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1. California has lost half its big trees since the 1930s, according to a study to be published Tuesday and climate change seems to be a major factor (因素). The number of trees larger than two feet across has declined by 50 percent on more than 46 ,000 square miles of California forests, the new study finds. No area was spared or unaffected, from the foggy northern coast to the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the San Gabriels above Los Angeles. In the Sierra high country , the number of big trees has fallen by more than 55 percent; in parts of southern California the decline was nearly 75 percent. Many factors contributed to the decline, said Patrick MeIntyre, an ecologist who was the lead author of the study. Woodcutters targeted big trees. Housing development pushed into the woods. Aggressive wildfire control has left California forests crowded with small trees that compete with big trees for resources (资源). But in comparing a study of California forests done in the 1920s and 1930s with another one between 2001 and 2010, McIntyre and his colleagues documented a widespread death of big trees that was evident even in wildlands protected from woodcutting or development. The loss of bigtrees was greatest in areas where trees had suffered the greatest water shortage. The researchers figured out water stress with a computer model that calculated how much water trees were getting in comparison with how much they needed, taking into account such things as rainfall, air temperature, dampness of soil, and the timing of snowmelt (融雪). Since the 1930s, McIntyre said, the biggest factors driving up water stress in the state have been rising temperatures, which cause trees to lose more water to the air, and earlier snowmelt, which reduces the water supply available to trees during the dry season.
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2. Money with no strings attached. It's not something you see every day. But at Union Station in Los Angeles last month, a board went up with dollar bills attached toit with pins and a sign that read," Give What You Can, Take What You Need. " People quickly caught on. And while many took dollars, many others pinned their own cash to the board. " People of all ages, races, and socio-economic (社会经济的) backgrounds gave and took," said Tyler Bridges of The Toolbox , which created the project. " We even had a bride in her wedding dress come up to the board and take a few dollars. " Most of the bills on the board were singles, but a few people left fives, tens and even twenties. The video clip (片段) shows one man who had found a $20 bill pinning it to the board. "What I can say for the folks that gave the most, is that they were full of smiles ," Bridges said. "There's a certain feeling that giving can do for you and that was apparent in those that gave the most. " Most people who took dollars took only a few, but Bridges said a very small number took as much as they could. While the clip might look like part of a new ad campaign, Bridges said the only goal was to show generosity and sympathy. He added that he hopes people in other cities might try similar projects and post their own videos on the Internet. "After all, everyone has bad days and good days," he said. "Some days you need a helping hand and some days you can be the one giving the helping hand."
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3. Zachariah Fike has an unusual hobby. He finds old military (军队的) medals for sale in antique stores and on the Internet. But unlike most collector , Zac tracks down the medals' rightful owners, and returns them. His effort to reunite families with lost medals began with a Christmas gift from his mother, a Purple Heart with the name Corrado A. G. Piccoli, found in an antique shop. Zac knows the meaning of a Purple Heart - he earned one himself in a war as a soldier. So when his mother gave him the medal, he knew right away what he had to do. Through the Internet, Zac tracked down Corrado's sister Adeline Rockko. But when he finally reached her, the woman flooded him with questions: " Who are you? What antique shop?" However, when she hung up, she regretted the way she had handled the call. So she called Zac back and apologized. Soon she drove to meet Zac in Watertown, N. Y. "At that point, I knew she meant business," Zac says. " To drive eight hours to come to see me." The Piccolis grew up the children of Italian immigrants in Watertown. Corrado, a translator for the Army during WW Ⅱ, was killed in action in Europe. Before hearing from Zac, Adeline hadn't realized the medal was missing. Like many military medals, the one Zac's mother had found was a family treasure. " This medal was very precious to my parents. Only on special occasions (场合) would they take it out and let us hold it in our hands," Adeline says. As a child, Adeline couldn't understand why the medal was so significant. "But as I grew older," Adeline says, " and missed my brother more and more, I realized that was the only thing we had left. " Corrado Piccoli's Purple Heart medal now hangs at the Italian American Civic Association in Watertown. Zac recently returned another lost medal to a family in Alabama. Since he first reunited Corrado's medal, Zac says his record is now 5 for 5.
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