1 . Christmas is a time of great joy but it can also lead to over-consumption. Here’s how to cut back on unnecessary purchases (购买) and help save the planet in the process.

Get an eco-friendly tree

Having a Christmas tree at home has been a British tradition since the 1700s and we fill our homes with around 8 million a year. But we know plastic trees pollute the planet and cutting down a two-metre tree can produce up to 16 kg of CO₂ when it rots in landfill according to the Carbon Trust. But there is an alternative. You can rent a tree from Eco-Elf who deliver it to your door, and then collects it after Christmas to replant it in their UK forests.

Give gifts that make new memories

There’s so much pressure to buy friends, family, colleagues, or neighbours a gift at this time of year. But in fact around £42 million worth of Christmas presents aren’t wanted and end up in dustbins each year, which is not eco-friendly. Chances are your loved ones would rather spend more time with you than have more gifts. You could either book an experience together like a cooking class or a boat trip; organise a nature treasure hunt or go bird-watching; or share a skill you have with them like fixing their bike.

2 . The Latest and Greatest Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

At this point, we know that we’re facing a climate crisis. CO_₂ levels are at their highest in 650,000 years, which is why we’ve heard a lot about our “carbon footprint.”

    1     Essentially, your carbon footprint is the amount of CO_₂ emissions(排放) resulting from each of your daily activities, as well as the products you consume. Whether you realize it or not, it affects the environment. So, how can we reduce our carbon footprint?     2    

Change to smart light bulbs(灯泡)

You’ve probably already made the change from traditional light bulbs to energy-efficient LED bulbs. That’s a great first step, but you can do one better by changing to smart LED bulbs.     3     These bulbs can wirelessly connect to the Internet and most importantly, your smartphone, enabling you to turn on the lights or change the color easily.

Use a notebook computer instead of a desktop computer

Consider getting a notebook instead of a desktop, because it uses less energy. Specifically, notebooks use up to 80 percent less electricity than desktops, using between one-fifth and one-third as much energy.     4     Notebook computers are an additional 20 percent more power efficient when running on AC adapter(适配器) power over battery power.

Rethink your transportation strategy

Not everyone has the option of walking, biking, or taking public transportation to work, but if you do, those are the best ways to reduce your transportation-related carbon footprint.     5     If this is the case, you may want to consider using an electric car. While only a few years ago these cars seemed imaginary, they’re now pretty standard, and electric charging stations are getting more common.

Taking these very workable steps is a good start. Doing your part to protect the planet can be as easy as making small, strategic changes to your everyday routine.

Over and over at the UN climate summit in Glasgow, world leaders have stressed the need     1     (limit) global warming to 1. 5 degrees Celsius. Experts have said crossing the 1. 5 ℃threshold(界限）risks     2     （release) far more severe climate change effects on people, wildlife and ecosystems. Preventing it     3     (require) almost halving global CO₂ emissions(排放) by 2030 from 2010 levels and cutting them to net-zero by 2050.

Already, the world has heated to around 1. 1℃ above pre-industrial levels. Each of the last four decades was     4     (hot) than any decade since 1850. “We never had such a global warming in only a few decades,” said climate     5     (science) Daniela Jacob at the Climate Service Center Germany.

More warming to 1. 5 ℃ and beyond will     6     (worse) such impacts. For example, heatwaves would become both more frequent and more severe. A warmer atmosphere can also hold more moisture(水分), resulting in more extreme rainfall     7     raises flood risks. It also increases evaporation, leading to more intense droughts.

“At 1. 5 ℃, there’s     8     good chance that we can keep most of the Greenland and west Antarctic ice sheet     9     collapsing,” said climate expert Michael Mann at Pennsylvania State University. That would help limit sea level rise to a few     10     (foot) by the end of the century.

6 . The World Wildlife Fund states that up to 100 million sharks and rays are caught each year across the world, both on purpose in targeted fisheries and by accident, as bycatch. As a result, shark populations are in rapid decline. Sharks grow relatively slowly and produce few young, so they are easily harmed or influenced by overfishing.

Robert Enever of Fishtek Marine and his team developed SharkGuard, in response to the dramatic declines in shark and ray numbers. They based it on shark deterrents that are currently used successfully to protect surfers and changed it to be used in tuna fisheries, where bycatch of sharks and rays is significant. The novel equipment is fixed to a hook on a line, and it produces a small electric field which sharks and rays can pick up with their electroreceptors and this, hopefully, will keep them away from the hook.

