2 . You’re out on a hike, snacking on an apple, a banana, or some nuts. When you’re finished, all that’s left is a core, a peel, or a shell. “It’s natural,” you tell yourself, throwing it into the woods.

After all, food waste is biodegradable (可生物降解的). It’s not like you’re littering by throwing away a plastic bottle.     1    

Food waste doesn’t break down as fast as you think

Most people know food waste is biodegradable. But fewer people are aware that orange and banana peels can take up to two years to break down in the wild, meaning they’re going to be staying in nature for a lot longer than you might think. And even if they eventually biodegrade, they can lead to a lot of serious problems.

    2    

“ Animals have a super advanced sense of smell compared to us,” says biologist Jeff Marion. All human food can attract animals. This can then cause “attraction behavior”, which refers to human actions that cause animals to overcome their natural wariness(警惕)of people.     3    

Attraction can mean aggression

When animals are routinely attracted to humans and their food, they often become habituated to human presence. “Once an animal reaches that point, it’s essentially game over,” Marion says. That’s the origin of the phrase: A fed bear is a dead bear.     4     Even if a person is injured by a bear, the human usually recovers. The animal, however, is often relocated or killed to prevent further potentially deadly encounters.

    5     You should properly store and deal with food waste. Don’t attempt to burn or bury it, as food waste is more difficult to burn than you think. Besides, if you see other food waste in nature, pick it up, even if it’s not yours. Because while negative individual impacts can have a harmful effect outdoors, positive individual impacts do just the opposite!

3 . The coronavirus pandemic(新冠疫情)has brought with it the rise of a new kind of single-use plastic in the form of personal protective equipment (PPE), like face masks and gloves. Experts warned that these sharply increasing single-use items could cause a new wave of plastic pollution and kill wildlife.

The charity Ocean Conservancy reported that volunteers had collected more than 100,000 PPE items from coasts and waterways during the last six months of 2020. They sent out a survey to more than 200 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) coordinators and volunteers asking about their experience with PPE. The results show that it is a real problem. Volunteers collected 107,219 pieces of PPE in 70 of 115 participating countries. Of those surveyed, 94% reported seeing PPE at a cleanup, and 40% found five items or more. Further, 37% found the items had already sunk into the water.

“During one of our clean-ups in the canals of Leiden, our volunteers found a latex(乳胶)glove with a dead fish trapped in the thumb,” said Auke-Florian Hiemstra, a study coauthor from Leiden University. “Also, in the Dutch canals, we observed that a water bird was using face masks and gloves in its nests.” Other animals that have gotten tangled up in face masks include a fox in the UK, a pufferfish in Florida, and two crabs in France. Numerous dogs and cats have been observed eating PPE as well.

The danger posed by PPE goes deeper than what the eye can see. Luckily, there are ways that all of us can be part of the solution to the problem of PPE pollution. Hiemstra suggested using reusable PPE instead of single-use products. In that case, we should deal with them properly by cutting the ear loops to prevent animal entanglements(缠绕物)and throwing them away in a bin that is not overstuffed. “We definitely think it is important for citizens to understand how much PPE is ending up in the environment and impacting animals,” Hiemstra said.

4 . A Plastic Ocean is a film to make you think.Think,and then act.We need to take action on our dependence on plastic.We’ve been producing plastic in huge quantities.Drinking bottles,shopping bags and even clothes are made with plastic.    1     What happens to all the rest?This is the question the film A Plastic Ocean answers.

The film begins as a journey to film the largest animal on the planet,the blue whale.But during the journey the filmmakers make the shocking discovery of a huge,thick layer of plastic floating in the Indian Ocean.    2     In total,they visited 20 locations around the world during the four years to make the film.

In the film there are beautiful shots of the seas and marine life.    3     We see how marine species are being killed by all the plastic we are dumping in the ocean.The message about our use of plastic is painfully obvious.

