【推荐1】Blue Planet Ⅱ’s latest episode (情节) is about how plastic is having a terrible effect on the ocean and slowly poisoning our sea creatures. Researchers have also found that sea creatures living in the deepest place on Earth, Mariana Trench, have plastic in their stomachs. Indeed, oceans are drowning in plastic.

Though it seems that the world couldn’t possibly function without plastic, plastic is a very recent invention. The first plastic bags were introduced in the 1950s, the same decade (十年) that plastic packaging began gaining popularity in the United States. This growth has happened so fast that science is still catching up with the change. Plastic pollution research, for example, is still a very early science.

We put all the plastic into the environment, but we still don’t really know what the outcomes are going to be. What we do know, though, is disturbing. Ocean plastic is expected to kill millions of sea animals every year. Hundreds of species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by it. One in three leatherback turtles, which often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, have been found with plastic in their stomach. Ninety percent of seabirds are now eating plastic regularly. By 2050, that figure is expected to rise to 100 percent.

And it’s not just wildlife that is threatened by the plastic in our seas. Humans are consuming plastic through the seafood we eat. I could understand why some people see ocean plastic as a disaster, worth mentioning in the same breath as climate change. But ocean plastic is not as complicated (复杂的) as climate change. There are no ocean waste deniers (否认者), at least so far. To do something about it, we don’t have to remake our planet energy system.

This is not a problem where we don’t know what the solution is. We know how to pick up garbage. Anyone can do it. We know how to deal with it. We know how to recycle. We can all start by thinking twice before we use single-use plastic products. Things that may seem ordinary, like using a reusable bottle or a reusable bag — when taken collectively, these choices really do make a difference.

【推荐2】Food production does great harm to our environment. There are many procedures involved in the manufacture of food that result in greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Some procedures require the consumption of large amounts of fossil fuels, such as the transportation and storage of food products. Other factors that cause great damage to our environment include the overuse of fresh water.

The production of beef is more damaging to the environment than that of any other food we consume. Raising large numbers of cattle requires the production of large amounts of food for the animals. it's estimated that producing one pound of beef requires seven pounds of feed.

Land use is also a problem. If the cattle are free-range cattle, large areas of land are required for them to live on. This has led to disastrous forest cutting and the loss of rare plants and animal species, particularly in tropical rain forests in Central and South America.

Another problem specific to beef production is methane emissions (甲烷排放). Although many people are aware of the damaging effects of carbon dioxide, they don't realize methane's global warming potential is 25 times worse, making it a more dire problem.

Unfortunately, beef consumption is growing rapidly. This is the result of simple supply and demand factors. Specifically, there are two main causes of demand that are encouraging the production of more supply. First, the increase in the world population means there are more people to consume meat. The second factor is socioeconomic advancement. As citizens in developing nations become financially stable, they can afford to buy more meat.

Therefore, one way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions is for people around the world to significantly cut down on the amount of beef they eat.

【推荐3】Somewhere between 40,000 and 110,000 tons of plastic waste produced by Americans ends up in the ocean, according to a study published in the journal Science.

It's difficult to point out where all that waste comes from, and researchers think that much or most of it probably comes from the nation's seriously-populated coasts. But there's also evidence that the nation's inland waterways serve as a passage for plastic to travel thousands of miles into the oceans.

While researchers have documented plastic and human trash floating in the world's oceans, there has been relatively little attention paid to plastics in rivers, streams and lakes. "To my knowledge, no one has studied particular routes, with the exception of places like L.A, and Baltimore Harbor where there are measures in place to prevent trash in rivers from entering the ocean." said Kara Lavender Law, an oceanographer.

The few studies that exist, however, suggest that it may be a huge problem. A 2011 study of two southern California urban rivers---including Santa Ana River---found that every square meter of water contained from 125 to 819 pieces larger than 4.75 millimeters. Another survey of the Meuse River, which flows 575 miles through France, Belgium and the Netherlands to the North Sea, found that it contained 70,000 pieces of plastics per square meter of water, about 500 of which were roughly an inch or bigger in size.

If there's anything positive in this, it's you that can do something, at least on a personal level, to reduce the amount of plastic that goes into the oceans. "Put trash where it goes." said Jenna Jambeck, an associate professor of environmental engineering at the University of Georgia. "Use reusable items---bags, cups and bottles---to reduce waste."

