1 . Eco-friendly replacement products for single-use plastic are appearing everywhere. But have you heard of edible (可食性的) straws?Now EQUO, a new eco-friendly company in Vietnam has come up with a natural edible solution to plastic or paper straws. The edible straws are completely plastic free, nontoxic, chemical free, and 100 percent biodegradable (可生物降解的) according to a company press release.

“It’s well-known that plastic straws are harmful to the environment. Most of the 500 million used every day in America end up in oceans where they pollute water and harm marine life. Currently, over eight billion straws create pollute to the world’s beaches,” said Marina Tran-Vu in the press release. “Although there are some plastic and paper straw alternatives on the market, most are environmentally harmful, but we were also unsatisfied with the quality and lasting of paper straws.”

All of the materials are locally from regions that support sustainable farming according to the company’s website and they struggle to have zero-net influence by “using the power of mother nature”. The name of the company was created by combining “ECO” — meaning environmentally friendly — with “STATUS QUO” — meaning the existent state. EQU stands for creating products that have minimal influence on the environment. The company was first shown on Kickstarter on May 18 and hit their funding goal in only 30 days.

Many counties are banning single-use plastics. The EU banned 10 single-use plastic products including straws that will take effect in 2021. Other items that will no longer be made of plastic include cutlery (餐具), and balloon sticks. These 10 items make up a large percentage of ocean waste that harms marine life.

So do your part, use biodegradable cutlery — you can carry your own edible straws, and reusable water or coffee cups. These small items can contribute to buffering plastic waste.

2 . In an effort to help out important insects like bees and butterflies, bus stops across the United Kingdom (UK) are getting living roofs. Small gardens on bus shelter roofs are being planted with flowers chosen to help support the struggling insects. The gardens provide much-needed islands of nature in a man-made environment of a city.

Humans count on bees and other “pollinators (授粉者)” like butterflies to help grow plants, such as flowers and trees. But with humans taking over more and more land for cities, roads and farms, more natural areas have disappeared. The Wildlife Trusts, a group which works to protect wildlife in the UK, says that 97% of England’s wildflower fields have been lost since World War II and the insect numbers there have dropped by 50% since 1970. Bee bus stops are a small step toward supporting these important insects.

The advertising company Clear Channel is working with The Wildlife Trusts and city governments to set up bee bus stops in cities across the UK. Bee bus stops are like ordinary bus shelters, but small gardens have been added to the roofs. The gardens are filled with flowers and plants chosen to attract bees and butterflies. The company plans to set up 1,000 bee bus stops in the UK.

Clear Channel already has bee bus stop programs in several countries in Europe. In the Netherlands, the city of Utrecht has 300 bee bus stops. Research shows that these bus stops—along with many other steps taken to support pollinators—may be helping. After decades of dropping numbers, bee populations in the Netherlands seem to have become more stable over the last few years.

The little gardens can also help to slightly lower city temperatures. Even though the bus shelter gardens are small, together they add up to a much larger area. Thirzah McSherry, who works for The Wildlife Trusts, says, “We’re living through a nature and climate crisis and we need to use every tool we’ve got to deal with it.”

Wildlife in Danger

The Student Union

8 . Cows produce much methane, the world’s second worst greenhouse gas, as they breakdown the grass. They are a large source of the greenhouse gases that are driving climate change. Now scientists have shown the pollution from cows can be reduced by adding a little seaweed (海藻) to their food.

Recently, the researchers from the University of California studied 21 cows on a farm for about five months. They taught the cows to get their food from inside a special hood, which allowed the scientists to know the amount of the methane the cows were giving off. They added a small amount of seaweed to the cows’ food.

The consequences were surprisingly good. In some cases, the cows produced 82% less methane. The improvement depended on the kind of food the cows were given. Even the worst-polluting cows produced 33%less methane. Over the five months, the scientists didn’t see any signs that the cows’ stomachs were getting used to the seaweed and starting to produce more methane again. What’s more, the cows that were fed seaweed gained just as much weight as the other cows.

But there are still some big problems with the idea of feeding cows seaweed. For one thing, there’s not adequate seaweed to feed all of the cows in the world. So farmers would have to figure out a way to grow lots of seaweed. A bigger problem is that for most of their lives, cows live in the fields, where they eat grass. That means there’s no chance to feed them seaweed every day.

Still, as the study shows, something as simple as feeding cows seaweed can help reduce some of the pollution causing the climate crisis.

9 . William Lindesay, a famous Great Wall expert and conservationist, and his wife Wu Qi have traveled the globe, providing their sons with a unique growing environment. Sun hats, backpacks and sneakers (运动鞋) — these are the day-to-day must-haves for the family.

Most of their trips seem far from relaxing—cultural study in the hot and dry desert, a 53-kilometer hiking tour of New Zealand, a one-day climb to three English mountaintops and a six-day train ride from Beijing to Moscow.

Many assume the family must be wealthy and can afford their global travel, but they are not. Lindesay says they just choose to spend money on travel and eschew pricey hotels and restaurants when possible. Lindesay mentions the trip to Moscow as an example. Instead of taking a taxi from the railway station to the hotel, they took the subway. “We crossed the city for saving money, communicated with local people, and saw they were people just like us. We arrived at our destination feeling comfortable.”

However, their journeys, which can last weeks or months, have sometimes been inconsistent with their children's schooling. Wu remembers once Lindesay let their elder son ask for leave so that they could go to New York for a 45-day lecture tour. Therefore the son missed his final exam. Things like that bother the family all the time.

Lindesay attaches great importance to learning out of the classroom, saying that children might score well on school tests, but traveling outside, in distant lands with different languages, cultures and political structures, is the real test. “You can only get streetwise on the street. You can only get worldly-wise when seeing the world,” he says.

10 . “Eco-mermaid” Merle Liivand wove a remarkable story with her attachment to the ocean. On March 7, she ________ her own world record by swimming a full marathon’s distance with a single fin (鳍) in Biscayne Bay, Florida. When Merle Liivand was a child, she had health problems, and began swimming to help her lungs get ________ . In one training session, she nearly ended up swallowing (吞下) some ________that was floating (漂浮) in the sea.

That ________ made her think of all the sea animals who faced ________ pollution every day. She decided to work to make people more aware of plastic pollution. Inspired by sea creatures, she began swimming with a special single swimming fin ________ both of her feet. This single fin allows her to swim by ________ both of her legs together. She believes swimming with it ________“a bigger message”.

Since 2022, she’s broken records, swimming vast distances — first in California, then in Florida, and this time swimming the________of a full marathon. Despite challenges like jellyfish (水母) stings, she ________ collecting trash along her route. Her dedication extends beyond records; it’s about community and global ________.

During her ________, a friend kayaked (划皮划艇) alongside, providing food and water and collecting the trash she ________. By the end of her marathon, the kayak held three bags full of trash. Liivand’s actions aim to ________a bigger goal: it’s not just about achievements, but about making a ________ impact on the world.