Preparing Cities for Robot Cars

    The possibility of self﹣driving robot cars has often seemed like a futurist's dream， years away from materializing in the real world． Well， the future is apparently now． The California Department of Motor Vehicles began giving permits in April for companies to test truly self﹣driving cars on public roads． The state also cleared the way for companies to sell or rent out self﹣driving cars， and for companies to operate driverless taxi services． California， it should be noted， isn't leading the way here． Companies have been testing their vehicles in cities across the country． It's hard to predict when  driverless cars will be everywhere on our roads． But however long it takes， the technology has the potential to change our transportation systems and our cities， for better or for worse， depending on how the transformation is regulated．

    While much of the debate so far has been focused on the safety of driverless cars（and rightfully so），policymakers also should be talking about how self﹣driving vehicles can help reduce traffic jams， cut emissions（排放） and offer more convenient， affordable  mobility options． The arrival of driverless vehicles is a chance to make sure that those vehicles are environmentally friendly and more shared．

    Do we want to copy﹣ or even worsen﹣ the traffic of today with driverless cars？ Imagine a future where most adults own individual self﹣driving vehicles． They tolerate long， slow journeys to and from work on packed highways because they can work， entertain themselves or sleep on the ride， which encourages urban spread． They take their driverless car to an appointment and set the empty vehicle to circle the building to avoid paying for parking． Instead of walking a few blocks to pick up a child or the dry cleaning， they send the self﹣driving minibus． The convenience even leads fewer people to take public transport﹣﹣an unwelcome side effect researchers have already found in ride﹣ hailing（叫车） services．

    A study from the University of California at Davis suggested that replacing petrol﹣powered private cars worldwide with electric， self﹣driving and shared systems could reduce carbon emissions from transportation 80% and cut the cost of transportation infrastructure  （基础设施） and operations 40% by 2050． Fewer emissions and cheaper travel sound pretty appealing． The first commercially available driverless cars will almost certainly be fielded by ride﹣hailing services， considering the cost of self﹣driving technology as well as liability and maintenance issues（责任与维护问题）．But driverless car ownership could increase as the prices drop and more people become comfortable with the technology．

    Policymakers should start thinking now about how to make sure the appearance of driverless vehicles doesn't extend the worst aspects of the car﹣controlled transportation system we have today． The coming technological advancement presents a chance for cities and states to develop transportation systems designed to move more people，and more affordably． The car of the future is coming． We just have to plan for it．

In the 1760s， Mathurin Roze opened a series of shops that boasted（享有）a special meat soup called consommé． Although the main attraction was the soup， Roze's chain shops also set a new standard for dining out， which helped to establish Roze as the inventor of the modern restaurant．

    Today， scholars have generated large amounts of instructive research about restaurants． Take visual hints that influence what we eat： diners served themselves about 20 percent more pasta（意大利面食）when their plates matched their food．  When a dark﹣colored cake was served on a black plate rather than a white one， customers recognized it as sweeter and more tasty．

    Lighting matters， too． When Berlin restaurant customers ate in darkness， they couldn't tell how much they'd had： those given extra﹣large shares ate more than everyone else， but were none the wiser﹣they didn't feel fuller， and they were just as ready for dessert．

    Time is money， but that principle means different things for different types of restaurants． Unlike fast﹣food places． fine dining shops prefer customers to stay longer and spend． One way to encourage customers to stay and order that extra round： put on some Mozart（莫扎特）．When classical， rather than pop， music was playing， diners spent more． Fast music hurried diners out．

    Particular scents also have an effect： diners who got the scent of lavender（薰衣草）stayed longer and spent more than those who smelled lemon， or no scent．

    Meanwhile， things that you might expect to discourage spending﹣"bad" tables， crowding．high prices﹣don't necessarily． Diners at bad tables﹣next to the kitchen door， say﹣spent nearly as much as others but soon fled． It can be concluded that restaurant keepers need not "be overly concerned about ‘bad' tables，" given that they're profitable． As for crowds， a Hong Kong study found that they increased a restaurant's reputation， suggesting great food at fair prices． And doubling a buffet's price led customers to say that its pizza was 11 percent tastier．

 I work with Volunteers for Wildlife, a rescue and education organization at Bailey Arboretum in Locust Valley. Trying to help injured, displaced or sick creatures can be heartbreaking; survival is never certain. However, when it works, it is simply beautiful.

   I got a rescue call from a woman in Muttontown. She had found a young owl(猫头鹰) on the ground. When I arrived, I saw a 2-to 3-week-old owl. It had already been placed in a carrier for safety.

   I examined the chick(雏鸟) and it seemed fine. If I could locate the nest, I might have been able to put it back, but no luck. My next work was to construct a nest and anchor it in a tree.

   The homeowner was very helpful. A wire basket was found. I put some pine branches into the basket to make this nest safe and comfortable. I placed the chick in the nest, and it quickly calmed down.

   Now all that was needed were the parents, but they were absent. I gave the homeowner a recording of the hunger screams of owl chicks. These advertise the presence of chicks to adults; they might also encourage our chick to start calling as well. I gave the owner as much information as possible and headed home to see what news the night might bring.

   A nervous night to be sure, but sometimes the spirits of nature smile on us all! The homeowner called to say that the parents had responded to the recordings. I drove over and saw the chick in the nest looking healthy and active. And it was accompanied in the nest by the greatest sight of all—LUNCH ! The parents had done their duty and would probably continue to do so.

The weather effects both good and bad，are felt in many places．Rich countries gain more from powerful Nino，on balance，than they lose．A study found that a strong Nino in 1997helped American’s economy grow by 15billion，partly because of better agricultural harvest，farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain．The total rise in agricultural in rich countries in growth than the fall in poor ones．