Topic Reading-Vol.3596-2/14/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

World’s glaciers hold less ice than thought: Study

The good news is that the al sea level would rise 7.6 centimeters less than previously thought if all glaciers were melted. The bad news is that less water is stored in the mountains, which could affect regions around glaciers that rely on water supply from the rivers from those mountains. A recent study that used high-resolution satellites found glacier retreat seems to have been sped up in the last two decades due to global warming. At present, glacial ice melt contributes about 30% of annual sea-level rise. The rest comes from massive ice sheet melts from Antarctica and Greenland. The point is that glacier melt directly and immediately affects the lives in the surrounding regions.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about another sign of accelerating global warming.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/7/worlds-glaciers-contain-less-ice-than-thought-new-report-finds

Topic Reading-Vol.3595-2/13/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Cut nearly 300 calories a day by doing something you already do

The better sleep you have, the better life you’ll enjoy. Of course. But you may say there are so many things to do each day that you have no choice but to sleep less than you want or should. Indeed, people are getting busier while more things are done by machines more efficiently. But a recent study found that a good night’s sleep not only improves your health and productivity but also controls your weight. The study’s participants tried to sleep about eight and a half hours a night for two weeks, an hour or two longer than usual. Surprisingly, those who had a healthier length of sleep time decreased their calorie intake by an average of 270 calories a day, without any restrictions. There is some internal mechanism that controls appetite, which seems to be affected by how well and how long the person slept. Indeed, sleep hygiene is essential for our health and performance. But in case you have difficulty sleeping, you might want to avoid staring at blue light-emitting devices, such as TV, PC, or smartphone an hour before bed. Also, keeping the room temperature somewhere around 18 degrees helps you sleep better.

So, why not try going to bed earlier? You won’t lose anything but some weight.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about sleep hygiene and your health.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/07/health/sleep-weight-loss-wellness/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3594-2/12/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The fast fashion graveyard in Chile's Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert stretches 1,600 kilometers between the Pacific coast and the Andes Mountains in Chili. It is the driest and the largest fog desert in the world with an annual rainfall of just about 15 millimeters on average. Though the lack of humidity, rain, and light pollution all together produce a dusty, rocky landscape, over 500 flora species have evolved in the desert. Also, outside of the aridest area, lizards and birds live permanently.

Chili is the large importer of used clothing and unwanted garments from Europe and the US. They are supposedly resold to users in the domestic markets and other Latin American countries. However, only 15% of those imported garments are resold or reused and the rest is illegally dumped in unauthorized landfills in the Atacama Desert, creating a huge mess. Also, since quite a lot of those garments are made of polyesters, it’ll take hundreds of years to disintegrate. It threatens the desert’s unique biodiversity and the health of inhabitants around the desert.

Is this part of the supply chain?

Watch the video to learn about the fate of unwanted garments.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-60249712

Topic Reading-Vol.3593-2/11/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Iceland to end whaling from 2024 amid controversy and falling demand
Hundreds of whales of any kind are caught each year by Canada, Denmark, Greenland, Russia, the UA, Norway, and Japan. Although whale products, such as meat and blubber, aren’t as essential as they used to be, they still are commercially valuable. Thus, despite the strong and widely-supported opposition, whale hunting continues. Whaling also seems emotionally important for countries like Norway and Japan where whale hunting still is commercially and traditionally justified. They don’t want to be told by others what they can hunt and eat. However, as demands for whale products decline, whaling countries seem to feel less incentive for commercial whaling. Recently, Iceland has said it will not hunt any more whales from 2024.
Hunting sea mammals is a highly controversial issue, whales, dolphins, sharks, walrus, and seals. While shark meat is consumed widely and openly, dolphin meat is not. Why?
Read the article about Iceland’s recent decision to stop whaling for commercial reasons.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/05/europe/iceland-whaling-to-end-2024-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3592-2/10/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Best Turkish foods: 23 delicious dishes

Turkey is a transcontinental country located mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia bridging Southeastern Europe and Western Asia. It is encircled by the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. The Anatolian peninsula is one of the oldest settled regions in the world where there are ancient ruins of thousands of years old. Also, there are 50 or more ethnic groups in the country. So, geographically, meteorologically, historically, and culturally, Turkey is a very diverse country. Accordingly, there are very different kinds of food in the country. How many Turkish dishes do you know besides kebab?

Enjoy seeing the photos and descriptions of 23 selected Turkish dishes and think which ones you want to taste.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/best-turkish-foods/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3591-2/9/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Child care workers are vanishing and it's hurting the entire economy

It seems to be a catch-22 situation, where there is no viable solution because of mutually conflicting conditions. While minimum wages for many jobs have been showing a steep increase for the last few years in the US, childcare workers don’t seem to have been enjoying the benefit as much as other laborious jobs do, such as warehouse, delivery, and restaurant workers. Also, they aren’t usually given benefits such as insurance or paid leaves like other workers. Then, as worker shortage and average wage increase, fewer childcare workers or services become available. This situation isn’t easy to be changed. If childcare expenses become too high, working parents won’t go out for work. Also, if they can’t get affordable childcare, they can’t work outside either. Then, should the federal or local governments offer financial aid for the childcare industry or working parents? The problem is getting more serious under the pandemic where childcare providers are forced to close their facilities and services. And if affordable childcare isn’t available, expecting parents may hesitate to produce more children, which is already happening in many developed countries. Indeed, childcare is an essential element of the economy and social structure.

Read the article and think about this rising dilemma for working parents.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/28/economy/child-care-labor-force-declines/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3590-2/8/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Alice, the first all-electric passenger airplane, prepares to fly

A new electric passenger aircraft is about to fly. Alice is an all-electric aircraft developed by an Israeli company. It uses batteries just like electric vehicles on the road. It can fly for an hour at about 460 kilometers per hour, approximately half the speed of Boeing’s 737. The commuter version of the aircraft can carry nine passengers, two pilots, and 380 kilograms of cargo. With further improvement or innovation of battery capacity, the company hopes to develop larger versions that can carry 20 to 40 passengers within a decade. While human ingenuities may bring about technological innovation to longer-lasting batteries, will they also reduce the total carbon footprint of power generation? Hope we won’t burn more coal to fly electric airplanes.

Enjoy reading the article to learn about all-electric passenger aircraft.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/31/tech/alice-eviation-test-flight/index.html