Brian Peterson had just moved to California. Outside his apartment, a homeless man was often shouting on the street corner, sometimes keeping him awake at night. Peterson would pass the guy on his way to work, but they never spoke.

One day, Peterson was reading the book Love Does when he was disturbed by the homeless man. Inspired by the book’s compassionate (有同情心的) message, Peterson made an unexpected decision: He was going to go outside and introduce himself. The homeless man was Matt Faris. He’d moved to California to pursue a career in music, but he ended up living on the street.

“It was the strangest thing to me,” Peterson recalled. “I saw beauty on the face of a man who hadn’t shaved or taken a shower in probably a year. But his story inspired me.” And even though Peterson, an art school graduate, hadn’t painted in about eight years, he asked if he could paint Faris’s portrait (肖像). Faris said yes.

This experience led Peterson to form Faces of Santa Ana, a non-profit organization focused on befriending and painting portraits of unhoused people. Peterson sells the portraits, putting the income into what he calls a “love account” for his model. He then helps people use the money to get back on their feet.

Many of Peterson’s new friends use the donations to secure immediate necessities — medical care, hotel rooms, and food. Faris used the funds from his portrait to record an album (专辑), realizing his musical dreams. Another subject, Sondoval, who had never been able to financially support her daughter, used the money to pay her daughter’s rent.

Since Faces of Santa Ana was established, Peterson has painted 41 of all the portraits. But there’s more to the finished products than the money they bring to someone who’s down and out. He’s discovered that the buyers tend to connect to the story of the person in the painting, finding similarities and often friendship with someone they might have otherwise stereotyped (持固有观念) or overlooked. “People often tell me, ‘I was the one that would cross the street. But I see homeless people differently now,’” Peterson says. “I didn’t know that would happen.”

Torsongan Bullik is a 28-year-old cross-country skier. When he was a freshman in junior high school in 2009, he excelled at long-distance running. As an amateur in 2016, he finished third in the Xinjiang Wusu International Marathon. And then a passion for cycling revealed itself as his hometown hosted the Tour of Sayram Lake, a national road race for amateur cyclists.

“The high-spirited cyclists, their flashy costumes and helmets fascinated me,” he recalls. “I felt that cycling was really cool.”

In 2012, Torsongan’s father gave him a mountain bike that cost 5,000 yuan ($695), which was a lot of money for his family. He loved the bicycle so much that he used it at every opportunity. Two years later, he entered his first competition, although there was no fairy-tale ending as he lost his balance on a steep slope. But he was determined and kept testing his limits. This paid off as he has won medals at all levels of the sport in China.

On Oct 18, 2018, Torsongan was the first to cross the finish line during a high-altitude bike race in the Xizang autonomous region. But surprisingly, it was the national cross-country skiing team that he impressed with his endurance (耐力). They were in search of new talented athletes for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Accepting the invitation from the team marked a turning point for Torsongan’s career, but challenges remained. “After training with the team during the day, I had to go to the gym to level up my upper-body strength in the evening,” Torsongan said in an earlier interview.

He didn’t make the final list, but worked as a technician assisting (帮助) in the operations of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Regardless of the outcome of the 14th National Winter Games, Torsongan enjoyed the challenge of competing, and has his eyes set on the next race.

“I will continue with my efforts. As long as I don’t give up, I still have a chance to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics,” he says.

More than 11,000 scientists are warning that the Earth, in their words, "clearly and unequivocally （明确地）faces a climate emergency.” The scientists represent several fields of study and come from 150 countries around the world. They approved a report that appeared in the publication Bioscience earlier this month. It warns that the world would face "untold human suffering" if it does not make deep and lasting shifts in human activities that influence climate change. Three leaders of the study are from the United States. They worked on the study with scientists from universities in South Africa and Australia. This is the first time a large group of scientists have jointly （共同地）used the word "emergency" when talking about climate change.

"Despite 40 years of global climate negotiations ...we have generally conducted business as usual and have largely failed to address this worrying situation,” the study said. “Climate change has arrived and is accelerating faster than many scientists expected."

The report identified five areas that the world needs to deal with immediately. The scientists appealed to nations to use energy more efficiently and cut their use of fossil fuels. They suggested that lawmakers approve taxes on the burning of carbon-based fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas. The report urges people to move toward more of a plant-based diet. Other areas of concern include preventing the destruction of forests and permanent loss of some plant and animal species. The report noted that it will most likely take strong actions by the public to move politicians to approve lasting policy changes.

The scientists added, "We believe that the prospects （前景）will be greatest if decision-makers and all of humanity quickly respond to this warning and declaration of a climate emergency, and act to support life on planet Earth, our only home.”