3 . Urban gardens are valuable property to communities. They provide green spaces to grow sustainable food, build community cohesion (凝聚力) make new friends, connect with the earth, and much no re. So, let’s check out our list of four inspiring urban gardens in the US.

Got ham Greens

Where: New York & Chicago

What: Got ham Greens first started in Brooklyn and now has four locations in New York City and Chicago. Their flagship farm in Brooklyn produced over 100,000 pounds of greens per year. But it doesn’t just produce healthy local vegetables. It is using high-teach green houses with solar panels to make sure the food grown is healthy and sustainable.

Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students

Where: Baltimore, Mary land

What: The Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students (BUGS) program encouraged students to get their hands dirty and plant vegetables through their after-school and summer programs. Many of these kids don’t have access to green spaces, and have never had the opportunity to grow food.

ReVision Urban Farm

Where: Boston, Massachusetts

What: ReVision Urban Farm in Boston works in partnership with the ReVision Family Home——a shelter for 22 homeless parents and their kids. The farm provided these families with information on healthy eating, and access to the farm’s fresh vegetables. The organization also provided job training to help families escape the cycle of poverty.

Swale

Where: New York

What: scale, a floating food forest located on a large boat, is an innovative project meant to inspire citizens to rethink the relationship between our cities and our food. This urban garden serves as both a living art exhibit and an educational farm, Food forests are sustainable gardens that include vegetables, fruit, nut trees, bushes, herbs, and vine——each one complementing the other in a symbiotic (共生的) relationship.

The earth’s plants     1     animals become endangered every day. And many of them are     2     (die) out. If nothing is done, we may find     3     (our) alone on the earth.

Wild animals live in the forests     4     are being destroyed by people. As a result, the animals are losing their habitats. Besides, animals are short of food because of     5     (pollute). Even     6     (bad), buying leads to killing, too.

I suggest that measures should be taken     7     (protect) wildlife. First, we can try to raise people’s awareness to love animals, for they are our     8     (friend). Then the government should make laws, if someone hunt, they must     9     (punish). If we do so, I am sure humans can live in harmony     10     animals.

7 . Clothes were once used until they fell apart. Not today. In high-income countries in particular, clothing and footwear are increasingly frequently bought, thrown away and replaced with new fashions, which are themselves soon thrown away and replaced.

The so-called ‘Fast fashion’ is having a surprising environmental impact. The first one is water. The fashion industry consumes anywhere from 20 trillion (万亿) to 200 trillion litres every year. Then there are micro-plastics. Plastic fibres are released when we wash polyester (聚酯纤维) textiles, which make up between20% and 35% of the micro-plastics choking the oceans. Added to this are specific chemicals, such as those used to make fabrics stain resistant and the pesticides required to protect crops such as cotton.

Change is badly needed, but will require the fashion industry to work harder to embrace more of what is known as the circular economy. That will involve at least two things: refocusing on making things that last, and so encouraging reuse; and more rapidly expanding the technologies for sustainable manufacturing processes, especially recycling. There’s a big role for research-both academic and industrial-in achieving these and other ambitions.

Researchers could begin by helping to provide more accurate estimates of water use. There is also work to be done on improving and expanding textiles recycling. Undoubtedly, used textiles go to landfill in part because there are relatively few systems that collect, recycle and reuse materials. Such recycling requires the manual separation of fibres, as well as buttons and zips. Different fibres are not easy to identify by eye, and overall such manual processes are time-consuming. Machinery that can help is being developed. Technologies also exist to recycle used fibres chemically and to create high-quality fibres that can be reused in clothing. But these are nowhere near the scale needed.

Another challenge for researchers is to workout how to get consumers and manufacturers to change their behaviour. Other research questions include finding ways to encourage people to purchase long lasting goods; exploring how to satisfy desires for something new while reducing environmental impact; and understanding why certain measures can be successfully scaled up whereas others fail.

8 . Rainforests provide much of the world’s oxygen. People have been trying to protect them for years. But another type of forest, the cloud forest, is just as important to humans.

These forests are at the tops of mountains, generally near the equator (赤道). These wet, wooded mountaintops are mainly in African and Central and South American countries. They are called “cloud forests” because their height allows for the formation of clouds among the trees. The trees in these forests pull water out of the clouds. The water gathers on the leaves and falls into small rivers below, which flow into towns at the bottom of the mountain. The yearly rainfall in these areas is about 180 centimetres. Cloud forests can pull in up to 60 percent of that. The water is important to the plants and the people in the area. It helps them survive.

Cloud forests are also home to countless species of plants that can’t be found anywhere else. One small cloud forest has as many types of plants as there are in all of Europe. In fact, there are so many that scientists haven’t made a complete list of them yet.

These forests are being destroyed at an increasing speed. Trees are being cut down, and roads are being built in their place. Some people have a goal to get government money to protect the forests. But they have had little success so far. Another way is to take the place of the destroyed plants with new ones. That, too, has been difficult because the plants are so special. There’s plenty of work to be done, but saving the cloud forests is still possible with creative solutions.

9 . It used to be that a “green classroom” referred to the colour of paint on the wall. But today’s green classrooms are greener than that! New “green” classrooms help schools save money and provide clean environments where students learn better.

Many classrooms are going green by adding solar panels to their roofs. The solar panels collect energy from the sun and use it to power lights and computers. The panels help make green classrooms grid-neutral, which means the panels create at least as much electricity as the classrooms use. In addition, new lighting and air systems can be programmed to lower energy costs and water use.

Many new “green” classrooms are built by using recycled materials. Some even use pieces of material from blue jeans to insulate walls and roofs. The old-jean insulation cuts heat and air conditioning bills.

Green schools feature many other new ideas. Some classrooms are painted using special odor-free paints that help improve indoor air. Some use no glues that add chemical smells to the air. Others use triple-pane windows and skylights to help keep classrooms warm in cold weather and let in lots of natural daylight.

Experts say the benefits of building greener classrooms go beyond cost savings. Studies show that a healthful environment with good air quality can cut colds and flu by more than 50 percent. That means fewer sick days for students and teachers. Studies have shown that natural light and other green features improve student learning and test scores too.

10 . 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 choice of sport 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(高尔夫球场) in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortages in some local areas.

In fact, 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 pair of good shoes; and you don't have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk can 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 control your weight better.

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(代替物) 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.