1 . You may not be able to change your school’s environmental policy, but you can be the change you want to see in the world. Going eco-friendly can raise awareness of environmental issues. Here are some ways that can help you go green.

Take notes electronically

    1    ? Use a digital device such as a laptop or table t to take your notes. This will stop paper waste and also save you a ton of money! In case you don’t have a tablet or laptop, purchase a budget-friendly device.     2    . And there are lots of devices to choose from that will do just fine for note-taking, research, and so on.

Embrace (拥抱) recycling

How many soft drink cans, papers from lecture notes, plastic water bottles, and snack food packaging does every high-school student throw away? More than we could count!     3    . Focus your attention on recycling. Most areas have curbside recycling, so make sure that you place the recycled waste in the right bin.

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The emission of air pollutants from transport is one of the biggest enemies of a healthy environment. To reduce the environmental impact of transport and improve public health, use sustainable (可持续的) transport. Switch from car rides to riding a bike. Also, if you are hanging out with your friends nearby, take a walk. In addition to reducing air pollution, you’ll also keep your body healthy.

Eat some greens

You don’t have to turn into a vegetarian, but you might want to consider increasing your greens. Vegetarian meals are good for your health, and they have a lower carbon footprint. Start off by introducing a meat-free day once a week. If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, think about growing your own fruits and vegetables.     5    .

2 . As an ordinary man, I have a special habit to confess. Whenever I walk down the street, I offer to pour a bottle of water from the nearby river into the dirt of a street tree. It’s just my personal habit, and I think it doesn’t make a difference, but I’d like to do it. I mention this in light of a campaign launched by the Arboricultural Association to call on the public to water new street trees.

The UK government has committed to planting millions of trees to help meet climate targets and aims to increase tree cover from 14.5% to 16.5% by 2050. However, as John Parker, chief executive of the Arboricultural Association, says, “Planting a tree is just the start of the story. The health and survival of new urban trees is threatened by increasingly dry weather. It is recommended that the newly planted trees be given about 50 litres of water per week for the first three years.” While in rural settings, the newly planted trees and woods can take care of themselves and adapt, the challenging conditions mean trees in the urban areas need a bit more care.

Long ago, I assumed that the good of street trees was to soften the hard edges of urban environments. But, what an underestimation of tree power that was! A study from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities illustrates they can provide inspiration or a calming atmosphere in an otherwise crowded city. Trees are responsible for easing urban heat island effects and air and pollutant filtration. And I think they provide the habitat for wildlife, especially birds.

Trees can’t run away. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for urban residents, city trees are stuck with us. If we want to continue enjoying all the good they do, we should try to understand their needs and do all that we can to support them. A bottle of water won’t do much, but next time you all together have a bucket of water to pour, you know what big effect will happen.

5 . For most of human history, the stars shone brightly in a dark night sky. But today, cities and towns, increasingly lit by artificial light at night, dramatically reduce the visibility of stars.

Satellite data suggests that light pollution has been increasing in many parts of the world over the last decade. However, satellites miss the blue light of LEDs (发光的二极管), which are commonly used for outdoor lighting, resulting in an underestimate of light pollution.

An international citizen science project called Globe at Night (环球夜景) aims to measure how everyday people’s view of the sky is changing. The data shows that the night sky got, on average, 9.6% brighter every year. For many people, the night sky today is twice as bright as it was eight years ago. The brighter the sky, the fewer stars you can see. If this trend continues, a child born today in a place where 250 stars are visible now would only be able to see 100 stars on his/her 18th birthday.

The main factors leading to increasing brightness of the night sky are industrialization and the growing use of LEDs for outdoor lighting. The loss of dark skies threatens our ability as astronomers to do good science. But everyday people feel this loss too. Starry night skies have inspired artists, writers, musicians and philosophers for thousands of years. Light pollution also has a bad effect on the daily cycle of light and dark that plants and animals use to adjust their lifestyle. Two-thirds of the world’s key biodiversity (生物多样性) areas are affected by light pollution.

Individuals and their communities can make simple changes to reduce light pollution. The secret is using the right amount of light, in the right place and at the right time. Making outdoor lights shine downward, using lights that give out more yellow-colored light instead of white light and putting on light timers can all help reduce light pollution. A view of about 2,500 stars in a truly dark sky might convince you that dark skies are a resource worth saving.

6 . According to a new study released Wednesday, human activity has now gone past six of nine planetary boundaries, which are ways to measure the stability and livability of Earth for humans. The study published in the journal Science Advances represents the third update of the planetary boundary framework carried out by 29 scientists from eight different countries.

The planetary boundaries concept identifies nine global priorities relating to human—caused changes to the environment. The concept sets boundaries on how much we can allow ourselves to impact not only the climate but also other global processes that can support modern civilization. Respecting these safety boundaries would minimize the risk of human activities setting off a dramatic and potentially irrecoverable change in global environmental conditions.

