4 . Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.

Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses (球场) in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf causes serious water shortage in some local areas.

There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.

Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment   and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They   are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces.

There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.

5 . Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.

Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses (球场) in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf causes serious water shortage in some local areas.

There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.

Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.

6 . Tips for Green Travel with Kids

Travelling doesn’t mean letting go of all the eco-friendly choices we work so hard to achieve in our daily life. Here are a few tips for green travel with kids.

Booking nonstop flights whenever possible will reduce carbon emissions (碳排放). If the closest local airport doesn’t have nonstop flights to a certain place, check with other local airports to see if nonstop flights are available.     1    

It’s easy when travelling to pull in to fast food restaurants for snacks.     2     My kids love to help plan snacks. I let them create their own snacks for the trip at home.

    3     At the airport, keep your reusable bottles empty until you have passed through the security (机场安检区). Fill them up on the other side of the security checkpoint. Single-use plastic water bottles create unnecessary waste and the plastic can be harmful to your health.

    4     In addition, opening a few windows and turning off the air conditioner (空调) are also good ways to save energy. You should also help your children keep their good, green habits while travelling. Sometimes vacation can mean more than one shower each day-once in the morning and again after getting out of the pool. Pay attention to the number of showers (淋浴) and the length of showers.     5    

7 . When I give public lectures about the climate crisis, the most common question people ask is: “Are you an optimist?” My answer is yes. The second most common question is: “What can I, personally, do?”

That’s a tough one. About half of all greenhouse gas emissions come from electricity generation and industrial fossil-fuel use. Some people have argued that calls for individual action actually distract us from company’s responsibility. Oil giant BP promoted the idea of a carbon footprint, moving attention to its customers who, it suggests, should take personal responsibility by lowering their carbon footprints. One study found that focusing on personal activity will ruin support for more effective policy initiatives (提案) such as a carbon tax.

Another problem with personal behavior is that people do not like to be told what to do. As former congressperson (国会议员) Bob Inglis of South Carolina said, people think, “You’re saying that I shouldn’t have this house in a suburb? I shouldn’t be driving this car.”

Cutting meat consumption (消耗) is a powerful and personal thing most Americans can do to deal with the climate crisis, and they can do it immediately. About 40 percent of greenhouse gases come from agriculture, deforestation and other land-use changes. Meat—particularly beef—drives climate change in two ways: first, through cows’ emission of methane(甲烷), and second, by destroying forests as land areas as required to the cows to live on. Despite the economic slowdown caused by the COVID 19, atmospheric greenhouse gas levels continued to rise in 2020, in large part because of emissions increase in the Amazon as rain forests were changed into land for cattle to satisfy the global demand for beef. By eating less beef, we can start to reduce that demand.

You do not have to become a vegan (素食主义者) to do this. Cutting back on red meat also has the added benefit of being good for your health. While I wouldn’t advise governments to order people to stop eating hamburgers, if anyone asks, “What can I do?” a simple and accurate answer is: “Eat less meat. It’s in your control, and you can begin right now. It benefits both you and the planet.”

9 . Not only doe s the use of plastic water bottles hurt your wallet, it also increases pollution and wastes energy and water. Only 23% of all plastic bottles in America end up in a recycling bin, which means over $1 billion worth of plastic is treated as rubbish a year. Recently, Skipping Rocks Lab has invented a kind of water bottle called Ooho.

It is a convenient, clear water bottle that can be either drunk or eaten. To drink it, you can either peel off the membrane (薄膜) or tear a hole in the membrane with your teeth to pour the water into your mouth. To eat it, you simply put the whole bottle in your mouth. One problem the scientists have run into is how to ship large amounts of Ooho bubbles (水泡) without arriving with a very wet truck. However, they have attempted to package units of individual bubbles together inside a larger and thicker membrane. It is targeting large outdoor events, such as marathons, music festivals, and sporting events, where tons of plastic bottles are used, and frequently left behind as litter. And too much plastic is sure to do harm to the environment, which could account for their purpose of such a new invention.

The team has been working for the past two years to develop the technology and materials needed to produce Ooho; they have recently applied for a patent (专利权) on their new advancements. The price for an individual bubble or a unit of bubbles has not been set yet, but they cost about two cents to create a unit, which is cheaper than a plastic bottle. It has appeared at events in London, San Francisco, Boston, at conferences, festivals, and so on.

Ooho has caught many people’s attention and has raised over $ 1 million and gained 1,000 investors in only three days. It is mostly being sold at events at the moment to keep the consumers’ interest while the production machine is running. It is quickly making a rise, so keep an eye out this year for these bottles of the future.