There was great excitement on the planet of Venus (金星) this week. For the first time Venusian scientists managed to land a satellite on the planet Earth, and it has been sending back signals as well as photographs.

The satellite was directed into an area known as Manhattan (曼哈顿). Because of excellent weather conditions and extremely strong signals, Venusian scientists were able to get valuable information about the feasibility of a manned flying saucer (飞碟) landing on Earth. A press conference was held at the Venus Institute of Technology.

“We have come to the conclusion, based on last week's satellite landing,” Professor Zog said, “that there is no life on Earth."

“How do you know this?” the science reporter of the Venus Evening News asked.

"For one thing, Earth's surface in the area of Manhattan consists of solid concrete (混凝土) and nothing can grow there. For another, the atmosphere is filled with carbon monoxide (一氧化碳) and other deadly gases and nobody could possibly breathe this air and survive.”

“Are there any other sources of danger that you have discovered in your studies?”

“Take a look at this photo. You see this dark black cloud staying over the surface of Earth? We don't know what it is made of, but it could give us a lot of trouble and we shall have to make further tests before we send a Venus Being there. Over here you will notice what seems to be a river, but the satellite findings indicates it is polluted and the water is unfit to drink.”

“Sir, what are all those tiny black spots on the photographs?”

“We’re not certain. They seem to be metal objects that moves along certain roads. They give out gases, make noise and keep crashing into each other.”

“Professor Zog, why are we spending billions and billions of Zilches to land a flying saucer on Earth when there is no life there?”

“Because if we Venusians can learn to breathe in the Earth atmosphere, then we can live anywhere.”

Have you ever tried to get your desired things at 1 a.m. in the middle of exam season? The ones that convince you to walk to Hillside in the middle of a snowstorm just for a slice of cheesecake?

Well, I have too. But instead of wanting something normal and yummy like ice cream or cookies, I’ve been longing for cauliflower. I know half of you stopped reading just now. It’s okay. Honestly, I get it. For those of you who stuck around, let’s talk vegetables.

Unlike those terrifyingly healthy food bloggers, my recent adventures in vegetables originated from an existential crisis concerning global warming. It turns out food production is one of the highest producers of the greenhouse gases that contribute to the breakdown of Earth’s ozone layer (臭氧层). And one of the simplest ways to make a difference is by eating more vegetables and less meat and cheese. So I’ve been forcing myself to eat more vegetables to convince myself that Earth can exist after 2050. And just like those terrifying food bloggers say, it has become a habit.

Now, I don’t just chow down on raw cauliflower stems for lunch. Instead, I like to dress up the vegetables, and it turns out the real trick to make them taste good is a perfect seasoning blend (调味品).

And let me tell you, I’ve become addicted to one of my own creations: olive oil, garlic salt, white pepper, and dill. The mixture is cooked at 375℉ for 20-30 minutes. This works on just about any vegetable you can roast. Plus, it’s so good it’s been proven to cause longings.

Eating responsibly is about so much more than “eating healthy.” It’s just as important to eat food you enjoy. If you crave cheesecake, eat cheesecake. If you want to opt for the more head of cauliflower, eat cauliflower.

After all, living to 2050 isn’t worth much if you aren’t happy.

Industrial emissions (排放) of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming greenhouse gases have raised the global average temperature by about 0.8°C since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. But studies have disagreed about what impact the rise is having on the world’s species, says Mark Urban, an ecologist at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Some have estimated that as many as 54% of species could eventually become extinct as a result of the climate change, but others have suggested no significant impact.①

Such disparate result might originate from the limited nature of some individual studies, possibly because they focused only on a few species or a relatively small geographical region, says Urban.② To address these limits, Urban used statistical methods to help blend the results of previous studies into an apples-to-apples comparison that estimates the risk of extinction of species worldwide.

③He chose to analyze only the results of studies that had assessed extinction risks of more than one species. Then he researched into the details, such as the regions in which species considered, whether those species were limited to one small region or were widely spread, and whether the species were free to move as climate changed or were blocked by barriers such as mountain ranges or urban development.④

Effects of climate change aren’t always immediate, Urban says, and the risks of extinction he’s estimated are the long-term results of species not being able to find a suitable habitat. Maybe the habitat will merely shrink to a size that can’t support the species, or maybe it will disappear entirely. In some cases, he notes, a species might not be able to outpace the shift in its range, dying out before it can reach a new homeland. For over the generations that rapid warming might kill them off before they can spread to a suitable new habitat.