also produce a lot of methane (沼气), another greenhouse gas that causes climate change.

    5    especially in places where a lot of these foods are eaten, such as Europe, the UK and the US, it doesn’t completely rule out eating meat and dairy, but says we should try to cut down.

4 . Across the world, humans purchase around 1.3 billion single-use plastic water bottles a day. Because only about 9% of plastic is recycled, the vast majority of those bottles wind up in landfills, the ocean, or elsewhere in nature.

When beach-loving Madison noticed those plastic bottles during her family’s trips to California, the 12-year-old “just felt like this needed to change,” she told Smithsonian Magazine.

So as she began thinking about what to do for her school science fair back in 2021, the idea of a project centered on reducing plastic pollution quickly came to her mind: she would design an eatable water bottle called the Eco-Hero.

“One of my biggest ambitions for my project was wanting to help the world,” the confident young inventor said in a video on the website.

To bring her idea to life, Madison built upon the already established method by experimenting with common food materials. She also took inspiration from previous versions of eatable water bottles, though she focused on making hers bigger and more durable. She found that the combination of water, lemon juice, natural gum, and Alginic acid (褐藻酸) resulted in a gel pouch that wouldn’t break, could hold up to 3/4 cup of water, and would last in the fridge for three weeks.

Though she’d like to improve the Eco-Hero by making it able to hold more water, she believes her current version would work well as a replacement for the paper cups used by runners in races. All one needs to do is bite a hole in the water ball, drink the water, and then eat the pouch or throw it away to biodegrade.

Madison hopes the Eco-Hero inspires others to take better care of the planet. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be in a big way,” she told Smithsonian. “People can still make a difference in the world, even if it’s just in a small way.”

5 . Animals deserve to live a safe and healthy life as much as humans do.     1     Some people try to get profit from everything and sometimes animals become victims. It is vital that we take action to protect animals. Below are some simple ways in which we can all contribute towards the protection of endangered animals.

Spread awareness. One way to protect endangered animals is to create awareness about them.     2     Having seminars (研讨会) is another way of creating awareness. Also, familiarize people around you with the importance of the animals in your surroundings. Our routine activities directly or indirectly influence their lifestyle.

Drive carefully in forest areas. It is important to watch the road when you are going through roads in forest areas. Many animals die while trying to cross the road because people do not pay attention to them.     3    

Avoid plastic items. Do you know what happens to a plastic bag thrown into a river?     4     Plastic is a big threat to wildlife. And we have to reduce the overconsumption of life-threatening products to protect the endangered species. Prevent plastic items such as bags and containers. Shop in a handmade woven bag and recycle the boxes.

    5     As a volunteer, you can offer support to animal rescue teams in your area. Such organizations are always short of funds and are looking for animal lovers to support the cause. Spending a portion of your daily or weekly schedule is one step towards saving wildlife and protecting endangered species.

6 . Some breathtaking blue lakes may not be so blue in the future, thanks to climate change.

In the first global record of lake color, researchers find that roughly one-third of Earth’s lakes are blue. But, should average summer air temperatures rise by a few degrees, some of those clear waters could turn a cloudy green or brown, the team reports in the Sept. 28 Geophysical Research Letters.

The changing colors could change how people use those waters and offer information about the balance of lake ecosystems. Lake color depends in part on what’s in the water, but factors such as water depth and surrounding land use also matter. Compared with blue lakes, green or brown lakes have more algae (水藻) and organic matter, says one of the researchers.

The scientists then looks at local climates during that time to see how they may be linked to lake color around the world. Lakes in places with average summer air temperatures that was below 19°C were more likely to be blue than lakes with warmer summers, the researchers find. If average summer temperatures increase another 3°C — an amount that scientists think is possible by the end of the century — those 3,800 lakes could turn green or brown. That’s because warmer water helps algae produce more flowers, which changes the qualities of the water, giving it a green-brown color, Yang says.

If some lakes do become less blue, people will probably lose some of the resources they have come to value, says O’Reilly, a scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallss. But the color changes wouldn’t necessarily mean that the lakes are any less healthy. “Humans don’t value lots of algae in a lake, but if you’re a certain type of fish species, you might be like this is great, ” O’Reilly says.

