Topic Reading-Vol.3506/11/16/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Climate change: Can India meet its targets?

India is the third-largest carbon emitter in the world after China and the US. It is one of the 140 or so countries that promised not to add the overall amount of greenhouse gases by 2050 to keep the temperature rise to 1.5C. At the COP26 summit, India has just promised to increase the non-fossil fuel electric power sources to 50% by 2030, which is now around 20%. Also, it intends to bring a third of the land under forest cover by limiting deforestation and promoting tree plantation. The nation also set an emissions intensity target, which measures emissions per unit of economic growth. That seems to justify the overall increase of greenhouse gas emissions while developing the economy of India’s world’s largest population in the next few decades. Indeed, a fall in carbon emission intensity does not actually reduce overall emissions. India still heavily depends on coal-based power for economic growth and people’s lives. How seriously will the democratically elected parliament members work on climate change? Environment or election?

Enjoy reading the article and learning about India’s environmental challenges.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58922398

Topic Reading-Vol.3505/11/15/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Buyers show remorse over pandemic purchases

It’s been around 20 months since the coronavirus pandemic changed our lives. Many of us had no choice but to give up traveling, social gatherings, and commuting and end up spending time at home much longer than we had ever imagined. Then, those who were fortunate enough to keep their jobs or incomes thought of starting or setting up new things to make their at-home time more enjoyable or fruitful. Some people tried to start a new activity and bought items like gym equipment, musical instrument, kitchen appliances, DIY and gardening tools, and materials to name a few. Others spent their unused leisure budget on upgrading furniture, bath tab, or kitchen to entertain themselves. But how much of those new purchases have been made use of? Can people start or upgrade their at-home activities because of the pandemic?

Enjoy reading the article and learn what happened to the Covid purchases in the UK.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59207124

Topic Reading-Vol.3504/11/14/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Sleep with your pet? How that may affect you (and your pet)

Is sleeping with your pet dog or cat good for you and your pet? For those highly popular, domesticated animals, sleeping with their human friends doesn’t seem to create any particular downside. Rather, it seems to create a tighter bond and higher trust with humans. However, that is not always the case for humans who need four to six 90-minute sleep cycles each night to repair the brain’s cellular level, consolidate memories and store new information to prepare for the next day. Anytime these sleep cycles are interrupted as is often the case when sleeping with a pet, you lose the chance to restore and refresh the brain. Remember, animals, especially cats, tend to move and disrupt sleep during the night, and each move could disrupt your continuous sleep. In the meantime, pet animals may give comfort and peace to their human friends especially to those who are depressed or feel anxious. So, if you can maintain your good sleeping cycles, your pet animal may be a good sleeping companion, provided that the pet wants that, too.

Enjoy reading the article and learning the pros and cons of an animal sleeping partner.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/05/health/sleeping-with-pets-wellness/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3503/11/13/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Delhi pollution: Are Diwali fireworks to blame?

The air quality of many cities in India is poor or even hazardous. In fact, 20 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities are in India. Especially in this time of year, Delhi and other cities in northern India experience poor air quality due to crop burning and seasonal weather patterns. Furthermore, there is a popular festival called Diwali, India's biggest and most important holiday of the year that celebrates lights. People decorate their homes with clay lamps and enjoy firework festivities outside. Yes, a lot of fireworks, which seems to worsen the already poor air quality especially with PM2.5, a type of pollution involving fine particles fewer than 2.5 microns, or 0.0025mm, in diameter and is one of the most harmful particles for human health. During the festival, the PM2.5 levels go way above the recommended WHO guidelines in these cities. Also, another research found significantly increased levels of hazardous substances like Sulphur dioxide, ozone, lead, and copper during the Diwali period. So, why do people still burn such hazardous substances just for fun?

Enjoy reading the article and learn about Diwali and air quality in India.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-46138064

Topic Reading-Vol.3502/11/12/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

COP 26: What Alaska’s shrinking island means for all of us

The impacts of a warming climate are of course not limited to tropical islands but also in Alaska. Billions of tons of ice are melting from glaciers each year, rising sea levels. With a population of only 600, this small village on the western edge of Alaska is under threat of global warming. In the last few decades, temperatures have been rising and permafrost has been thawing in the supposedly cold region, which has been gradually eroding the coastline. Also, as the ice isn’t forming and storms are getting more violent, the village is losing its land space. Melting ice is forcing the villagers to change their traditions like hunting and fishing. Band aiding measures like sea walls don’t seem to be enough to keep their lifestyles and lifelines, including the vital runway. Residents are afraid that the whole town needs to relocate at one point. If humans suffer this much, what about other lives like polar bears and seabirds?

Enjoy watching the video and learn about what is happening in an Alaskan village.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-59186214

Topic Reading-Vol.3501/11/11/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Should young children be made to wear face masks?

Just like adults, children are required or recommended to wear a mask at school in some countries like France and Italy while they are free from wearing a mask in other places like the UK. It is evident that much fewer cases have been reported in schools where teachers and students are required to wear masks as they provide an additional layer of protection. However, some people are concerned that mask-wearing could impair children’s development of emotional understanding. In fact, children start recognizing basic emotions such as happiness, sadness, fear, and anger from voice tone, body posture, and facial expression even before they begin walking. So, if half of the face is covered by a mask, how can they recognize others’ emotions? But is it that different from wearing sunglasses? Interestingly, a study found that the difference between wearing a mask and sunglasses didn’t show any distinct difference to recognize the emotion of the wearer. Then what about language learning?

Enjoy reading the article and learning about what impacts mask-wearing could cause to young children.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211025-how-face-masks-affect-young-children

Topic Reading-Vol.3500/11/10/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Law clarifies family role in education

China adopted a new law that clarifies the roles and responsibilities of children’s welfare and education by family, school, the State, and society. It has long been accused that excessive studying to get better grades and pass entrance exams by over-loaded assignments and expensive private tutoring created over-stressed young children in China. Now, parents are responsible for family education and are prohibited to make their children study excessively. They are also required to help their children spend time studying, resting, and exercising in balance. In the meantime, local governments and schools are required to provide guidance, support, and services for family education. They are already expected to improve classroom teaching and develop after-school services to help students learn better without too much homework under the guidelines issued in July. Recently, China limited the time for online gaming on weekdays and weekends, restricted new off-campus tutoring services, and banned online tutoring services to improve young students’ health and welfare while reducing financial burden to their parents. Though these measures may seem too radical to impose at once in your country, do they sound too unreasonable?

Read the article and think about what the roles of family education should be.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202111/03/WS6181d7e6a310cdd39bc72ed9.html