1 . Zo Trisha Prinsloo cares about the beaches of Cape Town, South Africa. She leads cleanups there. She set up a group called Save a Fishie years ago! It has picked up plastic bottles, food containers, and other waste. “My main goal is to constantly remove anything and everything I can off our beaches,” she says, “and to try to prevent litter from being taken out to sea.”

Lately, however, Prinsloo has noticed an increase in a certain kind of plastic waste. It’s from PPE (personal protective equipment). Her group Save a Fishie saw eight different kinds of gloves” during a cleanup. I find masks more and more regularly, too,” she said.

People everywhere are wearing PPE to protect themselves from COVID-19. But when PPE isn’t thrown out the right way, it pollutes the environment and endangers wildlife. Each year, at least 8 million tons of plastic enter the world’s oceans. Now this waste includes more PPE. Last year, the Ocean Conservancy led by its chief scientist George Leonard held its annual International Coastal Cleanup. “We’ve found tens of thousands of PPE waste, and more of it is being put into oceans. PPE waste is a significant threat to oceans,” Leonard said. PPE waste can hurt ocean animals that can eat it or get tangled (缠绕) in it. Sue Schwar manages South Essex Wildlife Hospital in the UK. Her team saved a seagull. Its legs got tangled,” she said. Thankfully, the staff was able to untangle the bird and set it free.

PPE will continue to be common until COVID-19 ends, but there’re steps you can take to reduce its environmental impact. Wear clean reusable masks and deal with them carefully before throwing them into rubbish bins to make sure animals won’t get tangled up. Put used PPE in a bin with a safe lid (盖子). This is important when the bin is outside because masks and gloves can be carried away by the wind.

2 . With eco-tourism on the rise, eco-hotels are fast becoming the darling of the travel industry. These days, however, staying at an eco-hotel doesn’t necessarily mean vacationing in a tree house in the Costa Rican jungle, although that is certainly a choice.

The majority of eco-hotels fall into one of several categories: hotels and resorts that conserve ecologically important habitats; “green” hotels that reduce, recycle, minimize waste, and protect water; sustainable hotels that harvest food from gardens on the hotel property or get part or all of their power from renewable energy; hotels that encourage community involvement such as guests taking part in trail clearing; and hotels that offer some form of environmental education to their guests.

As such, eco-hotels are a various group. Stylish urban hotels like the Willard Inter-Continental Washington focus on energy conservation whereas the Rosario Resort & Spa on Orcas Island in Washington State offers a wildly popular “green” vacation package where guests can “take a hike, clear a trail”.

No matter what you call them, eco-hotel, eco-lodge, eco-resort, or green hotel, they’re all part of the “greening” of the tourism industry.

Part of what drives this greening of the hotel industry is no doubt competition. Going green is yet another way to distinguish a hotel from the mass of other excellent hotels that consumers have to choose from. But for many hotels, it’s also part of their philosophy. With the concept of “going green” firmly rooted in consumers’ minds, eco-hotels have taken it to the next level, and whether or not money is the driving factor behind the greening of the hotel industry doesn’t matter so much as it’s good for the planet.

Li Hua

The author     1     (travel) on the London Tube. It is very hot and the temperature outside will be over 30 degrees. He feels awful. It is even     2     (hot) inside the train than outside, and the author thinks he is melting and becoming one with the passenger next     3     him. Thinking that London will probably get hotter, the author feels a bit     4     (scare).     5     (prepare) for the future, he thinks he should put his flat on the     6     and buy a boat. Then speak with his manager about moving to the top floor and learn to swim so as to survive even when the tall buildings     7     (flood). In the newspaper, there are reports of     8     (nature) disasters around the world     9     (cause) by climate change,     10     makes the author feel nervous. Going outside, the author feels refreshed and realises he has been worrying too much.

7 . Are you worried about the planet and tired of waiting around for things to change? Go ahead and take a closer look at the various options available to volunteer for the environment!

Requirements: With so many subcategories and such a wide array of organizations, the required skill set will vary for each program. English is the main language on all projects so it’s important that conservation volunteers have a good understanding of English. For projects in South America, you will find it helpful to have a basic knowledge of Spanish.