1 . Our recommended list of environmental books covers a broad range of topics. These must-read environmental books are sure to spark the interest of the greenest books.

Silent Spring

Written by Rachel Carson, Silent Spring highlights the effects of pesticides (杀虫剂) on the environment, especially DDT, which was a very popular insecticide until it was finally banned in 1972. The book eventually led to a change in the United States’ pesticide policy and contributed to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference.

This book collects 11 speeches made by climate activist Greta Thunberg, highlighting the issue of climate change and its impact on future generations. Greta Thunberg was 15 when she started the School Strike for Climate, also known as Fridays for Future. She inspired protests worldwide.

The Uninhabitable Earth

This book by David Wallace Wells examines the disasters that have already occurred and looks ahead to the year 2100 and what climate change will do if we continue on our current path. Its opening line is incredibly telling: “It is worse, much worse, than you think.”

The End of Nature

Published in 1989, the book describes the relationship between nature and humans. It expresses the idea that nature was previously independent of humans but has now been affected by them in every way. According to author Bill McKibben, the idea of wilderness is lost, and nature is no longer complete.

2 . The world’s nations have promised to limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees over pre-industrial levels, which involves shutting down fossil fuel extraction (化石燃料开采) as quickly as possible. But despite this promise, first reached six years ago during the Paris Climate Accords, the fossil-fuel producing nations are on track to extract more than twice as much coal, oil and natural gas as would be permissible under this plan, a new United Nations report says.

To have a chance of limiting temperature increases to 1.5 degrees, production of coal needs to drop by 11% every year between 2020 and 2030. while production of oil and gas needs to drop by 4% and 3%, respectively, the report finds. Instead, production of oil and gas is set to increase, while coal production is projected to drop slightly.

The so-called production gap, the difference between countries’ climate promises and their fossil fuel production plans — hasn’t changed since the United Nations first examined it in 2019, indicating that international climate accords are still closer to theoretical promises than detailed plans.

The report looks at fossil fuel production in 15 countries — including Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, the U.S. and the United Kingdom — hat are collectively responsible for three-quarters of the world’s fossil fuel production. Most of these countries have promised to reach zero emissions by mid-century, but they are planning to increase their fossil fuel extraction until at least 2030.

So far, climate efforts from major fossil fuel extractors, including industry, have “focused on extracting fossil fuels in less-polluting ways, not on winding down production levels in line with climate goals,” the report says. While these efforts, such as developing carbon-capture (碳捕捉) technology and reducing methane leaks (甲烷泄露) are important. they fall far short of the changes science demands if global temperatures are to stay at a livable level.

To close that gap, the report urges governments to make realistic plans for winding down fossil fuel extraction, starting with state-owned companies, which arc responsible for more than half the world’s extraction of such fuels.

5 . Sea life near Turkey is being threatened by a layer of brown foam on the ocean s surface.

The actual name for the foam is mucilage (黏液). Scientists first noticed and described mucilage in 2007, when it was found near Turkey. Then, it was also found in other parts of the Aegean Sea, near Greece.

This year’s outbreak of mucilage is the worst ever recorded. It’s been developing for seven months and is now covering large parts of the Sea of Marmara. The Sea of Marmara is an “inland sea”, surrounded by land belonging to Turkey, and connected to the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea.

There are many different kinds of algae (海藻), and it’s natural and normal for algae to grow in the ocean or in other bodies of water. But when there is lots of food for the algae, and other conditions are just right, there can be “an algae bloom” which results in algae growing quickly and in huge numbers And in very bad situations, mucilage is the result.

There are two main causes for the present outbreak of mucilage. One is the heavy pollution sewage, fertilizers, and other chemicals- flowing into the Sea of Marmara. The second cause is higher water temperatures because of climate change.

