Topic Reading-Vol.4457-7/7/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,  

No AC but the ‘greenest’ ever Games? Inside Paris’ landmark Olympic Village

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games start on Jul 26 and end on Aug 11, mid-summer. Then the Paralympics start on Aug 28 and end on Sep 8, still summer. Around 10,000 and 4,400 athletes are participating in the games respectively. The organizers of the games have been trying to make the mid-summer sports events as sustainable and responsible as possible before, during, and even after the games. The newly prepared 3,000 apartments for athletes have no air-conditioning. Instead, they use geothermal cooling, which takes cool water from underground wells and puts it into the pipes under the floors of each building. Also, 14,250 beds and mattresses in the apartments were made with recyclable materials like cardboard. After the events, these apartments will be converted into office space and apartments.

Read the article and learn how Paris has been trying to make the 2024 Olympic Games as green as possible.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/25/style/paris-2024-olympic-village/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4456-7/6/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,  

US states want to ban phones in schools. It might be a challenge

Nowadays, college students are using smartphones productively on and off campus. They take notes and photos of the lecture, research topics for their assignments, and make presentations with their smartphones. Smartphones are now an essential device for learning in college. However, high school and middle school school teachers are very much concerned about the use of smartphones during class. They want students to study, build relationships and friendships, and learn from each other in school, but their students are constantly texting their friends, replying to messages on social media, and scrolling through their feeds with their smartphones anywhere, anytime, including in classrooms and during class. Now, many states in the US, including most populous New York and California, are trying to ban the use of smartphones in the classroom. However, policing smartphone use in schools has never been an easy task. Parents want their children to have a smartphone for safety reasons. Students want to stay connected all the time and they feel more excited doing it during class. In the meanwhile, teachers want their students to study without disruption. The question is how schools effectively implement the policy once approved.

Read the article and learn about what some states are trying to do with smartphones in schools.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce99443qweno

Topic Reading-Vol.4455-7/5/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,  

The fertility crisis is here and it will permanently alter the economy

The total fertility rate is the expected number of children born per woman in her child-bearing years, usually between 15 and 45 years old. A fertility rate of 2.1 is needed to keep populations constant, which is called the replacement level. Of the 204 states and districts listed by the UN Population Fund, 28 states/districts have a lower than 1.5 fertility rate, including major economies like South Korea, China, Japan, Spain, and Italy. The average fertility rate among 38 world’s largest economies in 2022 was just 1.5 children per woman, a significant drop from 3.3 in 1960. Also, about half of those listed states/districts have less than 2.1 children per woman. If low fertility rates continue, deaths will outnumber births. Also, societies with low birth rates need workers who sustain the economy and pension funds, especially in aging societies like China, South Korea, and Japan. AI will improve productivity but hands are still needed to make, handle, and carry things and care for people. Will gender equality and fairer sharing of work and childrearing improve low fertility rates? Will immigration mitigate the aging population and low fertility rate problems?

Read the article and learn about the economic impacts of the low fertility rate.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/25/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4454-7/4/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,  

How to exercise when it’s too hot outside

Regular exercise makes you healthier physically and mentally. But if you exercise outside, like jogging, playing sports, or even walking at high temperatures, exercise could have negative effects on you. Nowadays, deadly heat waves have become more frequent and caused heatstroke to many, including over a thousand Haji pilgrims in Mecca, Saudi Arabia who died last month. Some people are more vulnerable to heat. Children, elderly people, and those who have chronic medical conditions, such as heart, lung, and kidney problems. If you ever feel a headache, weakness, dizziness, and nausea while working or exercising outside, you’d better cool yourself immediately. And if these symptoms persist, you might have gotten heat stroke, which requires immediate medical attention. Don’t underestimate the effects of overheating. It is fatal.

Read the article and learn about what to do and what not to do when it is so hot outside.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/21/health/exercise-summer-heat-wellness/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4453-7/3/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Escaped pet donkey found 'living best life' with elk

The donkey is the horse family while the elk is the deer family. Donkeys are domesticated animals found worldwide, originally from North Africa while Eek are wild animals found in forests and meadows, primarily in North America and Asia. Donkeys are generally a little smaller than elk and weigh around 200-some kilograms, about the same weight as female elk. Both donkeys and elk primarily eat grasses and leaves while domestic donkeys are often fed with hay and grains as well. One of the key differences between them is donkeys are more solitary and independent but elk are typically social and live in herds. Also, donkeys are mostly domesticated as working animals or pets while elk are wild animals.

An eight-year-old male pet donkey, Diesel, went missing during a hiking trip in California in 2019. Despite extensive search attempts, he has never been found. Recently, a hiker filmed a donkey in a herd of elk. Upon seeing the video, the Diesel's owners identified the donkey as him. They were pleased that Diesel was well and looked happy in the elk herd. They now hope the donkey enjoys his life in the wild. Usually, donkeys outlive elk.

Enjoy reading the article and see the film that shows a donkey with a herd of elk.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjjje07x35do

Topic Reading-Vol.4452-7/2/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Mandatory conscription and subway stations as bunkers: Germany outlines wartime plans

At the time of reunification in 1990, the combined manpower of the German military was as many as 585,000 strong. However, as compulsory military service was suspended in 2011, the present active personnel of the German military is about 180,000. In the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine in February 2022, Germany started reviewing the military preparedness for Russia’s aggression further into the continent. Recently, for the first time since the Cold War, Germany has updated plans to cope with a military attack by Russia. The plan includes military conscription and mandatory assignment of skilled workers like bakeries, doctors, and nurses. Also included was rationing of essential foods like rice and condensed milk. In addition, it includes a transformation of underground stations for bunkers for civilians. As Russia’s war in Ukraine shows no sign of ending, many European NATO member states are updating wartime plans, and Germany wants to be ready for war before the next decade.

It took about 20 years to break the peace after World War I. The cold war lasted over four decades. And over three decades have passed since the end of the Cold War. Will Germany play a role in peace or war in Europe in the near future?

Read the article and learn about how Germany is preparing for the next war.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/09/europe/germany-wartime-plans-russia-threat-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4451-7/1/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,  

China space probe returns with rare Moon rocks

Cheng’e 6 was the sixth robotic lunar exploration mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the second CNSA lunar sample-return mission. It is humanity's first lunar mission aimed at retrieving samples from the far side of the Moon, with all previous collective lunar mission samples having been taken from the near side. The prove was launched on May 3 and the landing module touched down on the Lunar far side on June 1. Then the lander’s robotic scoop and drill took samples from the lunar surface and placed them on the ascender module, which was launched into lunar orbit on June 3. The precious samples were then transferred to an atmospheric re-entry module, which came back and landed in the Inner Mongolia desert successfully on June 25. What a challenging mission without any astronomers on board! But why did the mission aim at the far side where no direct communication can be made with the Earth? What stake is there?

Read the article and learn about China’s amazing lunar mission.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c04447venm1o