1 . “Leave no track” is popular among many campers who are concerned about our environment and favor sustainable (可持续的) travel. Its goal is simple; to minimize human-created impacts on the natural world.     1    

Reject plastic and paper. First and foremost, one of the easiest ways to reduce the impact of camping on the planet is to go plastic and paper-free. Instead of single-use plastics and paper plates, choose bamboo or other recyclable camping dinnerware and food packages.       2    

Rent or buy a used tent. Instead of brand-new equipment, consider renting camping equipment instead. Outdoor retail (零售) brands like REI offer a wide variety of camping products to rent, including tents.     3     For those keen on purchasing something new, try brands like Patagonia that put sustainability first to reduce waste and support eco-friendly practices.

    4     In addition to eco-friendly tents, it’s good to ensure that other camping essentials, from hiking shoes and sleeping bags to clothing and blankets, are also gentle on the environment. And remember, whatever is packed in should also be packed out.

Only camp in designated (指定的) camping areas.     5     However, developed campgrounds, which are specifically designated for camping, are usually available by reservation and don’t require campers to walk wearily into the wilderness to clear space to set up a tent. Designated camping spots usually have other advantages like bathrooms, showers, picnic tables, and more.

2 . International ShakeOut Day This Year

This year’s International ShakeOut Day is October 17, when millions of people worldwide will take part in earthquake drills (演习) at work, school, or home! It is a great way for your family or organization to become better prepared to survive and recover quickly from big earthquakes.

At 10:17 am (local time) on 10/17, you can join millions of people across the world in practicing earthquake safety. While we encourage everyone to take part, you can sign up for your ShakeOut drill for any day of the year, and drill at a time of your choice. You can also include people in different locations through videos.

· Most participants (参与者) are in one of the official ShakeOut Regions listed below the page (with current sign-up totals). People and organizations in other countries can also sign up.

· All regions take part in it on October 17, 2024, unless specified.

ShakeOut began in California and has also been organized in many other states and countries. Official ShakeOut Regions require special local or regional cooperation, typically by an emergency (紧急情况) management agency or a union of many organizations. If you are interested in establishing ShakeOut for your region, please contact us at https://www.shakeout.org. If your state, province, or country is not yet taking part, you can sign up for yourself or your organization as part of the global participation total.

3 . “The era of global warming has ended and the era of global boiling has arrived,” the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said after scientists confirmed July 2023 was the world’s hottest month on record.

“Humanity is in the hot seat,” Guterres told a press conference on Thursday. “For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe, it is a cruel summer. For the entire planet, it is a disaster. And for scientists, it is clear that humans are to blame. Climate change is here, it is terrifying, and it is just the beginning. The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”

Guterres urged politicians to take swift action. “The air is unbreathable, the heat is unbearable, and the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable. Leaders must lead. No more hesitancy, no more excuses, and no more waiting for others to move first. There is simply no more time for that.”

“It is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5℃and avoid the very worst of climate change but only with dramatic, immediate climate action. We have seen some progress, but none of this is going far enough or fast enough. Accelerating temperatures demand accelerated action.”

The WMO secretary general, Petteri Taalas, said, “The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is more urgent than ever before. Climate action is not a luxury but a must.”

Other climate scientists confirmed the findings. Karsten Haustein at Leipzig University found the world was 1.5℃ hotter in July 2023 than in the average July before industrialisation.

Marina Romanello, a climate and health researcher at University College London, said, “We have data showing how the very foundations of health are being undermined by climate change. But we still have time today to turn the tide and to ensure a liveable future for us and our children.”

4 . Flash droughts develop fast, and when they hit at the wrong time, they can ruin a region’s agriculture. They’re also becoming increasingly common as the planet warms. In a study published in the journal Communications Earth& Environment, we found that the risk of flash droughts, which can develop in just a few weeks, is on the rise in every major agricultural region around the world in the coming decades.

In North America and Europe, cropland that had a 32% annual chance of a flash drought a few years ago could have a greater chance of a flash drought by the final decades of this century. That result would put food production, energy, and water supplies under increasing pressure. The cost of change will also rise. A flash drought in the Dakotas and Montana 2017 caused $2.6 billion in agricultural damage in America alone.

All droughts begin when rainfall stops. What’s interesting about flash droughts is how fast they strengthen themselves, with some help from the warming climate. When the weather is hot and dry, soil loses moisture rapidly. Dry air extracts moisture from the land, and rising temperatures can increase this evaporative (蒸发的) demand. The lack of rain during a flash drought can further contribute to the feedback processes. Under these conditions, crops and vegetation begin to die much more quickly than they do during typical long-term droughts.

