Go Recycling

No one looking at the state of Earth in 2023 can be in any doubt that we are facing three serious environmental problems: climate problem, loss of biodiversity (生物多样性) and pollution of air, soil and water. To solve the problems, we increase the use of electric cars,     1     greener eating and reduce plastic use. However, sometimes these solutions can be opposite to the expected goals. For instance, creating space for biofuel crops to give off fewer pollutants and greenhouse gases can, in fact,     2     increase the cutting down of trees. That means in most cases solutions aiming at one problem each time are     3     to be effective. And, what is perhaps lacking is a(n)     4     of how interlinked these problems are.

We should realize that a key     5     linking all the three problems is waste. The root cause of global warming is CO₂, a waste gas. The seas are polluted by plastic and other waste products. We     6     forests, among other things, to grow more food — much of which goes to waste.

A shocking figure lies at the heart of our special report on our world — of the more than 100 billion tons of things that humans use each year, hardly 10% is recycled. That makes it obvious a full-range war on waste should be paid     7     attention. The situation requires our speedy moving away from the way of thinking — “take, make, throw” — towards a more recyclable one, which means we should begin     8     the products and when they reach the end of their useful lives, they can be recycled.

Solving the three problems calls for a huge transition with joint efforts. Governments must take the lead by introducing laws with the purpose of rewarding green practices, such as the     9     of waste. Industries can reduce, re-use and recycle wherever possible, and     10     themselves with suppliers and the like-minded to realize recyclable business models.

2 . Reducing the workweek to four days could have a climate benefit. In addition to improving the well-being of workers, cutting working hours may reduce carbon emissions. But those benefits would depend on a number of factors, experts emphasize, including how people choose to spend nonworking time.

Commuting and travel

Transportation is the biggest contributor to greenhouse emissions. A November 2021 survey of 2,000 employees and 500 business leaders in the United Kingdom found that if all organizations introduced a four-day week, the reduced trips to work would decrease travel overall by more than 691 million miles a week.

But the climate benefits of less commuting could be eliminated, experts said, if people choose to spend their extra time off traveling, particularly if they do so by car or plane.

Energy usage

Shorter working hours could lead to reductions in energy usage, experts said. According to a 2006 paper, if the United States adopted European work standards, the country would consume about 20 percent less energy.

Energy could also be conserved if fewer resources are needed to heat and cool large office buildings, reducing demands on electricity. For example, if an entire workplace shuts down on the fifth day, that would help lower consumption — less so if the office stays open to accommodate employees taking different days off.

Lifestyle changes

It’s possible that fewer working hours may lead some people to have a larger carbon footprint, but experts say research suggests that most people are likely to shift toward more sustainable lifestyles.

One theory is that people who work more and have less free time tend to do things in more carbon-intensive ways, such as choosing faster modes of transportation or buying prepared foods. Convenience is often carbon-intensive and people tend to choose convenience when they're time-stressed. Meanwhile, some research suggests that those who work less are more likely to engage in traditionally low-carbon activities, such as spending time with family or sleeping.

“When we talk about the four-day workweek and the environment, we focus on the tangible, but actually, in a way, the biggest potential benefit here is in the intangible,” experts said.

3 . The Last Straw?

Every second, the world uses 160,000 plastic bags — that is a total of over five trillion per year. Up to 99 percent of these plastic bags hang around for at least 1,000 years and pollute Earth. And yet, plastic bags are hardly a necessity in our lives. Of all the changes we could make to create a more sustainable lifestyle, a total ban on plastic bags should be simple.

At the beginning of 2021, Shanghai put in effect a ban on all plastic bags in shopping malls and supermarkets, as well as a ban on non-degradable plastics in many other areas. Over the years, individuals and companies have worked to replace plastic items, such as cups and straws, with paper ones.     1    .

Customers complain that paper straws often become soft and break before they can finish their hot drinks. Experts, however, have repeatedly stressed plastic substitutes (替代品) are not the ultimate solution, and that our consumption habits need a bigger change.

In college, one of my environmental science professors promoted a type of waste-free living. She carried around a small glass jar with her, and in it was all her trash she collected for the entire year. She was able to do this by bringing her own cup to Starbucks, her own bags to the shops, and never buying anything that came wrapped in plastic. Her food waste also became compost.     2    .

Plastic bags are incredibly easy to forget about when they become increasingly common.     3    . Once they are in the trash, we take it for granted that they are someone else’s problem. The sad fact is that plastic bags break down into microplastics which then get mixed into the air, soil and water, and eventually end up in plants, animals, and our very own human bodies. So what are you going to do about them?

4 . China becomes a world leader in clean technology by fighting environmental pollution, sharing experience.

Erik Solheim, former executive director of the United Nations Environmental Programme, said he is __________ with China’s phenomenal achievements over the past decade in fighting environmental pollution and climate change, and in its march toward __________ development.

This is very __________ to his Twitter followers. Solheim’s latest tweets include one about China ranking first globally in planted forests and forest coverage growth, __________ a quarter of the world’s new forests in the past decade; one about China producing 60 percent of global solar energy last year and 80 percent of solar panels; and another highlighting the fact that 80 percent of the world’s new offshore wind capacity was installed in China last year.

He believes that it’s time for the rest of the world to __________.

For Solheim, who is also the former Norwegian Minister of the Environment and Minister of International Development, China’s achievements on the climate and environmental fronts all started with its fight against__________.

“People wanted to see beautiful skies over their cities,” he told China Daily. “The __________ fast reduction in air pollution in Chinese cities over the last decade shows how fast China can act. This has now spilled over into renewable energy, nature protection, electric mobility, tree planting and a lot more. Today, China is the world leader in all __________ technologies.”

