1 . There is a kind of climate pollution that we can’t see clearly. It isn’t in our rivers, lands or skies, it is in our minds. When climate disinformation goes unchecked, it spreads like wildfire, undermining the existence of climate change and the need for urgent action.
Like the biosphere that sustains us, the health of our information ecosystems is vital to our survival. As an artist, I feel a responsibility to create new ways of seeing the disinformation that has come to define the age of fake news.
Social media sites are honed to grab our attention. Using sophisticated algorithms, the corporations behind them decide what billions of people see around the world, dictated by what keeps you hooked, but also by what the companies paying social media sites choose to put in front of you.
Powerful corporate actors deploy clever influence campaigns via ads targeted at specific users based on what social media firms know about those people. Major oil and gas companies have spent billions of dollars over the years persuading consumers about their green proofs, when only 1 per cent of their expenditure in 2019 was on renewable energy. This is known as corporate greenwashing. Still, fossil fuel firms maintain that their climate policies are “responsible” and “in line with the science”.
To expose the scale of corporate greenwashing online, I was part of a team that recently launched Eco-Bot.Net. Co-created with artist Rob “3D” Del Naja of the band Massive Attack and Dale Vince, a green entrepreneur, Eco-Bot. Net’s AI-powered website ran throughout the COP26 climate summit, exposing climate change misinformation by releasing a series of data drops for heavily polluting sectors, including energy, agribusiness and aviation.
Academic definitions of climate disinformation and greenwashing were used to unearth posts across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visualize them on our website. Eco-Bot.Net then flagged greenwashing ads and posts on the original social media site with a public health warning.
By digging into our data, journalists have already revealed that companies are targeting specific demographics in order to influence public perceptions about climate change – and even alter government policy.
One data drop focused on the 100 biggest fossil fuel producers, companies that have been the source of 71 per cent of global carbon emissions. It found that 16 of these companies ran 1705 greenwashing and climate misinformation ads globally on Facebook and Instagram this year. In total, they spent more than £4 million creating influence campaigns that generated up to 155 million impressions.
Social media companies could end most of the harms from climate disinformation on their platforms if they wanted to. Flagging systems were swiftly introduced to warn users of posts containing disinformation about covid-19. The scientific consensus on human-caused global warming has been resolute for decades, so why can’t a similar flagging system be implemented for related disinformation?
It is true that Twitter and Facebook have both introduced climate science information hubs, but these are little more than PR exercises that fail to directly tackle climate disinformation on any kind of scale.
This epidemic of climate change disinformation on social media is eroding collective ideas of truth. In this post-truth age of disinformation, we hope that the public, the press and policy-makers will be able to use our data findings to see what is hidden by what we see online.
For the first time, we can witness the regional scale of corporate greenwashing. The era of climate denial and delay is largely over — except, as Eco-Bot.Net has revealed, on social media.
1. What does the word “undermine” in the first paragraph mean in the passage?| A．Dig holes in the ground. | B．Make sth weaker at the base. |
| C．Increase or further improve. | D．Put a stop to sth. |
| A．give the readers a precise definition of corporate greenwashing |
| B．show the dishonest claim by fossil fuel companies on their responsible climate policies |
| C．demonstrate the huge investment the corporations made to exert powerful influence on the targeted social media users based on algorithm |
| D．emphasize the tens of millions of dollars spent on renewable energy |
| A．energy | B．agribusiness | C．aviation | D．social media |
| A．They are willing to help but feel powerless to do so. |
| B．They have the ability to make a change but refuse to do so as there are controversies over climate changes. |
| C．They have the ability to make a change and have made some sincere but fruitless efforts on it. |
| D．They lose their integrity in face of the money from the big corporations. |
| A. expanding B. alternative C. bridge D. recycled E. contributed F. concerns G. encouraging H. landscape I. marine J. dispose K. widening |
Food delivery apps are changing the way we eat
It’s raining, it’s dinnertime, and the fridge is nearly empty. Years ago, we made do; today, we order food through our phones. Within twenty minutes, we get whatever it was we were craving, we’re warm and dry, and there’s not a single dish to wash afterward.