The mucilage causes problems in lots of different ways. For one thing, by covering the ocean’s surface, it stops sunlight from reaching all the sea life below. “This mucilage is now covering the sea surface like a tent canvas,” says Muharrem Balci, who teaches biology at Istanbul University. Because there is so much algae, it takes up lots of oxygen from the seawater. That means that there’s very little oxygen left for the other sea creatures that depend on it. The BBC reports that divers in the area are seeing large numbers of dying fish. After a while, the mucilage falls to the bottom of the ocean, where it covers the sea floor threatening to poison creatures that live there, like crabs and mussels. This year, the mucilage has been found as deep as 30 meters below the surface.

7 . A compost (堆肥) program at the Wesley School in Los Angeles is helping kindergarten through eighth grade students to teach them ways to solve human-driven climate change. For the past year, 5, 200 pounds of food waste from the school has gone into compost containers rather than a landfill where it would just break down and produce planet-warming gases.

The school workers could have easily thrown the food waste into a city-provided green bin (垃圾箱) . But taking it out of sight, which would have been easier, would have missed the point, says science teacher Johnna Hampton. “When it’s invisible like that, they don’t see it, but they know it doesn’t sink in (心安) .”

When sixth grader Finn saw the finished compost pile, it sank in. “That’s my orange chicken in there,” he says. “That’s not just like any food. Somewhere in there is my food.”

The school will use the compost on plants around campus. Some will be offered to families that want to use it at home, and whatever is left will be donated.

Fifth grader Sloan felt so encouraged by the school’s compost program she decided to take climate action outside of school. Along with several other fifth graders, Sloane says, “We did a lemonade stand at our friend’s house and we made over $200, and we donated it.” They also helped create a petition (请愿) to replace the plastic forks and spoons in the school cafeteria with compostable ones.

Fifth grader Kingston was excited to learn his food waste will help grow new food on campus. “It feels good that you’re doing something that helps the planet, instead of just sitting and watching it get destroyed,” he says.

Jennifer Silverstein, an expert on climate, says the school’s compost program checks a lot of the boxes for effective, positive climate education to help youth understand the crisis of human-caused climate change.

8 . In South Africa, the African Penguin Nest Project team made up of researchers and wildlife protectors from around the world has designed handmade ceramic (陶瓷的) nest boxes over the last five years to protect endangered penguins from the warming weather caused by climate change.

In the past, the seabirds laid their eggs in holes dug into centuries old layers of their own waste. But in the late 1800s, most of the waste was collected as plant food by traders. Since then, many penguins have nested in the open, exposing them to heatstroke and their eggs to their enemies. “We have put this species at risk of extinction, mainly because of human desires,” said Shaun Welman, a zoologist at Nelson Mandela University. The population of these seabirds in Africa has fallen from 3 million to 48,000 since 1900, according to reports.

But thanks to the team, more than 1,500 ceramic nests have been made and placed across five different penguin colonies (群落) in South Africa. The structures are able to stand up to higher temperatures than traditional holes and outperformed cement (水泥) and fiberglass models, according to a study co-authored by Welman.

The ceramic nests are built by hand. The 72-hour process requires a high level of attention to details to make sure the raw materials are combined successfully. A number of air holes designed to give out heat and keep penguins cool are drilled into the top of the nests, says Kevin Graham, leader of the African Penguin Nest Project.

Having spent three years researching and testing the nests, Graham placed the first 200 structures in two South African penguin colonies in 2018. Within the first month, researchers discovered eggs in 40%of the nests in one colony and 25%of the nests in the other.

“If everything goes well and these nests continue to work, we can keep giving them homes,” said Graham. “Each one we build is eco-friendly.” He added, “We can’t solve the population decline with just the nests, but at least we can give them a place to raise kids.”

It is known to the world that one of the most deadly     1     (earthquake) of the 20th century happened in Tangshan, China in 1976. After the earthquake, the city was completely destroyed and then completely rebuilt. Today,     2     new Tangshan has been built upon the earthquake ruins,     3     has become a symbol of the Chinese spirit of never giving up.