The latest __________ from China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment prove Solheim’s observations that the country is rapidly switching to a more sustainable path.

Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu told a news conference on Sept 15 that the country’s toughest measures and greatest progress on the ecological and environmental front have occurred in the last decade.

He said that __________ painstaking efforts to combat pollution, clear waters and blue skies have become more commonplace.

While poor air quality used to be a source of frequent public complaints, the average __________ of hazardous airborne PM2.5 particles dropped from 46 to 30 micrograms per cubic (立方的) meter between 2015 and last year.

About 87.5 percent of days last year were rated as having good air quality, up 6.3 percentage points from 2015, making China the country with the biggest __________ in air quality in the world.

In the last decade, the __________ of water at or above Grade III in the country’s five-tier water quality system rose 23.3 percentage points to 84.9 percent, close to the levels in developed countries. Carbon intensity, or carbon emissions per unit of GDP, has declined by 34.4 percent, with coal __________ for 56 percent of total energy consumption, compared to 68.5 percent a decade ago.

China has has legislated or revised roughly 30 laws and regulations, some of which focused on water resource protection, including the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, which was modified in 2017, and the Yangtze River Protection Law, which __________ last year.

Tips for More Sustainable Living

Making some small changes to your routine can pay off big in various ways:helping the planet while saving your time, money, or both. You will be surprised by how big a difference you can make with     1     little effort. Here’s some suggestions:

Give up throwing certain items. Your coffee grounds, and used tea leaves can be fertilizer (肥料) instead of being thrown in the trash. If you don’t have access to a fertilizer factory, you can hire a company to    2    pick up your leftover food for a fee.

Try to     3     the ugly. The fruit and vegetables that are odd-looking or    4     are actually good to use. It is easy to hide them in soups and yogurt. Don’t     5    away from these foods at the store and do sign up to have them    6     straight to your door through service such as Misfit Market, which offers ugly produce at discounted prices.

Forget fast fashion. The average American throws away 82 pounds of fast fashion clothing each year. Thankfully, there’s a(n)     7    number of companies that prioritize sustainability, producing fewer but longer-lasting articles, often made with organic fabrics and eco-friendly dyes. When clothing is truly at its end, consider     8     it as cleaning duster.

Don’t get cheated. Because of the consumer trend toward more eco-friendly products, many companies make exaggerated (夸张的) claims about their own efforts. For instance, a brand might boast that its products are free of a certain chemical, even though that chemical has been     9     for decades. This is called green-washing. Avoid falling    10    to it by looking for certifications such as “Fair Trade Certified” or “Rainforest Alliance Certified.”

9 . They, stretching along the shore, swim quite lovely, looking for underwater greens to feed on. However, in these days, something is mixing with the sea grass that manatees(海牛)like to eat along Florida’s western coast. And it’s making them sick-even killing them.

It’s a poisonous form of algae, which is usually called “red tide” because of its color. Algae are plant-like organisms that live mainly in water. Most are harmless, but red tide is an exception. When it gets mixed in with the grass and the manatees eat it, they get so sick that they can’t even swim.

“They’re basically paralyzed(瘫痪的), and they become unconscious,” said Virginia Emonds, an animal care manager. Manatees are mammals and they need to surface often to breathe in air. If a manatee is paralyzed, it can’t swim and will drown.

As of Monday, the current red tide outbreak has killed at least 184 manatees since the beginning of this year. That has already beaten Florida’s record-high number for manatee deaths in a single year-and we still have nearly nine months to go!

The experts aren’t sure when the red tide outbreak will end. So many more manatees are in danger. The situation has gotten so desperate that Florida zoos have rescued at least a dozen manatees. You can find manatees anywhere from Brazil up to Florida-and throughout much of the Caribbean Sea.

In fact, the manatee is officially considered an endangered species. Thanks to the US government’s protection, Florida’s manatee population has grown to approximately 5,000 in recent years. But the red tide is threatening their survival. Some experts suspect that pollution from farms even might be fueling the red tide outbreak, because fertilizer that’s used on farms often winds up in water. And when that fertilized water runs off into the Gulf of Mexico, it makes things grow faster-just like on land.

Throughout the world, only 15% of the material that are used to make clothing is properly recycled, according to the Alle SacUrthur Club, an organization in Liverpool, UK, that boosts the circular economy. Most clothing waste—an     1    (estimate) 82 million tonnes from the fashion industry alone-produced every year ends up buried or burnt.

    2    (handle) all that waste, methods to recover and reuse the material are intended as an active response to the future risks by researchers and start-up companies. Much of their focus is on chemical recycling,     3     the material is broken down into its building blocks and applied to create new materials, including fibres that     4     (weave) into new clothes. The challenges lie in     5     (develop) the processes for such treatment. They have to be practical, but they also have to be at least as cost-effective as simply making new fibres.

    6     the natural cellulose fibres from cotton, some other materials include human-made cellulosic fibres. They are derived from wood-pulp cellulose and may be used to produce materials such as viscose (rayon) and a similar material called lyocell.

A change in the manufacturing process is being applied to the textile-waste problem by Essen, a start-up in Seattle, Washington.     7     the company has fundamentally devoted to the process is that it uses discarded textiles, instead of wood, as the source of its cellulose. It has also adjusted the process to produce a fibre that the firm’s co-founder and president Christo Stan says is superior to     8     other cellulosics and cotton, and that can be recycled more times.

Although there are abundant technical challenges, the main barrier     9     widespread textile recycling could be economic, says materials engineer Lijiang Jiang at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Atlanta. “Most of the materials are not that invaluable,” Jiang says. So cheap it is to produce polyester, cotton and other fabrics     10     there’s little profit margin unless the recycling processes themselves are very inexpensive.