Two hours from the tall buildings of Philadelphia live some of the world's largest bears. They are in northern Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, a home they share with an abundance（丰富）of other wildlife.

The streams, lakes, grasslands, mountain and forests that make the Poconos an ideal place for black bears have also attracted more people to the region. Open spaces are threatened by plans for housing estates and important habitats are endangered by highway construction. To protect the Pocono's natural beauty from irresponsible development, the Nature Conservancy named the area one of America's "Last Great Places".

Operating out of a century-old schoolhouse in the village of Long Pond, Bud Cook, the president of the Conservancy, is working with local people and business leaders to balance economic growth with environmental protection. By forming partnerships with people like Francis Altemose, the Conservancy has been able to protect more than 14,000 acres of environmentally important land in the area.

Altemose's family has farmed in the Pocono area for generations. Two year ago, Francis worked with the local branch of the Nature Conservancy to include his farm in a county farmland protection program. As a result, his family's land can be protected from development and the Altemoses will be better able to provide a secure financial future for their 7-year-old grandson.

Cook attributes the Conservancy's success in the Poconos to having a local presence and a commitment to working with local residents.

"The key to protecting these remarkable lands is connecting with the local community," Cook said. "The people who live here respect the land. They value quiet forests, clear streams and abundant wildlife. They are eager to help with conservation efforts."

For more information on how you can help the Nature Conservancy protect the Poconos and the world's other "Last Great Places," please call 1-888-564 6864 or visit us on the World Wide Web at www.tnc.org.

From his uptown Manhattan home, Samir Kumar can usually see skyscrapers downtown. But this week, as smoke from wildfires raging in the western United States and Canada stretched all the way to the East Coast, the city skyline was invisible.

Currently, nearly 300 wildfires are burning in British Columbia and about 80 are blazing through states in the U.S. West. The fires get worse due to heat waves and prolonged drought in the west, two weather patterns made more extreme by climate change.

As the smoke spreads across the country and exposes millions of people, the health impact becomes more widespread among the most vulnerable. In addition to causing respiratory (呼吸的) problems, the smoke can lead to poor heart health. What’s more, smoke from wildfires could make it harder for people to fight off COVID-19 infections and the emerging variants because their immune systems are already battling pollution. Studies have shown that people exposed to air pollution are more likely to die from COVID-19.

For the first time in its history as a state, California’s population is decreasing. Falling birth rates, high housing prices, and high taxes have been factors for years, and COVID-19 has exacerbated the trend, delaying planned moves into the state. Many survivors of wildfires have also chosen to rebuild indifferent states. “If I was starting to raise children...I probably would leave this state,” says Hertz-Picciotto, a director of the university’s health science center. She plans to spend several weeks during the height of wildfire season in August away from her home in northern California, where wildfires have become common.

Reducing air pollution from wildfire smoke in California and the rest of the country will require reducing the number and size of wildfires themselves. Lawmakers have introduced laws aimed at better managing forests, training more firefighters, and making infrastructure more fire resistant.

“Ultimately until we stop burning fossil fuels, I don’t see why it’s not going to get worse. It certainly can’t get better,” says Hertz-Picciotto.