A change to organic dairy farming around the nature reserves could significantly reduce damage done to the areas by nitrogen produced by solid waste from cows, according to a research.

Concentrated animal farming near Natura 2000 areas was banned in 2002. However, 800 farms still remain in the outer edge of these protected areas, some of which are particularly damaging to the environment.

Researchers looked at 34 organic farms to see how organic farming practices compared with those large-scale factory farms. They found that cows at organic farms produced 22% less nitrogen in their waste, while the amount of emissions per hectare(公顷)was 53% lower.

“The reason why organic farming is less polluting is that farms generally have fewer cows and don’t use fertilizer,” said researchers. Organic cows are also put out to grassland more often and aren’t given concentrates(精饲料)to the same degree, which also limits emissions.

While organic dairy farms would make a good protective barrier against nitrogen around the nature reserves, this doesn’t hold true for organic chicken and pig farms, the research showed.

“Despite the good it would do, not many dairy farmers are likely to make the change,” researcher Gerard Migchels said. “The organic sector is currently relatively small. Growth is only possible if there is enough market demand. That would make it possible to come to a realistic price for organic milk,” he said.

In 2019, some 40,000 cows in the Netherlands were farmed organically, accounting for just 1% of the Dutch herd of 3.8 million.

According to a government report, 46% of nitrogen compound(复合物)pollution around nature reserves is down to agriculture, to which dairy farming contributes 60%. The new law on nitrogen emissions aims to reduce pollution by 40% by 2025 and 74% by 2035.

During Yang Zhongkai’s early years, a 500-year-old majestic ginkgo tree that did not sprout leaves for two to three years at a stretch used to be a daily sight for him on his way to and from high school. Since villagers widely regarded the tree as having the power to make their wishes come true, they used to kneel down in front of the “lucky” tree and burn offerings under it, which led to prolonged heat exposure at its roots, stunting its growth.

“Millions of such old trees are in urgent need of protection given their importance as vital biological resources and symbols of ecological civilization,” said Yang, who started the team — Zhiyue — dedicated to protecting ancient trees.“But the recording and management of ancient and famous trees nationwide commonly rely on Excel spreadsheets (电子表格), which present issues such as information silos, lack of real-time updates and incomplete content,” he said.

However, things have changed of late. Yang and his team now use the artificial intelligence technology developed by Tencent Cloud to identify and register trees accurately based on individual traits and GPS tracking. “With the acceleration of a new generation of technological revolution and industrial transformation, new technologies bring more excitement to the protection of ancient trees.” Yang said. “We can now collect data on the trees’ growth, health and environment in real time, which helps us make informed decisions on how to better protect them.”

“In addition to applying cutting-edge technologies such as AI and large models to assist in the development of traditional industries, the company also makes great efforts to promote the development of charitable causes through technological and platform advantages, “Wu Yunsheng said, vice-president of Tencent Cloud, adding that“the power of technology can change the world”.

Scientists visiting tiny Henderson Island in the South Pacific recently made an alarming discovery. Although it is one of the most remote places on the earth and previously untouched by humans, the island was covered in plastic waste. They calculated there were 38 million pieces of plastic, weighing almost 18 tons, with thousands of new pieces washing up each day. “No country has a free pass-we found plastic from everywhere,” said one scientist. “We all have a responsibility, and we have to sit up and pay attention. This is not an issue to ignore. We need to do something now to protect the sea.”

Plastic waste in the sea has long been known about, but only now are we discovering the true extent of the problem. Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose, so all the plastic ever produced still exists somewhere. Around 95% of plastics made are not recycled, and large amounts enter the sea. Currents collect this waste in large circular systems called “gyres”. One of the largest is in the Pacific Ocean, an area now known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”.

The problem gets worse as plastic breaks down into very small pieces, or “micro plastic”. This is eaten by fish and leads to massive species loss. Humans also eat these fish, and micro plastic has even been found in tap water around the world. The problem has spread too far to ignore. The plastic on Henderson Island accounts for just 2 seconds’ worth of global annual plastic production. That production will more than triple by 2050. Then there will be the same weight of plastic in the sea as fish.

However, there are some young minds working to clean up and protect the sea for future generations. While diving in Greece, young Boyan Slat noticed there was more plastic waste than fish. He decided right then to dedicate his life to solving this problem. Previously the problem was considered too big to solve; collecting the plastic with boats and nets would be expensive, would harm sea life, and would take thousands of years! But, Boyan thought, why move through the sea when the sea can move through you? To work with the currents and gyres would help collect the waste. So he started The Ocean Cleanup project, which places very long floating barriers in the Pacific. Currents then concentrate the waste naturally so it can be collected and recycled. He hopes to reduce the patch by 50% in just five years.

“Many problems today are side effects of things people didn’t think about in the past”, he says. Sea plastic is a symbol of the negative effects of our lifestyle and technology. Our aim should be to create a new lifestyle for this century. Protecting the sea from plastic is a good place to start.