Food delivery apps have altered the
Of course, these apps bring all types of cuisines around the city to our fingertips, but it comes at a cost. And one of the real environmental
In the US alone, packaging accounts for 30 percent of municipal solid waste. In 2017, that meant 80.1 million tons. Food delivery systems are likely
Restaurant delivery is a global phenomenon – as is the impact on the environment. Meituan, one of the leading Chinese delivery platforms, delivered 6.4 billion food orders in 2018. It is estimated that China
In the EU, University of Manchester researchers estimate, over two billion single-use takeaway containers are used every year. Most of those are not
Plastic bans,
| A. agreements B. chattering C. efforts D. feasibly E. fulfillment F. hard G. introduced H. morality I. persuaded J. seized K. spoiled |
Here’s to guilt-free flying
Maj a Rosen gave up flying a decade ago out of concern for its environmental impact. But when she became a mother and started hanging out with other parents, she didn’t bring it up, even when the conversation turned to flying. It would have
Then in April 2018, her home country of Sweden
Kudos. But here’s the
We can’t rely on international
All this means we could really do with green tech riding to the rescue. Here, at least, there is a little good news. Even rather simple measures like freeing planes to fly in straighter lines could
It’s time to redouble our
| A. heading B. incredibly C. adaptable D. alternative E. pursuit F. dumped G. recycled H. global I. calculated J. precisely K. generated |
Planet Plastic
Here’s a shocking statistic. Scientists have calculated the total amount of plastic ever made: 8.3 billion tonnes. Looked at another way, that’s as heavy as 25,000 Empire State Buildings or one billion elephants. And
So what’s the problem? Much plastic is in the form of packaging which is used just once and then thrown away. According to a major new study from the University of California, 9% of this is
It’s a situation that has led the paper’s lead author, ecologist Dr. Roland Geyer, to say that we are “rapidly
The team behind this report also estimate that eight million tonnes of plastic waste are
Of course, the reason why there’s so much plastic around is that it’s an amazingly useful material. We can’t get enough of it. It’s durable and
So what’s the
Professor Richard Thompson, a marine biologist from Plymouth University, says it’s poor design that is at fault. He says that if products are currently designed “with recyclability in mind”, they could be recycled around 20 times over.
Dr. Geyer agrees: “The
91. The Problem of Packaging
A large source of rubbish is packaging material. It often makes up more than 30 percent of the total. To understand why this is true, think of the packaging commonly used for a simple product, such as toothpaste. The packaging includes not only the tube for the toothpaste, but also the box for the tube. This box is put into a plastic wrapper. Then, the boxes are transported in a cardboard container.
Most packaging material ends up in a landfill after it is thrown away. Though necessary, landfills take up valuable space, often stink, and can leak harmful substances into the soil. Landfills not included, the production of packaging material itself is a major source of air and water pollution.
People are now trying to solve the problems caused by packaging materials. In 1991, Germany took the lead by requiring companies to recycle the packaging used for their goods. To do this, the companies set up recycling bins in every neighborhood. Consumers now separate their rubbish into three categories—metal, plastic and paper cartons. They then put it into the appropriate bin. The rubbish sorted, it is transported to recycling company for processing.
The programme worked well at first. However, the amount of rubbish has begun to increase again. One reason for this is that many consumers no longer reduce waste because they think the problem is solved. It seems that to properly deal with the problem of rubbish, everyone must remain alert and do their part.
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More than any other aspect of the climate crisis, it is the over-production of carbon dioxide that has been valued. But nitrogen and its abundant use in commercial fertilizer, also leads to air pollution and climate change. Evidence suggests their use also contributes to air pollution, increases the rates of cancer and reduces biodiversity, as well as releasing gas (laughing gas).
But nitrogen helps feed around half the world’s population and remains essential for the foreseeable future. With prices of fertilizer rising, many developing countries don’t have access to it, with resulting threats to food security. The global nitrogen challenge involves both reducing fertilizer use, and getting it to where it’s needed most.
A team of scientists has come up with a five-step plan to solve this two-sided problem. Benjamin Houlton, the leader, explains that only by undertaking a holistic approach and combining solutions can the problem be solved on both levels.
The five steps identified involve changing agricultural practices, getting fertilizer to the places it’s needed, reducing nitrogen pollution and finally, both reducing food waste and promoting a change in diet. The latter two are essential because approximately one-quarter of all global food produced is wasted along the supply chain, which means that a large portion of the nitrogen fertilizer applied to crops is ultimately wasted.
Benjamin admits that adding nitrogen to the list of existing climate woes might cause a sense of exhaustion. Nevertheless, he has an encouraging message. “The truth is, nitrogen is a blessing and a curse,” he says, “But if you can reduce the spill-overs of nitrogen, you can quickly get systems to return to a more original state. That makes it very different from CO2. We lock in 30 to 50 years of climate impacts every time we send out a molecule of CO2 into the air. But with nitrogen you can get immediate returns on investment.”