    4     In the second half,the filmmakers look at what we can do to deal with the problem.

They present short-term and long-term solutions.These include avoiding plastic containers and recycling as much as you can.The filmmakers also stress the need for governments to work more on recycling programmes.

We make a shocking amount of plastic.Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year,and at least 8 million of those are dumped into the oceans.The results are disastrous,but it isn’t too late to change.    5    

Preserving more habitats for China’s giant pandas is providing a giant payoff.     1     (save) the giant panda from dying out isn’t just good for the panda, but it’s also good for economy, a new analysis by an international team of scientists shows.

The results     2     (publish) in the magazine Current Biology, stress the economic benefits that go hand in hand with environmental     3     (protect). Giant pandas are one of the rarest species around the world. But pandas fell on hard times in recent decades, thanks largely     4     human encroachment (侵入). In 1980 alone, many habitats     5     (destroy) artificially, and in 1990, their habitats covered only 12,340 square kilometers, which is a major threat to the pandas in large part because bamboo, their main food source, is so low in nutrients     6     they must wander a lot of land in order to find and eat enough of it.

Because of this, Chinese officials began making     7     (significance) efforts to save the panda from extinction, establishing more reserves and increasing the reserve area three times. Panda numbers     8     (gradual) began to recover, hitting 1,596 in 2000 and 1,864 in 2010.

“    9     is clear that society’s investment (投资)     10     (start) to pay off so far in terms of panda population recovery”, the study authors said.

9 . China has seen significant achievements in improving the environment and green development over the past 70 years, especially in fighting against desertification (沙漠化).

Desertification was a serious problem in the 1990s. It caused deadly sandstorms, which arrived like big black walls reaching up into the sky. As President Xi Jinping has said, clear waters and lush (繁茂的) mountains are invaluable assets (资产). Efforts to create “green” areas have played a crucial role in the country’s fight against desertification.   

A series of campaigns have been conducted by the central government to improve the environment. For example, in 1998, China launched the Natural Forest Protection Program. Thanks to the program, forest coverage in China increased greatly from 12 percent in the 1980s to nearly 23 percent last year.

Another example of the campaign is the Elion Resources Group, which has been recognized by the UN for the development of a desert eco-industry that has slowed desertification.

In Kubuqi, a desert in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Elion has greened 600,000 hectares of land and helped lift more than 102,000 people out of poverty through the development of solar energy and tourism, as well as planting herbs for traditional Chinese medicine.

In addition, the group’s techniques have also been used in many important ecological programs, including Yangtze River Ecological Park and Qilian Mountain National Park.

“We will develop new ways to improve our ability to control the sand with the help of modern technologies, such as drones (无人机), AI, big data and the internet of things,” said Ao Baoping, chief executive officer of Elion Green Land Technology.

10 . Floods can strike quickly and with little waning in many parts of the world. Surviving a flood is a matter of preparation and correct action as soon as the disaster begins.     1    .

●Make a flood survival plan.

    2    . Pick several meeting spots in case you need to leave home, such as a friend’s home in a safe town or a shelter in your area. Make sure everyone in the family know where these locations are and how to get there. Make sure the shelters and the routes to them are through high ground.

●Escape flood waters.

You may have only a short time to escape. Act quickly, using your planned route. Head to the chosen shelters during flood warnings. When emergency services tell you to leave, follow their advice. Move to higher ground away from water. Whether you are on foot or have to give up your car, higher ground is your best option. If you’re stuck at home, head for the roof if you can do so safely.

Avoid crossing through water. Water up to your ankles (脚踝) is enough to be dangerous. When you’re not sure of the water depth, don’t risk it.     3    . Use it to measure the water’s depth and feel for stable (稳固的) ground.

●Follow news and warnings.

Flooding information can be found on your local news or weather station’s TV channel or website.     4    . Also, listen to local radio stations for regular updates.

●    5    .

Roads and other paths may have been destroyed. Stay off bridges. The soil under usual routes will be soft and less able to support the weight of vehicles. Find other routes over high ground or wait for the authorities to indicate which roads are safe.