Chocolate could soon be a thing of the past, after scientists warned that the cacao plant, from which chocolate is made, could be extinct within 32 years.

Over half of the world’s chocolate comes from just two countries in West Africa—Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana—where the temperature, rain, and humidity provide the perfect conditions for cacao to grow. But the threat of rising temperatures over the next three decades caused by climate change, is expected to result in a loss of water from the ground, which scientists say could upset this balance.

According to the related data, a temperature rise of just 2.1℃ could spell an end for the chocolate industry worldwide by 2050. Farmers in the region are already considering moving cacao production areas thousands of feet uphill into mountainous area—much of which is currently preserved for wildlife. But a move of this scale could destroy ecosystems that are already under threat from illegal farming and deforestation.

Part of the problem, according to Doug Hawkins, is that cacao farming methods have not changed for hundreds of years. “Unlike other tree crops that have benefited from the development of modern, high yielding strains and crop management techniques to realize their genetic potential, more than 90% of the global cocoa crop is produced by small farms with unimproved planting material,” he said. “It means that we could be facing a chocolate decrease of 100,000 tons a year in the next few years.”

Now scientists at the University of California at Berkeley have teamed up with American candy company Mars to keep chocolate on the menu. Using the controversial(有争议的) gene-editing technology known as CRISPR they are trying to develop a type of the cacao plant capable of surviving in dryer, warmer climates. If the team’s work on the cacao plant is successful, it could remove the need for farmers in West Africa to relocate to higher ground, and perhaps even allow cacao to be grown elsewhere in the world.

It’s an unusually calm morning for Jim Smith, owner of Ventura Dive Sport, and lifelong seaman. He’s in charge of the Raptor, carrying a boatload of divers and snorkeling(浮潜) enthusiasts over to the Channel Islands anchored just off the Southern Californian coast, in the remote Channel Islands National Park.   

On this trip, in particular, Smith is hoping to spot giant black sea bass, a huge underwater creature that grows over seven feet long and can weigh more than 700 pounds. Unsurprisingly, it’s a fish that sits atop the food chain, and the species is an important part of the marine (海洋的) ecosystem.

Up until the 1970s, black sea bass were a common sighting in Southern California, but due to overfishing their population dramatically declined. As a result, fishing for giant black sea bass of any kind was banned in California in 1982. In the Channel Island region, thanks to the protected waters of the national park, there is a promising sign-a recent survey found around 50 individuals around the Catalina Island alone.

Marine biologists’ photos-and indeed anyone else’s-now have a permanent home, on a newly-created database named Spotting Giant Sea Bass. The website, launched and run by the Aquarium of the Pacific in July, is a joint community effort to find out more about these mysterious creatures. Scientists hope to be able to answer how the population is changing over time, how far giant sea bass move, where they spawn (产卵), and how they grow in marine protected areas. With more than 1 million dives recorded annually across the Golden State’s coastline, researchers hope a joint effort to document this species will aid with its recovery.

“One of the main things people want to see when they come out with us during September and October is giant sea bass,” Smith says. “If you’re lucky enough to be on a dive and one swims past you. . . it really is the most incredible experience. ”

Changing to electric vehicles makes sense. Now it can make cents, too. France on Wednesday announced a program to get high gas consumption old cars off the road by offering a grant（补助金）to buy an electric bike.

A French driver can get $2,991 towards a new e-bike. The grant is high enough to buy a quality e-bike. To receive the grant, the driver has to ensure their old car to be taken off the road and scrapped(报废). Replacing the highly inefficient gas-powered vehicles will help France meet its the Paris Agreement goals to keep global warming below 2℃. In 2018, 200countries-including France-agreed to the Paris Rulebook that details the way countries can relieve climate change and this includes limiting greenhouse gas emission(排放). Other benefit to the programme is to get cars off crowded roads. After all, e-bikes take up far less room. And cleaner air due to fewer pollutants is also a big plus.

A similar program was introduced in Norway. The project for the old car was actually spearheaded by the country’s government. Drivers applied to receive a grant for up to $1,200 to buy a bicycle, e-bike, e-motorcycle, or even public transportation credits for turning in their old vehicles. More than 8,500 people applied for the grant. Finland also has a similar grant, which is used to help fund more than 1,000 low emission cars,2,000 e-bikes, and 200public transportation tickets. “For the first time it is recognized that the solution is not to make cars greener, but simply to reduce their number, ” Olivier Schneider of the French Federation of Bicycle Users said.

Since the French grant is more than twice the amount of the Finnish and Norwegian ones, it should be more successful. Getting a large number of high gas consumption off the road will go a long way in helping to reduce emissions, road crowdedness, and less pollution in the air.