2 . Royal Dutch Shell is launching a $ 300 million and forestry program, at a time when an increasing number of oil companies are putting money in carbon offset (碳补偿)plans to meet climate goals. The company will spend the money over the next three years on projects to store carbon, including large forests in the Netherlands and Spain, and will start offering motorists the option of purchasing carbon offsets when they buy petrol at the pump.

The executives of the company explained that these carbon offset projects were a new business opportunity for Shell, as well as a way to meet its climate targets. “We believe that over time we will be building a business, because these carbon credits will become more valuable as carbon becomes more limited," they said. Shell recently decided to cut its net carbon footprint (碳排放)by 2-3 percent in five years, which includes emissions (排放)from the products it sells. The company plans to produce carbon credits from the forestry projects, then sell these credits on to customers buying its oil and gas products, or apply the credits to its own operations to lower its carbon footprint.

Plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow and restoring forests and other natural areas is considered one of the simplest ways to store carbon. However, the voluntary market for carbon credits based on forestry projects has its critics, as projects in developing countries can be hard to monitor. Shell's move has also been criticized by some environmentalists. They worried that there was a risk of " greenwash when companies invested in forestry projects. "There is an entire debate about whether forestry projects truly reduce emissions or not," they said, pointing out that planting in one area could cause deforestation (滥伐森林)to another.

Shell said it would rely on the third party to ensure its forest program to meet the Voluntary Carbon Standard and strict biodiversity requirements. Mark Lewis, head of climate change investment research at BNP Paribas, said, " Planting trees to offset emissions, as far as it goes, is a step in the right direction."

Are you worried about our earth? Do you want to do what you can to save it?     1     It may seem like the actions of one person won't make a difference, but there are actually many ways you can help. Here are some of them.

Turn off anything that uses electricity when not in use.     2     If you leave your television on or don't turn off lights, it's wasting electricity. Remember to turn things off when you don't need them.

It's not just paper, plastic and glass that can be recycled — clothes can be, too.     3     It's good for the environment and you'll get a new look for free!

You don't have to travel far to get what you need, and products don't have to travel far to get to you, either. Shop at farmers' markets and buy food that was produced as close to your home as possible. And when you're online shopping, try to find things that won't have to travel long distances.

If you don't let the water run when you're brushing your teeth and take showers instead of baths, you will be using less water and less energy — but you'll still be just as clean!     5     Use a method that requires less water to get the dishes clean.

5 . One of the tallest wooden buildings in Europe, a 98m timber (木材)mixture skyscraper, is to rise in Berlin.

The 29-storey WoHo tower, to be designed by a firm of Norwegian architects, is intended to be a “light-house project” for low-carbon construction, towering over Potsdamer Platz and the Landwehr Canal.

Its core, including lifts and a staircase, is to be built around concrete structure but the rest of the building, including flats, offices, cafes and a kindergarten, will be fashioned down wooden beams (横梁)and panels.

“As Norwegians, we are used to working a lot with timber,” Nicolai Riise, CEO of the Mad Architects' Practice said.

“The thing about timber is that its carbon footprint is close to zero and that it's a fantastic material to build with. If you look at this in a broader way, it's one of the ways we are going to be able to beat the climate crisis.”

Wooden skyscrapers, once regarded as a pipe dream, have become realistic with the coming of cross-laminated (交叉叠合)building techniques and more flexible planning laws. Because these structures' parts are fit with care, they can be far lighter than their concrete equivalents (同等物)and are thought to be relatively resistant to fire. A cubic meter of wood can also take an estimated ton of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Larger wooden structures are planned elsewhere. London is examining blueprints for a 300-meter Oakwood Tower. A project in Tokyo could rise to 350m.

6 . Before you throw your trash into the nearest can, think for a moment. Not all your garbage can be dumped into one trashcan. It needs to be sorted out with different things going into different bins. Waste classification, a practice that has long been normal in developed countries like Japan, is the new challenge for many Chinese urban residents. However, though initially you might need to rack your brains to figure out which trash goes into which can, in the long run, the result is well worth the effort.

