Hi there, it's time for another episode of News Bites!
I'm Nancy Sun…
And I'm Hope Ngo.
In today's news:
No more cattle at Qingjing Farm, elephants lose their home in Asia, and farming under the sea.
Stay tuned for more on those stories, coming up next.
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清境農場結束養牛業務
Cattle Farming Ends at Qingjing Farm
Qingjing Farm is in the mountains of Nantou.
The farm is really high up, at an altitude (海拔) of 1,748 meters.
It's famous for its spectacular (壯觀) view.
The mountains are sometimes called "The Alps of Taiwan."
From there, tourists can see the sunrise and sunset.
They can also see the snow on Hehuan Mountain.
The farm was built in the 1960s, and it has been an important part of Taiwan history.
But now, the world has been focusing on cutting down on emissions (減碳排).
So, the farm is changing too.
Qingjing Farm is ending its cattle farming to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The farm director says cattle emit more carbon dioxide than sheep.
In fact, the emissions from cattle are 2.5 times higher than emissions from sheep.
By ending the cattle farming, Qingjing Farm will cut its emissions by nearly 30%.
The farm's 22 Angus (安格斯) cattle will be moved to a farm in Pingtung.
And the pasture (牧場) used by the cattle will now be used by sheep.
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亞洲失去大象棲息地
Asia Losing Elephant Habitat
Elephants are amazing creatures.
But this amazing animal is in danger.
Scientists say the homes of these magnificent creatures are disappearing.
They say since the 1700s, Asian elephants have lost more than 64 percent of their habitat (棲息地).
Over that time, people have cut down a lot of trees, built roads, and taken resources from deep in the earth.
All this human activity has driven away wildlife.
Elephants live a very long time, and they are highly adaptable (適應力強).
When they lose their homes, they go searching for new ones.
Researchers are worried that this would eventually lead to a conflict (衝突) between humans and elephants.
Elephants that lose their habitat are migrating from their usual territory
(領土).
In 2021, a herd of elephants migrated out of a protected area.
They walked more than 500 kilometers.
They trampled (踐踏) crops, roamed through towns, and caused a lot of damage.
Researchers want to de-escalate (使緩和) this situation.
They are calling for people to set out places for elephants to live.
人類與象群必須找出共存的方法，才能保護這些溫柔的巨人。
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農耕的未來可能在海底
Farming Under the Ocean
According to the United Nations, the number of people on Earth will reach 10 billion by 2050.
This means we need to make a lot more food if we want to feed all these people.
We need land to grow food.
But there is only so much land on Earth.
Now an Italian family has come up with a new idea.
They created "Nemo's Garden" in 2012.
It's the world's first underwater cultivation (栽培) system of plants.
The farm uses small greenhouses, floating 6 to 10 meters under the water.
The dome-shaped greenhouses are called "biospheres".
These biospheres are anchored (固定) to the bottom of the sea.
They are only 2 meters wide, so they can't grow big crops like corn or wheat.
But scientists have used the biospheres to grow strawberries, tomatoes, and
beans.
Because they are underwater, the plants are safe from outside pathogens
(病原) and pests.
They found that basil grown in the undersea gardens had more essential oils,
and more antioxidants.
科學家發現這個海裡花園種出來的羅勒含有更多的精油和抗氧化物。
And the gardens also attract fish.
Scientists found that there were 58 percent more fish around the garden than
in other parts of the ocean.
The family wants to try making bigger biospheres in the future.
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So, in today's News Bites…
Qingjing Farm is ending its cattle farming to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The farm director says cattle emit more carbon dioxide than sheep.
By ending the cattle farming, Qingjing Farm will cut its emissions by nearly 30%.
________________________________
Scientists say since the 1700s, Asian elephants have lost more than 64 percent of their habitat.
Researchers are worried that this will lead to a conflict between humans and elephants.
They are calling for people to set out places for elephants to live.
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And,
An Italian family created "Nemo's Garden", which grows plants underwater.
The farm uses small greenhouses, floating 6 to 10 meters under the water.
Scientists have used the biospheres to grow strawberries, tomatoes, and beans.
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And that's today's episode of News Bites!