Crossing six boundaries does not necessarily mean a disaster to follow, but it is a clear warning signal. “We can regard it as we do our own blood pressure,” said the study lead author Katherine Richardson of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. “A blood pressure over 120 is not a guarantee of a heart attack but it increases the risk of one. For our own and our children’s sakes we need to reduce the pressure on these six planetary boundaries.”

As pressure on the planet increases and vital boundaries are being violated, we don’t know how long we can keep turning against these key boundaries before combined pressures lead to irrecoverable change and harm.

Richardson likens the framework to a bank statement—“it tells us how much of various resources of the Earth system we can allow ourselves to use without greatly increasing the risk in the overall environmental conditions we experience on Earth.”

According to Richardson, the study shows that focusing on climate alone will not solve the climate crisis; it must be seen together with the biodiversity crisis. Life is what makes this planet unique and it is the interactions between land, ocean, atmosphere and life that together provide conditions upon which our societies depend.

There is still time to prevent disasters, but we must take action, not next year or next month but now.

From “pocket parks” between communities to forest parks in the outer cities, local governments are     1     (ambition) to make China’s cities greener. That’s     2     there are more parks in cities these days.

From 2021 to 2022, Shanghai transformed 62 woodlands into leisure spaces. These leisure spaces open up forests,     3     allows visitors to enjoy natural beauty as well as wildlife. In urban     4     (area), more companies and universities are sharing their greenery. For instance, the Shanghai Research Institute of Sports Science opened its 1,000-square-meter green space to the public.     5     (join) by historical buildings in the area, the park can provide more space for tourists to rest.

Apart from meeting people’s needs, parks can also do good to the environment. Take Beijing’s Central Green Forest Park     6     an example. Since it was opened in 2020, the park     7     (reach)carbon neutrality (碳中和). It means although the park’s facilities produce carbon dioxide, more can be     8     (take) in by the plants there. The park also fully reuses rainwater and creates green energy     9     (supply) the park. As cities in China become greener, “park cities” are becoming a reality. The concept of a park city was     10     (initial) put forward in 2018. It is a concept that takes the form of an improved natural environment in all aspects, noted China Daily.

9 . Earth’s protective ozone(臭氧) layer is slowly but noticeably healing at a pace that would fully mend the hole over Antarctica in about 43 years, a new United Nations report says. The layer of ozone in Earth’s atmosphere shields the planet from harmful radiation linked to skin cancer, cataracts and crop damage. The progress is slow. The global average amount of ozone 18 miles high in the atmosphere won’t be back to 1980 pre-thinning levels until about 2040, the report said. And it won’t be back to normal in the Arctic until 2045. Antarctica, where it’s so thin there’s an annual giant gaping hole in the layer, won’t be fully fixed until 2066, the report said.

Scientists and environmental advocates across the world have long hailed the efforts to heal the ozone hole—springing out of a 1987 agreement called the Montreal Protocol that called on all countries to ban a class of chemicals often used in refrigerants and aerosol—as one of the biggest ecological victories for humanity. “Our success in phasing out ozone-eating chemicals shows us what can and must be done to transition away from fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gases and so limit temperature increase,” professor Petteri Taalas said in a statement. Signs of healing were reported four years ago although the observations at that point were in the early stages. “Those numbers of recovery have solidified a lot recently,” Petteri said.

“There has been a sea change in the way our society deals with ozone reducing substances,” said lead researcher David W. Fahey. Decades ago, people could go into a store and buy a can of refrigerants that eat away at the ozone. Now, not only are the substances banned but they are no longer much in people’s homes or cars, replaced by cleaner chemicals.

Natural weather patterns in the Antarctic also affect ozone hole levels. And the past couple years, the holes have been a bit bigger because of that but the overall trend is one of healing. This is “saving 2 million people every year from skin cancer,” United Nations Environment Programme Director Inger Andersen said in an email.

10 . World Water Day

Everyone needs water, and every drop is precious. On 22 March, World Water Day draws attention to the essential role of water in our lives.     1       

We all need water to stay alive, but about two billion people around the world live without clean water in their homes     2     Many of them live in rural communities or in places where there are wars and conflicts. Meanwhile, climate change is making the little water they have access to less and less.

    3     Thousands of children worldwide die every day from diarrhea caused by dirty water. In some countries, people walk many kilometers every day to get water, and sometimes the water isn’t clean. If children spend most of their day walking for water, they can’t go to school.

In 1992, the United Nations made a special day for water, and World Water Day has been celebrated on 22 March every year since 1993. On this day, many countries hold events to educate people about the problems of dirty water.     4    

Some charities organize fundraising events for World Water Day. People do things like sponsored walks, cycles and swims.     5     , where people walk four, eight or 12 kilometers each day in March to see how it feels when they have to walk a long way to get their drinking water. People give them money to do these things, and all this money helps provide clean water to as many people as possible around the world. So, this World Water Day, what will you do?