The experiments took place off southern France, during July and August 2021. Eleven separate fishing trips were made and 18,866 hooks were used, half of which carried a SharkGuard. The results, presented in the journal Current Biology, showed that SharkGuard hooks greatly reduced the number of blue sharks and oceanic stingrays caught, while having no big influence on the catch of bluefin tuna.

With its effectiveness proved, there is still some way to go before fisheries could start using the equipment. Firstly, there is the limitation of the batteries. Each SharkGuide needs to be changed every 65 hours of use. The developers are working to solve this problem, so users could “fit and forget“ them, while still protecting sharks and other sea animals.

Now, the researchers are calling on fishers and companies experiencing high shark and ray bycatch to contact Fishtek Marine.

Using renewables seems to cut carbon more than nuclear. Nations that embraced renewable forms of energy have significantly cut their carbon emissions, but     1     pursuing nuclear power have failed to do so, researchers have found.

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     2     (not address) fully. With several countries on the brink of deciding whether    3     (back) new nuclear power plants to meet their carbon targets, the answer to this question matters

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     4     these latter figures included a further six countries.

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    5     we can do to reduce emissions in the next 15 years,     6     (pursue) renewables instead of nuclear,” says Sovacool.

The reason    7     the results is not clear — the analysis found a connection, not a causation—but Sovacool has ideas. Nuclear power is restricted due to agreements     8     (limit) the spread of nuclear weapons     9     material from reactors (核反应堆) can be used to make bombs. Renewables are not, enabling more countries to learn from one another, such as Germany benefiting from Chinese economies of scale on solar. Other reasons for this    10     be that renewables are cheaper and quicker to build and more socially acceptable, says Sovacool.

9 . The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface and the deep sea could contain as many as 100 million species. But it’s becoming worse. Overfishing, plastic pollution, rising sea levels, and climate change are to partly blame (责怪) for the ocean’s present state.     1     But there are still some things we can do to improve the situation.

People are talking about plastics more than ever after recognizing the heavy effect the material has on our planet. Every year, thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, seals, whales, dolphins, and fish are killed after mistakenly eating plastics.

    2     You can buy reusable water bottles instead of plastic ones. When buying things, take a reusable shopping bag and choose the product that isn’t covered with plastic packaging.

Keeping our coastlines clean is a simple way to help the planet. After a day at the beach, make sure you’ve taken everything with you, including rubbish.

    3     Common sun cream chemicals can harm ocean life. Search for sun cream made with eco-friendly ingredients (成分).

    4     Consider making a donation (捐赠) to an organization working to help the ocean. The American Cetacean Society helps protect the habitats of whales, dolphins, and other marine (海洋的) animals through educational programs.

Being mindful of what cleaning products you use is another effective way to reduce your effect on the earth. Chemicals like household cleaners can move through waterways and eventually end up in the sea, affecting the health of oceans and the animals in them.     5     You can often use simple ingredients like baking soda, vinegar (醋), or lemon juice to complete many household chores.

10 . The Most Extreme Travel Adventures In The World

The driest place on Earth: Atacama Desert,Chile

You’ll definitely need the right kind of sunscreen if you plan on traveling through this desert. From October 1903 to January 1918,the Atacama Desert did not see so much as one drop of rain, making it the longest rainless period in the world’s recorded history. Lessly populated, the Atacama Desert has several hotels to choose from that cater to tourists who come to explore the land.

The hottest place on Earth: Lut Desert, Iran

Here, temperatures soar as high as 158 degrees F, so it’s important to have a game plan for staying cool and know the signs of heat stroke in case you develop symptoms. According to a local legend, the name Dasht-e Lut means “toasted wheat” in Persian, referencing a story about a load of wheat that burst into flames after being accidentally left out in the desert for a few days. Though tourists visit this desert land, it’s a destination only for those willing to take on the challenge of surviving the heat and the unbearably dry climate.

The closest place to outer space: Mount Chimborazo,Ecuador

An inactive volcano that last erupted in approximately 550 AD, Mount Chimborazo stands at over 20,000 feet high. While Mount Everest is over 29,000 feet tall, due to the position of the mountain on the earth’s surface, the peak of Mount Chimborazo is the furthest spot from the center of the earth. That also means that standing on it will put you closest to outer space than man can ever reach on foot.

The most isolated place on Earth: Tristan da Cunha, United Kingdom

Looking for a getaway from the everyday? Forget these popular island getaways; this is about as far away from it as you can get. Discovered by Portuguese explorer Tristao da Cunha in1506, the island is home to fewer than 300 inhabitants and has no airport; Tristan da Cunha is accessible only by sea.