Finally, Jambeck urges people to pick up litter along waterways, and record it with a phone app called the Marine Debris Tracker. The data you provide can help scientists to get a better handle on the trash problem.

【推荐1】In an attempt to fight with the nation’s food wastage problem, Denmark has opened the world’s first supermarket that sells expired(过期的) or damaged products. Ever since the grand opening in Copenhagen last Monday, people have been lining up outside WeFood for a chance to purchase discounted items that would otherwise have ended up in the trash because of damaged packaging or very short use---by dates. Food, cosmetics, and other household items at WeFood are priced at least 30 to 50 percent lower than at regular stores.

“WeFood is the first supermarket of its kind in Denmark and perhaps the world, as it is not just aimed at low-income shoppers but anyone who is concerned about the amount of food wastage produced in the country,” said project head Per Bjerre. “Many people see this as a positive and correct way to approach the issue.”

While Denmark alone is estimated to waste about 700,000 tons of food every year, the United Nations has stated that globally, food waste amounts to 1.3 billion tons. About 795 million people in the world are undernourished. Denmark, however, has adopted several measures to clean up its act, wasting 25% less food than it did five years ago.

The WeFood project is a collaboration between The Food Bank and charity DanCurch Aid. Together they raised nearly $150.000 over the past year through crowdfunding. They also had to face many obstacles while convincing the government to permit the sale of expired food. They were finally allowed to carry out the project, and the store is now run only by volunteers. Profits are used to fund DanChurch Aid’s other projects in developing nations like South Sudan and Bangladesh.

Provided WeFood’s remains popular in the long term and if it is able to maintain its food deliveries, DanChurch Aid plans to open multiple branches across Denmark.

【推荐2】If you’ve been in public in the past year or so, chances are you’ve noticed someone breaking dining etiquette(礼仪) that would seem second-nature to any adult. Why does our dining etiquette seem to be at an all-time low right now.

“Overall, there is much less feeling about the common good, which means caring about your neighbor---whether at home or in a restaurant,” said Steven, who writes articles for USA Today.

Take the use of cellphone at the table for example. While a 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 38 percent of those surveyed thought it was acceptable to use their phones while dining out, the increasing number of cellphone bans in restaurant shows that restaurants aren’t putting up with it.

However, some look on the growing use of cellphones as a sign that manners change alongside our society.

“Manners change,” said the writer behind a food site The Takeout. “What we consider improper isn’t set in stone.” She points out the other “rules” that have since become outdated nowadays, like saying “Sir” and “Ma’am,” as proof of this change.

Yes, traditional manners are yet another thing being redefined by youth. “Younger people are growing up in a world with more flexible rules, and this spreads to the dining table,” said Daniel Levine, director of global trends consultancy The Avant-Guide Institute.

Whether you prefer high-end restaurants or a fast-casual meal, the biggest reason behind the decline of manners may just be a numbers game.

“I believe it is more likely for people to break dining ‘rules’ because they go out and eat more often,” said Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas. “Years ago, people stayed home and sat around the family table. Today, there are more people in the workforce, which makes it more affordable for socializing and eating out. With new chance comes the possibility for more dining problems.”

【推荐3】One of the many interesting features of American society is the prestige granted to business institutions. Their status is arguably greater than that of any other kind of organization including, or perhaps especially, the government. What exactly is it about Americans that makes them place business on such a high social level and admire the successful business person so openly?

One possible explanation could be that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the concept of competition than other institutions in their society. Fair and open competition is an ideal long cherished, one could even say deep rooted in American political and economic life. It is seen as the source of progress, prosperity and opportunity. In fact, in the American psyche, the importance of free competition goes even deeper than that； free competition is the means by which other defining values such as democracy and individual liberty are achieved and ensured.

In American eyes, competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly of power, either economic or political. As in politics, where the government is divided into branches, each with powers that offset those of the others, businesses compete against each other for profits. The idea being that if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competitors who treat their customers more fairly. In theory, where many businesses compete for the customers' dollars，the interests of the consumer will be paramount.

Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the American ideal of equality of opportunity. It is seen as an open and beneficial contest where success goes to the fittest； to those most deserving of it. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on inherited status. In America, accomplishment in business and the accumulation of wealth and power thereby is viewed in the same light as an aristocratic ancestry once was in the Old World.