Lake color can hint at the balance of a lake’s ecosystem and it gives sickness a baschins for assessing how climate change is affecting Earth’s freshwater resources. Continued increasing of lakes could help scientists discover future changes.

According to officials in China, the giant panda is no longer listed as endangered. After working for many years to increase     1     (they) numbers, there are now more than 1800 giant pandas     2    live in the wild. The International Union for Conservation of Nature     3     (remove) the giant panda from the endangered list in 2016. At the time, Chinese officials didn’t agree with the     4     (decide). However, now they do. China has worked for decades to increase the number of these black and white bears because they are regarded     5     national treasures. China has worked to enlarge the pandas’ habitat. They have also made sure that there is plenty of bamboo for them to eat by     6     (plant) more bamboo forests. This has helped increase the number of pandas and stop them from dying out China will continue to support the giant panda population. Alongside efforts     7     (increase) the number of giant pandas in the wild, zoos around the world have breeding programmes. These     8     (design) to help increase the number of giant pandas which in captivity (圈养).     9     (hopeful) the giant panda will have     10    bright future with continued conservation efforts. We certainly hope so. We couldn’t bear to lose them.

8 . Saving the environment might seem like a tall order, but living an environmentally friendly life is actually quite easy.     1     Read on for some practical tips on how a single individual can help save the environment.

Recycle

Recycling is a simplest lifestyle to lower the amount of environmental waste. Every resident can get involved by taking advantage of nearby recycling services.     2     For instance, some places may not accept glass, while others might require you to separate the different materials. If you dispose of something improperly, the whole load will likely be rejected and end up in a landfill.

Buy locally-sourced foods

Eating fresh, local food consumes less fuel and packaging materials. Shipping products by truck, rail, flight, or boat creates pollution and goes against an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Instead, shop at local farmers’ markets and grocery stores stocking locally-sourced products.     3     .

Cut back on driving

Applying alternate forms of transportation consumes less gasoline.     4     If that isn’t an option, consider organizing carpools or using public transportation. By doing this, you help reduce traffic jams and the overall amount of gasoline consumption. Also, combine multiple trips into one to help minimize the distance traveled and fuel consumed.

    5    

Advocacy allows more people to create a positive impact. Spread the word about environmental conservation by sharing some of the lifestyle changes you’ve made on social media and in conversations with people around, calling on everybody to play a role.

9 . When glaciers melt, they leave behind infertile (贫瘠的) landscapes. But a new study found that within just three years, such exposed land was restored by llamas (美洲驼), whose activity enriched the soil and promoted plant growth. By the foot of Peru’s melting Uruashraju glacier, researchers partnered with local farmers to farm llamas on four specific plots. For three days a month from 2019 to 2022, the llamas grazed (吃青草) the plots, fertilizing them with waste and spreading seeds from droppings.

As is the case worldwide, glaciers are disappearing in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca mountains at an alarming rate. And as the ice melts, nearby ecosystems wither: They lose access to summertime supplies of freshwater and sometimes encounter harmful acidic minerals in rocks once covered by the glaciers.

Llamas may help count er some of these effects. Their transformation of the land, as seen in the new study, could reduce rock weathering and help the soil hold onto more dampness, thus limiting the acidic runoff that can poison farmers’ crops. Such pollution is one reason why local farmers partnered with the researchers. The animals’ behavior could one day even generate new grasslands as soil quality improves.

The idea that animal grazing may positively impact a landscape is not new. Nor is rewilding, the push to bring key species back to their native ecosystems, unique to the Cordillera Blanca mountains. In Finland, for example, the Indigenous Sami are working to reintroduce reindeer in deforested land, potentially restoring it. But the size and speed of the changes the llamas helped bring about surprised the researchers. From 2021 to 2022, the average amount of plant cover in the llama plots grew from about 9 percent to nearly 14 percent—faster than it did in four control plots. The research underscores the valuable roles animals play in shaping landscapes, says ecologist Kelsey Reider of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., “The animals themselves are doing a lot.”