Landfills, sites where waste is buried and covered over with soil, are a major method of disposing of residential waste in China. However, considering the environmental disaster associated with burying waste, there is a pressing need to reduce the amount of waste that goes into a landfill. Classification, sorting waste into different categories such as harmful waste, recyclables and kitchen waste, is a key solution.

Currently, 46 cities across China, are carrying out a program that aims to put in place a classification-based garbage disposal system by the end of 2020. It is hoped that this will reduce the quantity of waste that ends up in landfills by a large degree. Shanghai came into the media focus in early July after it carried out compulsory garbage sorting rules that those who fail to dispose of garbage properly should be fined. Beijing is reviewing its regulations to follow in Shanghai's footsteps. The new rules may cause short-term inconvenience but they are meant to help residents follow the concept of garbage classification for the common good.

As the programs show, residents can gradually develop this habit with their growing awareness and the help of advanced technology. In future, this practice should be adopted across China, in urban cities and rural areas alike. With public involvement, China's garbage sorting program will contribute not only to the nation's sustainable (可持续的) development but also to making the planet a better place to live in.

7 . Last year, four children waited for their school bus every day for ten minutes, on the same dirty street corner. There were old bottles, parts of old bikes, and ______ soda cans everywhere around the ______. The trees were brown and had no leaves, and there wasn't a flower in sight. It was ______.

One day, one of the children looked at the corner and ______ to do something about it. She had ______ minutes before the bus arrived. The next Monday, she brought a bag and ______ some of the old bottles to recycle. On ______， she spent another ten minutes picking up old bottles, while her best friend picked up soda cans and put them in a different ______ for recycling. On Wednesday, all the ______ picked up the remaining recyclable materials and put everything ______ in the rubbish can. The corner was ______！

The corner looked ______ but it was still ugly, so the next day the girl brought some ______ seeds. She planted the seeds and watered them, and watered the ______， too. She only had ten minutes a day but that was ______. On Friday, the children found more ______ on the ground and put it in the rubbish can, or recycled it.

After one month, their ugly, dirty corner had become a beautiful ______ with pretty flowers and healthy trees. It only took ten minutes a day. Do you have ten minutes a day to ______ your city? Imagine what a beautiful ______ we would have if more people spent ten minutes a day cleaning up and making their ______ more attractive！

8 . After the season for giving, it is the one for throwing away. Each year in late December and early January a massive amount of plastic packaging is discarded (丢弃) worldwide. In Britain alone households generate 30% more waste, an extra 3m tonnes, in the month over Christmas. Most is destined for landfill. Lithuania will do less damage than many, though. The country now recycles at a record level. Almost three- quarters (74%) of plastic packaging waste was recycled there in 2017, the highest proportion in Europe.

Much of Lithuania' s success is due to a deposit refund scheme (方案). Customers pay €0.10 extra when buying drinks containers. After use, these can be fed into reverse vending machines (反向自动售货机) installed in shops, which spit the deposit back out. The machines’ contents are sent directly to recycling centers. By the end of 2017, 92% of all bottles and cans sold in Lithuania were being returned. The overall plastic packaging recycling rate increased by almost 20%.

The Lithuanian government says the scheme has fueled a potential love for recycling in its citizens. Nearly 90% of Lithuanians have used the machines at least once. However, Lithuanians do not generally describe themselves as eco-fighters. A 2017 survey by the European Commission found they were less likely than most other Europeans to regard environmental issues as “very important”.

The eagerness of Lithuanian recyclers may stem not from a love of the Earth but from a low net worth(资本净值). A tenth of the population live on less than €245 a month. In big cities it is common to see people scooping recyclable items out of bins to take to the machines.

Less litter and money for people who need it seems like a win-win. But it might not in fact be best for the environment in the long run. In Germany ----where a similar, widely used refund deposit scheme has been in place since 2003 --- the earnings from keeping the deposits from unreturned bottles seem to have discouraged producers from switching to more sustainable packaging.

Nowadays, pollution is getting worse and worse.

Yours,

Li Ping