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7 . The old 1986 truck was a gift from his grandfather. It worked, but it was large and inconvenient. So it was not an ideal vehicle for Ian Cheney’s
As in other large cities, there are not many places to grow food in New York. Yet Cheney wanted a vegetable garden. Many urban farmers in New York have found
So Cheney
When the food was ready to pick, Cheney drove the truck from one urban neighborhood to another. He
Cheney is
Cheney knows that his truck cannot solve the problem of the lack of fresh food in all neighborhoods. Yet, like rooftop gardens, it could be part of the solution. Cheney continues to plant his truck and drive it around New York neighborhoods. He hopes that fresh and healthy food can be
| A．crowded | B．plain | C．deserted | D．breathtaking |
| A．house | B．square | C．farm | D．bank |
| A．creative | B．uniform | C．regular | D．ugly |
| A．floating | B．emerging | C．rising | D．remaining |
| A．have attachment to | B．make commitments to | C．have access to | D．make contributions to |
| A．difficult | B．practical | C．limited | D．common |
| A．tool | B．space | C．information | D．material |
| A．set up | B．set off | C．set aside | D．set out |
| A．recognized | B．measured | C．commercialized | D．preferred |
| A．gave away | B．gave up | C．gave back | D．gave in |
| A．curious | B．anxious | C．optimistic | D．passionate |
| A．consumption | B．costs | C．advantages | D．significance |
| A．change | B．decrease | C．remain | D．adapt |
| A．acceptable | B．reasonable | C．popular | D．available |
| A．logically | B．vaguely | C．definitely | D．randomly |
Using renewables seems to cut carbon more than nuclear. Nations that embraced renewable forms of energy have significantly cut their carbon emissions, but
Nuclear and renewables are seen as two key ways for governments to decarbonize(去碳), but the question of whether one is more effective for dealing with climate change
To find out, Benjamin Sovacool at the University of Sussex and his colleagues looked at carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and GDP over 25 years. They found that in 117 countries that had been using renewables, CO2 emissions per capita(人均地)dropped from 0.69 tonnes(公吨)on average between 1990 and 2004 to 0.61 tonnes between 2000 and 2014 and
During the same periods, however, the 30 countries that had been using nuclear power largely stayed flat, shifting from an average 0.52 tonnes of Co2 emissions per capita to 0.51. The two groups of countries overlap because some fall into both. Renewables included wind, solar, hydroelectric, and biomass energy. “If you’re focusing on
The reason
Imagine living on the edge of a vast desert, which is moving quietly closer to your village every day and covering your fields. The desert is on the move. This is called desertification.
Desertification occurs in regions close to an already existing desert. It generally arises from two related causes. The first is over-use of water in the area. There is not enough water in any case, and if it is not carefully used, disaster can follow. As time goes on, water shortages make farming more and more difficult. In some places, locals can remember local lakes and marshes which were once the homes for all kinds of fish and birds. They have been completely buried by the sand now. Farmers leave the land, and fields are replaced by deserts.
The second cause is misuse or over-use of the land. This means that the wrong crops are planted and need more water than is available. Ploughing large fields and removing bushes and trees means that the wind will blow away the soil. Once the soil is lost, it is hard to replace, and if there is rain, it has nowhere to go, and brings no benefit.
It is not only the farmers and villagers who suffer. Every spring, the skies over some of eastern cities, thousands of kilometers away from the deserts, can be darkened by sandstorms. Dust from deserts can have a great effect on weather systems. While desertification is perhaps being partly caused by global warming, these sandstorms can make global warming worse by adding to what is known as the greenhouse effect.
What can be done to slow down or stop the process of desertification? A great deal of work is already under way. Obviously first steps are to find new water sources. Tree planting can help, by providing barriers between desert and rich field. Some types of grass also hold the soil together, and stop the wind taking it. Without these efforts, it will be harder and harder to stop the world’s deserts in their tracks, and more and more farmers will give up and head for cities. The lesson to be learnt lies beneath the sand.
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| A. species B. labelled C. expanding D. informed E. underestimate F. sustainable G. brief H. rare I. involves J. valuable K. endangered |
Eating Jellyfish Could Come to the Rescue
According to the IUCN Red List 32,000 species are threatened with extinction—everything from birds and mammals. Despite national and international efforts being gathered to protect
Between 2006 and 2014,92 vulnerable or threatened
It is stressed that only a/an
There are some ways to untie the mess we’re creating in the world’s oceans, including
There are other ways to help keep the lovely marine lives off the menu. “We need to improve the labelling of seafood so that consumers can have all the information to make a/an
And these choices, at least in some places, are easier than you might imagine. In Australia, where the researchers are based, there’s even official guides providing the
