2 . As Plastic Chokes the Ocean, Technology Can Help

Some 8 million tons of non-recyclable (不可回收的) plastic end up in the ocean each year. At an alarming rate, the seas may have more plastic than fish by the middle of the century.     1    

Require a global solution to a global problem.     2     The developed countries and most of developing countries show their leadership in this process by setting goals, encouraging other member states, and offering support for poor countries.

    3     Although they are helpful to protect clean water and air, as it is known, non-recyclable plastic is widely used in the markets. Therefore, non-recyclable plastic still can be bought in our daily life. Its disappearance needs much more time and efforts.

Pay more attention to the new studies on plastic and technologies. Some of researchers are aiming to make replacements for plastic.     4     For example, “interceptors” can remove river pollution before it reaches the ocean.

Expect more responsibility from manufacturers.     5     As a start, they should be encouraged to simplify complex packaging. And their working with world governments will support poorer nations to improve waste collection and landfill (垃圾场) management.

The world doesn’t have enough time in trying to solve the problem. The sooner these efforts start, the better.

During the World Elephant Day on Thursday, Chinese and foreign experts gathered in one online forum(论坛)     1     ( discuss) ways to protect elephants better based on the migration(迁徙) of 15 wild elephants in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. This shows how Chinese people care about the    2     ( protect) of these giant friends.

The 15 wild Asian elephants among    3     one male turned back in July finally returned to their habitat after touring for 17 months in Yunnan Province. The case was taken by the experts as a    4     ( success) example on how to protect and guide the migration of wild elephants.

Zhou Jinfeng, Secretary of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, mentioned an idea which focused    5     helping wild animals survive by     6     (reduce) the harm to nature and wildlife in our daily lives.

Zhang Chenglin, Deputy Director of the Beijing Zoo，who introduced some measures taken by Chinese zoos to take good care of elephants,     7     (say) that there were around 150 elephants living in zo0s around China.

“    8     ( human) and animals share nature. To protect elephants     9     (be) to protect our planet. Hope we can work with other countries to protect wild animals."     10     woman wrote on Sina Weibo on the World Elephant Day.

4 . Plastic is nearly everywhere — in shoes, clothes, refrigerators and construction materials. But this highly useful material can have a major defect. Made from oil and slow to break down, conventional plastic is not environmentally friendly. Today, researchers discuss inventing what they say should be a safer, biodegradable (可生物降解的) alternative made from fish waste— heads, bones and skin— that would otherwise likely be thrown out.

If developed successfully, fish-oil-based plastic could help meet the considerable need for more sustainable plastic, says Francesca Kerton, the project’s investigator. Previously, others have developed new plastic using plant-based oils. However, this too comes with a disadvantage: the crops that produce these oils require land that could otherwise be used to grow food.

Leftover fish struck Kerton as a promising alternative. Salmon (鲑鱼) farming is a major industry for coastal Newfoundland, where her university is located. After the fish are processed, leftover parts are often thrown away. Kerton and her colleagues developed a process for turning this fish oil into a plastic-like material. But does the plastic smell fishy? “When we start the process with the fish oil a slight kind of fish smell, but as we go through the steps, that smell disappears,” Kerton says.

In other experiments, they have begun examining how quickly the new material would likely break down once its useful life is over. Kerton put pieces of it in water, and to speed up the degradation for some pieces, she added a chemical capable of breaking down fats like those in the fish oil. Under a microscope, she later saw microbial (微生物的）growth on all of the samples, even those that had been in plain water, an encouraging sign that the new material might biodegrade quickly, Kerton says.

Kerton now intends to study the material’s physical properties to see how it might in real-world applications, such as in packaging or fibers for clothing.

5 . When we think about the big carbon problems we have to deal with, paper isn't the first thing that comes to mind. After all, we think it costs less energy and a lot of it is recycled these days. However, it turns out that we are wrong.