In our study, we used climate models and data from the past 170 years to assess the drought risks ahead under three conditions for how quickly the world takes action to slow the pace of global warming. If greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, power plants, and other human sources continue at a high rate, we found that cropland in much of North America and Europe would have a 53% annual chance of flash droughts, by the final decades of this century. Globally, the largest increases in flash droughts would be in Europe and the Amazon. Slowing emissions can reduce the risk significantly, but we found flash droughts would still increase by about 6% worldwide under low emission conditions.

The Hangzhou Asian Games,     1     are the first carbon-neutral Asiad in history, are set to deliver a legacy (遗产) with long-term benefits for the host city and beyond, according to the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC).

Sustainability (持续性) has been     2     (large) integrated into all aspects of the planning and operations of the Games — from     3     (construct)to transportation and energy sources, right through to ensuring minimal waste. Green energy is used to power all venues (场地). Methanol fuels the main flame of the Games, electric     4     (vehicle) transport athletes and media between venues, a recyclable water cleaning system is put     5     use in the swimming pools,     6     a rain retention system (蓄雨系统) operates at all venues. From the beginning of the preparations, HAGOC learned about green efforts from all over the world, including some Chinese cities. They realized that a green Games should not only be     7     concept, but also a commitment and an action that is sustainable, and set a trend for     8     (lead) an environmentally friendly living.

    9     (achieve) these goals, HAGOC launched an extensive carbon-offset program that encourage the public to help the Games achieve a negative carbon footprint. Since the preparations for the Asiad began, more than 200 million people from all sectors of society     10     (respond) to the call for a “Green Asian Games” and participated in green initiatives for the event.

6 . While electronics can make life easier and more entertaining, the devices aren’t easy on the environment.

As newer, more advanced devices come out, huge amounts of old electronics are thrown away, instead of being recycled. These items often end up in landfills, where the chemicals inside them may be a danger to the environment. Electronics can contain noxious materials like lead or mercury (汞) . If these materials get into the ground or water, the pollution can cause serious problems.

Most electronics require rare metals. These metals must be mined (开采) from the earth. Often the mining process creates serious pollution. In many cases, these materials are getting harder and harder to find. If more e-waste was recycled, many of those rare metals could be taken from old electronic devices instead of being mined. A group known as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Forum) is trying to make people more aware of the problems of e-waste. WEEE says that the rare metals and other materials that get thrown out as e-waste every year are worth about $ 57 billion.

Recently, WEEE asked researchers from the United Nations to study a kind of e-waste that’s often not noticed because people don’t consider the items to be electronics. The WEEE calls this type “invisible” e-waste.

The surprising type leading the invisible e-waste group was toys. Worldwide, about 7. 3 billion electronic toys are thrown away each year. In all, toys make up about 35% of invisible e-waste. But the problem is far larger than just toys. The report also shows that other everyday items like alarms, power tools, and computer cables (电缆) are also big sources of invisible e-waste. The UN report says that 36% of the world’s invisible e-waste comes from these three types.

WEEE is hoping that as more people and governments become aware of e-waste, they will make a much greater effort to make sure electronics get reused or recycled.

7 . Gardeners who use pesticides are contributing to the decline of British songbirds, a study suggests. Scientists have urged people to stop “spraying their gardens with poisons” in order to halt bird decline and adopt instead wildlife-friendly practices. The results of the University of Sussex study, which researchers call the first of its kind, were published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

The experiment, which surveyed 615 gardens in Britain, found 25% fewer house sparrows when glyphosate (草甘膦) was used regularly. This is an ingredient found in commonly used herbicide (除草剂) brands such as Roundup or Gallup. Slug pellets (鼻涕虫杀虫剂) also seemed to have an impact on bird sightings; in gardens where Slug pellets were used, house sparrow numbers were down by almost 40%.

Prof. Dave Goulson, of the school of life sciences at the University of Sussex, said, “The UK has 22 million gardens, which collectively could be a fantastic refuge for wildlife, but not if they are overly tidy and sprayed with poisons. We just don’t need pesticides in our gardens. Many towns around the world are now pesticide free. We should simply ban the use of these poisons in urban areas, following the example of France.” The Royal Horticultural Society, the UK’s leading gardening charity, said the use of pesticides and herbicides should be avoided if possible and they should only be used, if ever, in small and targeted applications.

The research also found that those who adopted wildlife-friendly practices such as planting native shrubs and flowers, or digging a wildlife pond, saw more birds than those who did not. Cannelle Tassin de Montaigu, a PhD researcher within the school of life sciences and an author of the study, said, “It’s encouraging to find that simple measures, such as planting native shrubs and trees and creating a pond, together with avoiding the use of pesticides, really make a measurable difference to the number of birds you will see in your garden.”