3 . My husband and I wanted desperately the instant transformation from typical consumers to eco-conscious people．We switched our light bulbs to CFL(compact fluorescent light)bulbs to conserve energy．We went about the house turning off lights and unplugging appliances that weren’t in use．But the rate of global warming exceeded our snail’s pace conversion to greenhood．So I pressed onward．

I decided to put veganism(素食主义)at the top of our agenda．Vegans refuse any animal flesh or commercial goods made from any animal byproducts such as milk or fats．All the family applauded this option except for my husband．Some kind of animal needed to sacrifice its dear life for his meal or it wash’t dinner．I cooked up a storm，struggling to prepare nutritious meals dominated by not-so-obvious vegan dishes like bean burritos and high-fiber vegetable stir-fry．It took a few days before he realized that he hadn’t been eating any meat．

“I feel like eating beef．”he announced．So that night，I took full advantage of a zucchini (一种南瓜)，cut it into chunky(粗大的)pieces and cooked them．Then I covered them with spices．My beef-starved husband had some and a curious look crossed his face．

“Where’s the beef?”

“Living peacefully somewhere on an open plain where it belongs．”

“I knew it”he murmured．“You’ve surely made great contributions to the boom in cattle.”His taste buds were developed completely around the flavor of every kind of animal：cattle，pigs，deer，lamb，chickens and ducks．Converting him was like feeding grass to a lion．

I’m all for preserving our planet，but what good would it do to save the earth for tomorrow’s generation if today’s died of starvation? The next day，we went out for burgers．I was very careful to place the paper bag into our recycling bin．

4 . Kamikatsu, a small town in Japan, has shown the world that our garbage has far-reaching effects, and not just on our environment.

The experiment in going zero waste started when the town built a new incinerator 20 years ago. But almost immediately, the incinerator was determined to be a health risk due to the poisonous gases when garbage was burned in it. It was too expensive to send waste to other towns, so locals had to come up with a new plan. Then the Zero Waste Academy was born, which helped perform this plan.

Now Kamikatsu people separate their waste into 45 different categories. But in the beginning, it wasn't easy to convince local people to do all this work, and there was some pushback. Only after that initial education period did most residents come on board.

This is all great news for waste reduction of course, but it has also had some unexpected social benefits as well. Like much of Japan, Kamikatsu's population is aging, and about 50 percent of the locals are elderly. The fact that the whole community takes their trash in to be recycled has created a local action and interaction between generations.

That idea has been purposefully expanded to include a circular shop where household goods are dropped off and others can take them, and a tableware "library" where people can borrow extra cups, glasses, silverware and plates for celebrations.

"The elderly see this not as a waste-collection service, but an opportunity to socialize with the younger generation and to chat. When we visit them, they prepare lots of food and we stay with them for a while, we ask how they are," Sakano, the founder of the Zero Waste Academy, said.

Sakano's ideas are truly revolutionary if you think about it. She's proving that community can be found through handling the stuff we no longer want and need.

Today, Mount Qomolangma’s peak is not a lonely place any more. Over 3,500 people have     1    (successful) climbed the mountain over the past years. Meanwhile, climbers have complained about     2    (wait) for hours in the bottlenecks.

In fact，the dangerous     3    (crowd) aren’t the only problem. All those climbers need to bring a lot of gear (设备), much of which ends up     4    (leave) on the mountain. It is becoming the world’s     5    (tall) rubbish dump.

But the good news is     6     some mountaineers have started to clean up Qomolangma. Mountaineers Paul and Eberhard are part of Eco Everest Expedition, which has been cleaning up rubbish since 2008. So far they     7    (collect) over 13 tons of garbage.

Some of that rubbish is even being used for     8     higher purpose. As part of the Mount Everest 8848 Art Project, a group of 15 artists from Nepal collected 1.5 tons of garbage. They’ve changed the cans and oxygen tanks     9     74 pieces of art that have already been exhibited in Nepal’s capital. Part of the profit from sales     10    (be) available for the Everest Peakers Association which has helped collect rubbish off the mountain.

7 . Coffee chains create a lot of waste, from disposable take-away cups to the used grounds that are sent to landfills. Starbucks has started to try recyclable alternatives to the disposable cups. But the used coffee is often unnoted.

The world drinks around 2 billion cups of coffee a day, producing 6 million tons of used grounds every year. When they go to landfills, the grounds release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.

UK Bio-bean has found a way to turn that waste into a valuable resource. At Bio-bean, used coffee grounds are processed to remove paper cups or plastic bags, and then passed through a dryer and a further screening process. They are finally processed into the fuel. Coffee Log.

"Coffee is highly calorific and lends itself to being a really fantastic fuel," says May. director of Bio-bean. "They burn about 20% hotter and 20% longer than wood logs do."

While these fuels release greenhouse gases when burned, if they replace other carbon-based fuels. Bio-bean estimates that the recycling process reduces emissions （排放）by 80% compared with sending the grounds to landfills.

Founded in 2013 Bio-bean grew rapidly,   launching coffee collection services across the UK and building the world's first coffee recycling factory only two years later. In 2016 they launched their first product,   Coffee Log, and are now ready to launch their first natural flavouring ingredient into the food and drink industry.

“We've really managed to succeed with our innovation because we've managed to get to scale. What started as a good idea is today the UK's largest recycler of coffee grounds. We are turning 7,000 tons of those grounds per year into the fuel," says George May. "Despite being delayed by the COVID-19, we plan to expand our operation into northwestern Europe within the next five years."

10 . Australia’s bush fires are threatening the country’s unique wildlife —from koalas to native birds to bees —and researchers fear that some species are being pushed to the brink of extinction. The fires have killed at least 26 people, burned thousands of homes and could shave as much as 0. 4% of economic growth, according to some experts.

More than 13,000 head of livestock have been killed by the fires in New South Wales state, where more than 20,000 square miles of land has been burned. The fires threaten to rage on into February—summer - time in Australia —or longer.

Scientists say at least six species are in danger. “There’s great concern that these fires may have pushed species closer to extinction or potentially over,” said Deakin University wildlife ecologist Euan Ritchie. “We won’ t know until we get into the areas,” he said.

Some scientists are concerned about a metallic - green bee that lives exclusively in areas that have been ravaged by fire, along Australia’s east coast and on Kangaroo Island in the south. Researchers suspect the green carpenter bee has been wiped out on Kangaroo Island.

“The species is likely to be in terrible conditions, as all of its habitat has now either burnt or is threatened by fire,” said Katja Hogendoorn, a bee expert at the University of Adelaide, who has been working for half a decade to preserve the population of green carpenter bees on Kangaroo Island.