The giant panda, also    1     (know) as panda bear or simply panda, is a bear native     2       south central China. For the past many years, the giant panda    3     (drive) out of the lowland areas where it once lived as a result of farming, deforestation and other    4       (develop). Wild population estimates vary: one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals    5     (live) in the wild, while a 2006 study estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000. Some reports also show that     6       number of giant pandas in the wild is on the rise.

The West first learned of the giant panda on March 11, 1869,     7     the French missionary (传教士) Armand David received a panda skin from a hunter. In 1936, Ruth Harkness became the first Westerner    8    (bring) a live giant panda named Su Lin to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. To protect the pandas, in 2012, Earthwatch Institute, a global non-profit organisation that teams volunteers with scientists to conduct important     9     (science) research, launched a program called “On the Trail of Giant Pandas”. This program allows volunteers to work up close with pandas cared for in captivity (圈养), and help them    10     (gradual) adapt to life in the wild.

4 . Every year from March to October, Christian Moullec, also known as “Birdman”, takes to the skies aboard his adapted light aircraft. However, the 58-year-old Frenchman’s daily 30-minute flight is not just to enjoy the impressive views, but to guide flocks of lesser white-fronted geese through secure migration paths which the birds can teach future generations.

His deed began in 1995 when he noticed the birds’ declining population in the wilds of Lapland, Sweden. To prevent their numbers from decreasing further, Moullec tried to get the threatened species to follow him along migration routes that would protect them from bird hunters.

However, getting grown geese to follow his lead proved challenging. As young geese imitate and follow whomever they view as their parent, Moullec decided to raise the geese from birth.

To help raise funds and heighten awareness of his job to protect not just the geese but birds worldwide, Moullec often allows paying tourists to join him on the 30-minute-long flights aboard his aircraft. In addition to the trained birds flying alongside them, visitors, who come from as far as a 15-hour plane flight away, are treated to a variety of crane and goose species as well as breathtaking views of castles and cities.

He often brings his camera along for the flights, capturing photos not just for their beauty, but for what they describe. Moullec believes the use of agricultural chemicals has done harm to wild European birds, with more than a third disappearing in the last 30 years. “It’s a disaster,” he said. “My beautiful images with flying birds should be used to tell this story.”

6 . Masks that helped save lives are proving a deadly danger for wildlife, with birds and sea creatures trapped in the shocking number of thrown-away facial coverings. Single-use masks have been found around pavements, waterways and beaches worldwide. Worn once, the thin protective materials can take hundreds of years to decompose. “Face masks aren’t going away any time soon—but when we throw them away, these items can harm the environment and the animals,” Ashley Fruno of animal rights group PETA said.

In Britain, a gull was rescued by the RSPCA after its legs became tangled in the straps of a mask for up to a week. The animal welfare charity took it to a wildlife hospital for treatment before its release.

The biggest impact may be in the water. More than 1.5 billion masks made their way into the world’s oceans last year, accounting for around 6,200 extra tons of ocean plastic pollution, according to environmental group Oceans Asia.

Conservationists in Brazil found one mask inside the stomach of a penguin after its body was washed up on a beach, while a dead pufferfish was discovered caught inside another off the coast of Miami. French campaigners found a dead crab trapped in a mask near the Mediterranean. Masks and gloves are “particularly problematic” for sea creatures, says George Leonard, chief scientist from NGO Ocean Conservancy. “When those plastics break down in the environment, they then enter the food chain and impact entire ecosystems.” he added.

There has been a shift towards greater use of reusable cloth masks as the pandemic has worn on, but many are still using the lighter single-use varieties. Campaigners have urged people to bin them properly and cut the straps to reduce the risk of animals becoming trapped. Oceans Asia has also called on governments to increase fines for littering and encourage the use of washable masks.

The Green Club

8 . When my friend suggested going to the thrift shop (慈善商店), instantly I thought “I hope no one I know sees me”. It was the same when my cousin commented on my new furniture and Japanese fine­bone­china bowls and asked where I got them. They were from the local thrift shop but instead I said “from the antique shop”.

Many people in my Greek-Cypriot community would look down on me if I said I shopped at the thrift shop.They may pity me, consider me a failure. Immigrants sacrificed their families and homes for a better life. Buying a house and having enough money to live comfortably, to educate children and see them also live comfortably, are a big part of the immigrant dream. But has this dream made us materialistic at the cost of our own planet?

Our love for purchasing the latest trendy clothes or furniture, and then donating them when we are tired of them has become normal. I was once like this. But after watching the documentary The True Cost, I learned donated clothes that don’t get sold are sent to developing nations, many of them ending up in landfills (垃圾填埋地)．In addition, your new dress requires electricity and materials to make. But if you buy a second-hand dress, there’s one less dress in a landfill and one less new dress to be made.

A friend introduced me to the thrift shop only a few years ago. My first item was a dress she gifted me. It was lovely and I loved it.Nobody could tell it was second­hand. Then I began to purchase more second-hand branded clothes of high quality. Once I visited a friend and was impressed by how she decorated her apartment. “It’s all second-hand,”she said. I couldn’t believe it. The truth is that a lot of things sold at the thrift shop are in new or almost new condition. That’s when I made the decision to only buy second­hand things.

Selling second­hand things isn’t anything new but what the planet needs is more buyers. There is so much excess (过度的) production in the world. So stop feeling ashamed, and let’s get shopping.

9 . Designers are increasingly using different kinds of materials to produce products that do not harm the environment. Reused plastic bottles, wood, plant fiber, and even seaweed are being used in place of traditional materials for household goods and clothing.

Nina Edwards Anker’s electronic lights look like ancient pieces of paper placed around LEDs. But a closer look shows that they are made of algae (海藻). Anker came up with the idea while working on a doctoral research project at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. She wants to find ways to mix design ideas with production and supply methods that do not use up resources.

Heimtextil is an international trade show for new textiles (纺织品) in Frankfurt, Germany. This year’s show placed attention on making new products that came from reused materials. Olaf Schmidt, vice president of textile technology, said, “We’ll see companies bespeaking how materials like nylon, plastic and metal can be reused—for example, carpet tiles (方块地砖) that can be reused at the end of their life as materials for new tiles.”

Fashion industry expert Veronika Lipar described the field’s most important change—a move to sustainability (持续性). She said, “The industry is trying to reduce ‘effect’ on the environment and no longer be the biggest polluter.”

Patagonia, North Face and Timberland are among the companies now using natural materials to produce goods. Italian company Frumat has developed a plant-based leather made from the waste created by apple juice makers. Two Mexican developers, Adrian Lopez Velarde and Marte Cazarez, have created a leather using cactus (仙人掌) leaves. Cactuses interest new material developers because they can live in hot climates and poor soil. Meanwhile, Pinatex helps support farms in the Philippines by using waste from the pineapple harvest to create material that is sold to makers of shoes, clothing and other products.