The problem is that to make paper, you need virgin (未使用过的) wood or recycled material, and it then takes a lot of energy to dry it out and turn it into paper, thus causing carbon emissions (排放). The non-governmental organization Environmental Paper Network's Luisa Colasimone said that making a ton of paper and a ton of steel used the same amount of energy. Adrian Hiel and Dave Keating, journalists working in Brussels, reported, "Average energy costs are around 16% of production costs and can be as high as 30%."

Colasimone said, "The vast majority of paper products are short-lived. They are thrown away and their carbon ends up in the atmosphere within two to three years."

Also, a recent study from the University College London (UCL) has found that recycled paper may be less environmentally-friendly than virgin paper because it is made with electricity and fossil fuels. "They found that if all wastepaper was recycled, carbon emissions could increase by 10%, as recycling paper tends to rely more on fossil fuels than making new paper," lead author Dr. Stijn van Ewijk said in a press release. "Our study shows that recycling is not a guaranteed way to address climate change. Recycling of paper may not be helpful unless it is powered by renewable (可再生的) energy."

The researchers reported that paper accounted for 1.3% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2012. This rate — 1.3% — is a stunning number, bigger than the emissions from Australia or Brazil. About a third of these emissions came from the disposal of paper in landfills. Researchers said that in coming years, the use of paper would likely rise, with the move away from plastics leading to increased demand for paper packaging.

6 . A project in Kenya is using biogas (沼气) technology to attack two major pollution problems with one device: a machine that changes waste such as invasive water hyacinth (入侵性水葫芦) into cleaner cooking fuel.

The project from Biogas International, a Kenyan energy technology company, has so far provided 50 of the Flexi Biogas devices to homes in the city of Kisumu in western Kenya. The main device is called a digester (浸煮器) because it breaks down plant waste to produce gas. The digesters will permit families to stop using wood or coal, both of which produce dangerous smoke. People will also be able to cook foods faster using the gas. Tony Otieno used the gas from a digester to cook tea for his 70-year-old grandmothet Margaret. He said, "The gas has no smoke, does not smell, and it is much faster than the jiko (a stove that uses wood-coal)."

Some of the families received a gas stove as part of the project, to replace their jiko. The machines process plant waste such as water hyacinth. That plan has covered large parts of Lake Victoria. The weed-like plant harms living things in the lake including fish. The plant also helps bacteria and mosquitoes increase, causing health risks to local communities.

Dominic Wanjihia Kahumbu is head of Biogas International. He said that at a cost of $650, most families in the city do not have enough money to buy the device. Although the technology can be on a small or large scale, he said, each system costs a lot to make. As a result, it is unlikely that the company will make a profit for at least another five years. He said the company needs new investment.

Two larger versions of the equipment are still in the testing stage. They would produce clean fuel on an larger scale for restaurants, chicken farms and fish drying facilities in the area.

7 . The problem of global warming has caused a lot of people to get started on increasing their battles to save the Earth's ecological system. The trouble is that nearly all people think it even expensive to begin living green. Continue reading to see several immediate things you can do to get on the road to living green.

You can get on a great start by learning to recycle. While this appears really simple, there are many people who still throw glass bottles and aluminum（铝）cans into their common garbage. In the US, it's easy to locate a trash service that has glass and aluminum recycling alternatives. If you take a few seconds to wash the cans and bottles and put them in the recycle bin, you will be on the path to saving the Earth.

One more big waste product is newspapers. Majority of people will merely take their newspaper and throw it in the garbage when they finish reading it. Still there are many other things you can do with an old newspaper when you finish reading it. For instance, newspapers make terrific material for cleaning windowpanes. You can clean your windows with newspapers rather than paper towels and window cleaner for a streak-free shine.

What else you can do to get started living green is to start walking a bit more. Many people think nothing of getting in their car and driving one block to get soda at the local convenience store. If you merely walk to the store, not only could it take less time, because you won't have to try to find a parking place, but you will be saving money on petrol and helping to save the planet by not burning those fuels. If you wish to save even more on fuel, take the chance to join the car pool whenever you can and just mow your lawn twice a month instead of weekly.