1 . Last week at the start of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai,134 countries signed an agreement aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (排放) from processes related to producing and consuming food.

For the first time in nearly three decades of climate conferences, which were established to handle climate change, the importance of food systems has been recognized in this way. Also, for the first time, on 10 December, COP28 will devote a day to discussing ways to reduce emissions from food and agriculture.

Many have welcomed the moves. “It’s great to finally have food on the COP menu,” says Clement Metivier, a climate expert, who is attending COP28.” There is really a growing momentum (势头) around food systems transformation to handle both the biodiversity and climate crisis.” But equally, researchers say not enough is being done to reduce emissions in one of the world’s biggest, largely untackled sources and that will involve some tough political decisions.

Making food systems more sustainable plays an important part in keeping alive the dream of limiting global warming to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels, agreed at COP21 in Paris in 2015. Getting food from farm to food-table accounts for around a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2021 study in Ispra, Italy. The researchers estimated that in 2015, some 70% of these emissions came just from agriculture and land-use changes-such as cutting down trees to clear land for crops.

There are also obvious approaches to reducing some of these impacts, for example by limiting the use of fossil-fuel-hungry fertilizers (肥料), or by reducing food waste. Roughly half of food systems emissions come from food that is lost in the supply chain-before reaching the consumer-or wasted, according to a study published in March in Nature Food. Therefore, halving food loss and waste could help remove some greenhouse gas emissions from the food system.

3 . Earthquakes are one type of natural disaster you simply can’t see coming. Earthquake preparation is the best way to deal with a confusing time. Here’s something you need to know about how to prepare for an earthquake.

Examine weak points in your home and make a plan to strengthen them. Protect your space or your home by finding out dangers and fixing moveable things.     1     Push top-heavy pieces such as bookshelves away from beds or sofas, and move the heavier things onto lower shelves.

Create an earthquake safety plan with your family. It’s key to create and practice an emergency plan with your family so that everyone knows what to do during a time of an earthquake. Talk about ways each family member can act as a team.     2    

    3     It may be under a strong piece of furniture which can protect you from falling objects or against any inside wall away from windows, bookshelves, or tall furniture that could fall on you.

Learn earthquake emergency plans at your workplace, children’s school or daycare center. Disaster can strike at any moment.     4     It’s also wise to make a note of how you plan to communicate with each other and how to let loved ones know you’re safe. Remember that cell phones may be unreliable (不可靠的) after an earthquake.

    5     Earthquakes usually last around one minute but if the damage is big enough, you could be trapped for a much longer period of time. You should have a bag containing medical equipment, food, water, flashlights and so on.

Light pollution is a serious problem. This became completely obvious when the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, a computer-created map based on thousands of satellite (卫星) photos,     1     (publish) in 2016. The map shows how and where     2    (we) world is lit up at night. Large areas of North America, Europe, and Asia are glowing (发光) with light, while only the most remote (偏远的) places on Earth are in total darkness. Some of the most light-polluted    3     (country) in the world are Singapore, Qatar, and Kuwait.

Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, mostly over cities, because    4    the electric lights of cars, streetlamps, offices, factories and buildings, turning night into day.

People     5     live in cities with high levels of sky glow have a hard time     6     (see) stars at night. Scientists are     7     (particular) worried about sky glow pollution as it influences their ability     8     (view) space.

According to research, more    9     80% of the world’s population, and 99% of Americans and Europeans, live under sky glow. It sounds pretty, but sky glow    10    (cause) by human activities is one of the most common forms of light pollution.

6 . Since the 1950s, some 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced globally, of which only about 10% has ever been recycled. Yet environmentally conscious companies and consumers continue to look to recycling as a way to ease the plastic problem. Manufacturing giants claim to be committed to making more of their products and packaging from recycled materials. However, this confidence masks (掩饰) a complex web of issues around plastic recycling. Recycling rates remain extremely low and critics argue that we should look at alternative ways to tackle plastic pollution.

While many plastics have the potential to be recycled, most are not because the process is costly, complicated and the resulting product of a lower quality than the original. Despite rising demand for recycled plastic, few waste companies turn a profit. Part of this is because virgin plastic-linked to oil prices - is often cheaper than recycled plastic, meaning there is little economic incentive to use it. Worse yet, much of our plastic waste is difficult to recycle. Lightweight food packaging, like a mozzarella packet, contains different plastics, dyes and toxic additives (添加剂). This dirty mix means plastic recycled through mechanical methods- the most common form- can only be melted down and moulded (浇铸,塑造) again a couple of times before it becomes too fragile to be reused. And the nature of the process means plastic recycling has a carbon footprint of its own.

Given all of these difficulties, environmental critics say recycling is not the solution-and argue that creating more products from recycled material to attract environmental consciousness merely worsens the problem. “The solution is to use less plastic and to stop misleading the public about the recyclability,” says Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, a US campaign group with a mission to end single-use plastic. “They should stop making false claims about the recyclability of plastics since they know most will either be littered (乱扔) or burned or landfilled (填埋). Using less plastics means shifting to reusable products and relying more on paper, cardboard, glass and metal- -all of which should be made from recycled content.”

