When     1     (ask) by a TV reporter to talk about air and water quality in his hometown, Qi Mu noted, “The air is great now and we can take more walks and enjoy     2     (be) outdoors again.” He felt quite pleased because the villagers were living     3     (harmonious) with nature once more. However, he could not forget about an earlier time     4     his village had been struggling with a serious air quality problem.

In the 1990s, usually, garbage from a nearby city     5     (bring) to the village. “How can we make use of this?” the villagers wondered. Soon they found that garbage could be used     6     (feed) pigs. “Over the next few years, dozens of pig farms were set up,” Qi recalled.But then nobody in the village wanted to open their windows. “The smell from the garbage and pig waste was making us sick,” Qi said. The numbers of mosquitoes and     7     (fly) were also horrifying. “    8     such circumstances, no single women wanted to marry anyone in our village and movehere,” Qi sighed.

The villagers could no longer tolerate the situation. So an initiative was launched and     9     “clean-up” campaign was added to the government agenda, including restricting large vehicles from passing through the village. Garbage from the city was no longer disposed of in the village, and more trees were planted. “We can all     10     (breath) more freely now that the natural beauty of our village has been restored,” said Qi.

3 . A method to transform a commonly thrown-away plastic to a resin (树脂) used in 3D- printing could allow for making better use of plastic waste.

A team of Washington State University researchers developed a simple and efficient way to transform polylactic acid(PLA), a bio-based plastic used in products such as plastic tableware and food packing to a high-quality resin. Yu-Chung Chang, a postdoctoral researcher on the work said they made stronger materials just straight out of waste, and they hoped that would provide people with the stimulation to upcycle this stuff instead of just throwing it away.

PLA is rarely recycled because like most plastics, when it’s melted down and reformed, it doesn’t perform as well as the original version and becomes less valuable.

“But once you look into it, it turns out that it can take up to 100 years for it to break down in a landfill,” Chang said. “In reality, it still creates a lot of pollution. We want to make sure that when we start producing PLA millions of tons, we will know how to deal with it. ”

In their study, the researchers developed a fast method to recycle PLA breaking the long chain of molecules (分子) down into simple monomers (单体)-the building blocks for many plastics. The entire chemical process can be done at mild temperatures in about two days. The chemical they used to break down PLA, aminoethanol, is also inexpensive.

“If you want to rebuild a Lego castle into a car, you have to take it apart brick by brick, Chang said. “That’s what we did.” Once PLA was broken down to its basic building blocks, the researchers rebuilt the plastic and created a type of liquid resin that is commonly used as printing “ink” for 3D printers. When used in a 3D printer and cured into plastic pieces the product was equal or better than commercially available resins.

The researchers have applied for a temporary patent and are working to further improve the process. They are also looking into other applications for the upncycling method.

6 . McDonald’s sells about one billion Happy Meals every year in more than 100 countries, including a lot of little, plastic toys. As the climate crisis heats up, plastic has been targeted as a major factor. McDonald’s is trying its best to be part of the solution, announcing the roll of “more sustainable”. Happy Meal toys made from recycled or certified materials by 2025.

The process of adopting sustainable Happy Meal toys has been underway for the past few years and has been strong cooperation between the marketing and supply chain teams. The announcement, however, marks Happy Meals’ first sustainability makeover and their joining a number of other recent sustainability initiatives from McDonald’s.

McDonald’s claimed to be the first global restaurant company to invest in solar and wind energy to expand the amount of renewable energy available in the U.S. McDonald’s also recently completed its first net-zero energy restaurant, located in Florida, designed to create enough renewable energy on-site to cover 100% of its energy needs annually. The company is using the restaurant to test additional solutions to reducing energy and water use.

All these efforts have the potential to provide a model not just for the system of McDonald’s, but for the entire restaurant industry, given the chain’s scale. They’ re also likely to generate some closeness from younger consumers, who are demanding more social responsibility from major corporations.

The toy makeover won’t affect the price of Happy Meals, because the company has designed their cost to be neutral (适中的). This likely means the effort won’t affect sales much, if at all. Happy Meal sales are “stronger than ever”.

“We have listened to our customers and have heard not just from parents, but from kids themselves,” said Sam, one of the officials of McDonald’s. “They’ re worried about the planet. We want to grow and be relevant to our customers and are now making bigger changes because we know this is what they wanted us to do.”

Millions of migratory(有迁居习惯的) birds start arriving at the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Dongying, Shandong province, in mid-October. They rest in the wetlands, feeding on a rich variety of food such as fish, shrimps and grain to build their     1     (strong). Some birds even make the wetlands     2     (they) home all year.

Zhao Yajie, 34, is a member of the team patrolling the wetlands every day     3     (ensure) a safe environment for the birds. Zhao started work at the reserve in 2014. Her main jobs are conducting scientific research on ecological restoration and protection,     4     monitoring the birds’ conditions, such as their numbers and the different types of species at the reserve, along with the birds’ environment.

Information gathered on the birds’ habits helps Zhao and her colleagues create a better environment for them. To ensure these     5     (arrival) have sufficient food, the team has created     6     it calls “small dining tables” for the birds.

Over the past seven years, Zhao     7     (visit) all the reserve’s main areas. “Every year, I welcome migratory birds at the reserve and see them depart. I have seen some species several times, but     8     each occasion, I am just as excited as the first time,” she said.

In her spare time, Zhao gives speeches to students     9     (conduct) field studies at the reserve. “The students are very interested in the birds, plants and landscape at the reserve. They will learn a lot, such as why Oriental storks communicate by clattering their bills and why some grass tastes     10     (salt). Students can also try their hand at making nests,” she said.

9 . Welcome to Youth Conservation Corps

We at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are now hiring four youths to serve on the Youth Conservation Corps located at the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center, part of the Fergus Falls Wetland Management District.

Application requirements:

·Ages 15 through 18 years old.

·All applicants must have a valid(有效的)social security number.

·Fill out a Youth Conservation Corps application and return it to the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center, 602 State Highway 210 East, Fergus Falls, MN 56537, no later than 4:00 pm on April 18, 2022.

Working conditions:

All members work on wildlife habitat improvement projects. They receive on-the-job training and work mainly outdoors, so exposure to weather conditions, insects, poison ivy and wildlife is expected. Proper personal protective equipment is provided by the district.

Schedule:

The summer work season starts from June 6, 2022 and runs through July 29, 2022. Work each day, Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm. Work 40 hours per week for 8 weeks.

Salary:

Each member is paid $10.08/hour.

Special notes:

·You can get application forms for pick-up at area high school career offices and at the visitor center of the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center.

·We will select the members through a random(随机地)drawing process to be conducted on April 22, 2022.

·To receive an electronic copy, email your request with Youth Conservation Corps

Application as the subject line to joanne_ryan@fws.gov.

Contact Information:

If you have questions regarding the application or the Youth Conservation Corps program, please call Prairie Wetlands Learning Center information desk at 218-998-4480 or email prairiewet@fws.gov.