Before science became professionalized in the 19th century, 【小题1】 naturalists were collecting information and helping us understand the natural world. A 2009 study found that nearly 50% of UK 【小题2】 feed wild birds. The National Trust has more than 5 million members, and 60,000 active volunteers helping to protect the countryside as well as historic 【小题3】. Now, with our environment arguably under greater threat than ever and species declining at a(n) 【小题4】 rate, volunteers are once again at the forefront of efforts to limit the damage.

Volunteers and enthusiasts can be powerful drivers for big changes. On the Isle of Man, more than 8,000 people (nearly 10% of the population) are involved in regular weekend beach cleans. At one recent event, 123 volunteers turned up and removed 183 bags of litter in just a couple of hours. Thanks to 【小题5】 such as this, the island shares Unesco biosphere reserve status with the Galápagos, Yellowstone in the US, Uluru in Australia, and hundreds of other sites.

Recreational divers are making a real difference underwater too. They monitor the spread of 【小题6】 species, and record how native species respond. Divers also 【小题7】 levels of marine litter and other human impacts. Volunteer divers have played an important role in collecting information about marine conservation zones. Volunteers have also made a vital contribution to the conservation of basking sharks. The work of a citizen science Basking Shark Project in the 1980s and 90s was 【小题8】 in getting these sharks on the protected species list in the UK, while satellite tagging 【小题9】 the first recorded transatlantic crossing by a basking shark.

Volunteers and enthusiasts can be powerful drivers for big changes. No one can know better, or care more about, our most special places than the people who live in them and give up their free time to look after them. As a group of divers and 【小题10】 residents who lived on the shores of the bay, they took their campaign on to national and international stages and continue to inspire people who might otherwise feel powerless when faced with threats to the places that matter to them.

Lego: One Step Closer to Being Sustainable

The Lego Group is one step closer to reaching its goal of making all its products from sustainable materials by 2030.

The Danish toymaker revealed a prototype (雏形) brick made from 【小题1】 plastic. In a news release, Lego said the PET plastic from 【小题2】 bottles makes up the first brick to meet the company’s “strict quality and safety requirements.” One way the company 【小题3】 safety is by sourcing materials from suppliers that use processes approved by the US Food & Drug Administration and European Food Safety Authority.

“The biggest 【小题4】 on our sustainability journey is rethinking and innovating new materials that are as long-lasting, strong and high quality as our existing bricks—and fit with LEGO elements made over the past 60 years,” Lego Group Vice President of Environmental Responsibility Tim Brooks said. “With this prototype we’re able to【小题5】 the progress we’re making to the public.”

It will be “some time” before bricks made from used materials can be 【小题6】, Lego said. The company will continue to test and develop the PET formulation (配方) and decide whether to move to the 【小题7】 production phase, which is expected to take at least a year. One factor the company is testing is how the material can be 【小题8】.

“Experimentation and failing is an important part of learning and 【小题9】. Just as kids build, unbuild and rebuild with LEGO bricks at home, we’re doing the same in our lab,” Brooks said.

The move follows last year’s announcement that the company was making a $400 million investment over three years into sustainability 【小题10】. It included phasing out the single-use plastic bags from its boxes and instead using recyclable paper for its packaging.

Is climate change consuming your favorite foods?

Coffee: Whether or not you try to limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day, the effects of climate change on the world’s coffee-growing regions may leave you little choice. 【小题1】 America, Africa, Asia and Hawaii are all being threatened by rising air temperatures and unstable rainfall patterns, which invite disease and 【小题2】 species to live on the coffee plant and ripening beans. The result? Significant cuts in coffee yield and less coffee in your cup. It is estimated that, if current climate patterns continue, half of the areas 【小题3】 suitable for coffee production won't be by the year 2050.

Tea: When it comes to tea, warmer climates and erratic precipitation aren't only 【小题4】 the world's tea-growing regions, they're also messing with its distinct flavor. For example, in India, researchers have already discovered that the Indian Monsoon has brought more intense rainfall, making tea flavor weaker. Recent research coming out of the University of Southampton suggests that tea-producing areas in some places, 【小题5】 East Africa, could decline by as much as 55 percent by 2050 as precipitation and temperatures change. Tea pickers are also feeling the 【小题6】 of climate change. During harvest season, increased air temperatures are creating an increased risk of heatstroke for field workers.

Seafood: Climate change is affecting the world's aquaculture as much as its agriculture. As air temperatures rise, oceans and waterways absorb some of the heat and 【小题7】 warming of their own. The result is a decline in fish population, including in lobsters (who are cold-blooded creatures), and salmon (whose eggs find it hard to survive in higher water temps). Warmer waters also 【小题8】 toxic marine bacteria, like Vibrio, to grow and cause illness in humans whenever ingested with raw seafood, like oysters or sashimi.

And that 【小题9】 "crack" you get when eating crab and lobster? It could be silenced as shellfish struggle to build their calcium(碳) carbonate shells, a result of ocean acidification (absorb carbon dioxide from the air). According to a study, scientists predicted that if over-fishing and rising temperature trends continued at their present rate, the world's seafood 【小题10】 would run out by the year 2050.