Climate change has been a long-standing issue that continuously drives scientists to find green, sustainable fuels. The universe's most abundant element, hydrogen (氢), has drawn their attention and is now on its way to becoming the future of green fuel.

More than $150 billion worth of green hydrogen projects were announced globally in 2020, according to Reuters. Airbus, a European multinational aerospace corporation, has taken the lead in the new sustainable fuel industry. It has designed self-contained hydrogen fuel cell pods that can be attached to the underside of airplane wings, promoting the use of hydrogen fuel for long-distance flights, which aim to achieve zero emissions. The company plans to launch hydrogen-powered aircraft in 2035, according to Daily Mail.

Compared to fossil fuels, hydrogen is a much more eco-friendly fuel. When hydrogen burns, the only by-product is water. However, the traditional way to get hydrogen from natural gas or coal generates considerable carbon emissions. The greenest way is to obtain hydrogen from water using electrolysis (电解) powered by renewable energy, although this process requires so much electricity that it is quite expensive. The key to making hydrogen competitive with fossil fuels is to lower the production cost to under $1.50. This would require lowering around 50 percent of renewable power costs and 75 percent of electrolyzer costs, according to Australia's renewable energy agency.

Also, shipping liquid hydrogen is challenging, given that needs to be chilled to -253℃ to do so. Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries is set to complete the construction of the world's first liquefied hydrogen carrier by early 2021. According to Reuters, most of the world's big hydrogen export projects are looking to ship hydrogen in the form of liquid ammonia (氨), which can be changed to hydrogen and needs to be chilled to only -33℃.

With more and more countries aiming to cut down carbon emissions to solve the issue of global warming, green hydrogen will help decarbonizing industries that can't be electrified hit the targets.

"We could use these circumstances, where loads of public money are going to be needed into the energy system, to jump forward towards a hydrogen economy," said Diederik Samsom, who heads the European Commission's climate cabinet.

When a friend comes to you after a stressful day, how do you comfort him? Do you let him complain? Do you pour him a glass of coffee? Those could work. But a new study finds that a very effective technique is also simple and easy—hugging.

"Individuals who reported noticing the availability of a network of supportive individuals tend to show better adaptation when faced with stress. But just because you have a support network does not mean that you absolutely feel that support," said Michael Murphy, a psychology expert at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He wanted to know if people who received hugs regularly could handle anxiety and stress better.

So Murphy and his team interviewed 404 men and women every evening for two weeks, During these interviews, the participants were asked a simple yes or no question -whether somebody had hugged them that day-and a simple yes or no question of whether they had experienced conflict with somebody that day. They also were asked to respond to questions about negative and positive mood states.

And the researchers found that people who experienced a conflict were not as negatively affected if they received a hug that day as participants who experienced conflict and didn't get a hug. And they were also found not to carry the negative effect to the next day, while those who did not receive one would. The findings are in the journal PLOS ONE.

Murphy does include this warning: "So our findings should not be taken as proof that people should just start hugging anyone and everyone who seems upset. A hug from one boss at work or a stranger on the street could be viewed as neither agreeable nor positive." The idea is to relieve stress. Not add to it.

In 2018, Portugal and China signed an agreement on cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), making Portugal the first country in Western Europe to participate in the initiative.

Such stories continue to emerge. Since President Xi proposed the initiative in 2013, China's "circle of friends" has continued to expand. By the end of October 2019, China had concluded cooperation agreements with 137 countries and 30 international organizations.

As a Chinese saying goes, "To know whether a policy is good or not, you should see if it makes people frown or smile."

In Uzbekistan, Chinese personnel worked closely with the locals, building an over 19-kilometer tunnel in just 900 days. The tunnel, which is the longest in Central Asia, allows Uzbeks living in remote areas to travel through mountains and ranges in just 15 minutes.

Thanks to the BRI, fishermen who catch crayfish along the banks of the Nile in Egypt can now see their crayfish on Chinese people's dining tables. The high demand from China also puts more money in their pockets. For them, the initiative is a path to wealth. In Serbia, Chinese companies helped revive a near-bankrupt steel plant, securing jobs and stable incomes for 5, 000 workers.

Joint construction with participating countries allows Belt and Road countries to align their development strategies, thus releasing the development potential of these countries and bringing real benefits to their peoples.

Against the backdrop of profound changes, development is the master key to solving problems. The reason why the BRI has attracted so many participants is that it matches with the desire of countries, especially developing ones, to seek development.

Belt and Road construction is successful because it focuses on economic development, promotes openness and cooperation, and aims to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results.