7 . New York—like Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington—sits underneath the “Atlantic Flyway”, an ancient migration (迁徙) route travelled by millions of birds, every spring and autumn. Up to a quarter of a million of them die crashing into windows in New York every year, according to New York City Audubon, the bird charity that organizes Project Flight Safe. Birds confuse reflections of sky or plants for the real thing and fly straight for them.

In 2021, however, new laws came into force in New York requiring all new buildings and restoration work to be made bird-friendly. It is the strictest such laws in America. The case of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre in west Manhattan is a good example. It used to be a top bird-killer, but after swapping its glasses for bird-friendly glass, strikes dropped by 90%. The centre has now fully embraced bird life. Its green roof is home to a breeding seagull group, and as of October 18th, 62 different species have been spotted there.

At night, artificial light draws birds into the city, where they are more likely to crash. Some studies suggest birds can fail to tell direction because artificial light prevents them from sensing the Earth’s magnetic (磁的) field effectively. Last year the city passed a law that requires all city owned and managed buildings to switch their lights off at night during birds’ migration seasons. The law will extend the requirement to privately owned commercial buildings next year. Though exceptions would be allowed for landmarks such as the Empire State and the Chrysler Building, the change would still transform the world’s most famous skyline.

Jessica Wilson of NYC Audubon says that would be a good thing for birds, energy consumption and people. New York is on track to become the most bird-friendly big city in America.

8 . Used clothing that you no longer wear can be donated to charities. And clothing with broken zippers or missing buttons can be repaired and worn again. But what do you do when your favorite shirt is too torn to wear or your socks have too many holes?

Every year in the UK, 336, 000 tons of unwanted old clothing and shoes are thrown out and sent to landfills (废物填埋场), according to Recycle Now.     1     So, instead of throwing away these old clothes, try one of these eco-friendly ways to give them a second chance.

One of the best ways to deal with unwanted clothing is to make it into something completely different. You can use pieces of old cloth as filling for pillows.     2    

Another very good way to reuse old textiles (纺织品) made of cotton like T-shirts is to cut the clothing up and use it as cleaning cloths around your home.     3     And they are greener than using microfiber cleaning towels that drop fibers when washed.

Besides, animal shelters are always looking for used towels and blankets to keep their animals warm.     4     And while you are throwing away your textiles, remember that shelters could use donations of unopened pet food and things too.

    5     Green Life is one of them. For a small fee, Green Life will ship you a bag that can be filled with up to 25 pounds of used clothing and sent to the company for reuse. When the bag is received, the sender receives a small amount of money to be used on the company’s website. Everything Green Life sells is made of recycled fibers.

China is affected by natural disasters easily. When a disaster     1     (strike), how a country responds to disasters makes the difference between life and death. Since the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, from which China suffered     2     (serious), disaster prevention and control have become top priorities for the Chinese government. One important aspect is the establishment of an     3     (effect) earthquake monitoring and early warning system. The China Earthquake Networks Center will confirm the location and magnitude (里氏级)     4    sending out alarm messages to the public.

China’s ability to respond to disasters stands out, as it can quickly deploy (部署) rescue forces and resources. It     5     (establish) 27 professional teams for various types of rescue work so far,     6    ensures a 24 hour on duty emergency response.

China also has an outstanding ability in post disaster     7     (recover) and reconstruction. The reason is that it is able to organize and combine resources from various departments     8     (repair) basic facilities and restore essential services such as power, water supply and communication. This reduces     9     impact of secondary disasters and helps those affected by disasters rebuild their lives.

Disaster relief is a comprehensive effort that requires a whole society working together. China sets an example of how to prevent loss and save lives by     10    (put) people first.

10 . There are some fascinating data about the world’s forests! About 30 percent of the earth’s land is covered in forests, and 300 million people call forests home. A further 1.6billion people rely on forests to survive.

Now, keeping these numbers in mind, consider this fact: the world loses over 32million acres of forest each year. When forests disappear, we not only miss out on all the ways they make us healthier, we also lose an essential resource. This is why preserving forests, and nature, is more important than ever. The key is to connect with nature, for example, forest bathing.

In the way that forest bathing requires, we start to experience and appreciate all its beauty and benefits, through involvement with nature by using all our senses. Many governments, businesses, and institutions have realized the importance of this and have created plans to deepen mutually beneficial relationships between people and nature. It’s not just wild forests that need attention, urban parks and forests are equally important. Despite losing trees to real estate (房地产) developments and road construction, many cities have found creative ways to introduce more trees and forests. In Paris, for example, a nineteenth century railway was turned into a park that stretches nearly three miles. There’s one more thing that’s essential to the protection of forests-helping children connect with nature. Not only is this good for their overall well-being, but studies show that children who spend time in nature become adults who understand the importance of protection. Around the world, many schools have started using parks and green spaces as classrooms. Measures like these will help ensure that future generations can also enjoy the benefits of forests.