2 . Goodish News of Climate Change

Emissions of carbon dioxide (related to energy production) have stabilized, for now.

Is it a peak, a stutter or just a brief pause? Time will tell. But whatever it is, on February 11th the International Energy Agency (IEA), an intergovernmental ________ which collects such data, announced that emissions of carbon dioxide in 2019 which were ________ to energy had remained the same (33.3bn tonnes) as the previous year’s.

Energy-related emissions, which include those (produced by electricity generation), heating and transport, ________ more than 70% of the world’s industrial CO₂ pollution. The reason why the emissions remained the same was that there was a(n) ________ in coal use, particularly in rich countries, combined with an increase in the use of renewable power.

As a result of this the CO₂-intensity of electricity generation—a(n) ________ of how much of the gas is emitted per kilowatt hour of petrol produced—fell by nearly 6.5%, to 340 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt hour. It had already been ________, but this is three times the average for the past decade. Such declines more than offset (抵消) the ________ of increased electricity production. The average emission-intensity of power generation in 2019 was “lower than all but the most efficient gas-power plants”, according to the IEA.

This is not the first time energy related emissions have plateaued (保持稳定). Between 2013 and 2016 they hovered around 32.2bn tonnes a year, before rising again in 2017 as the use of coal to ________ developing economies increased. This ________ plateau was accompanied by excited declarations that such emissions had peaked. Similar ________ have been made this week, perhaps also prematurely. Besides changes in coal use, a ________ economy may have played a part and the data show that milder than usual weather caused a perceptible drop in emissions from several countries with large, carbon-hungry economies.

________, the latest data from the Amazon rainforest also make us feel relieved. This, one of the world’s largest woodlands, has acted ________ as an absorbing sponge (海绵) for CO₂ by removing it from the atmosphere through photo-synthesis. Researchers at Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research have shown that a vast part of the south-east of the Amazon, about one fifth of its area, has lost its ________ to absorb the gas and is now a net source of emissions into the atmosphere instead. This land has been widely deforested, so the result is little ________. But it is disappointing.

3 . People are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Purchasing property that is environmentally responsible is a good investment for those who are _________ their own health and the well-being of the earth. Based on this trend, entire districts, known as eco-communities, are being designed with a green _________ in mind. Dockside Green in Victoria, British Columbia is one of them.

If everything goes according to plan, Dockside Green will be a _________ community along the harbour front of British Columbia’s capital city. The community will be home to 2500 people and will _________ residential, office, and retail space. Builders of Dockside Green have the environment in mind with every choice they make. They ensure proper ventilation (通风), and guarantee residents 100% fresh indoor air. Building materials,, such as paints and wood, are_________ and non-poisonous. Eco-conscious builders use bamboo wherever possible because it grows fast and does not require _________ to grow.

Energy efficiency is one of the _________ concerns in eco-communities, such as Dockside Green. Not only do energy efficient appliances and light fixtures (照明设备) reduce the environmental_________ of heating and hot water, they also save residents and business owners money. Dockside Green claims that home owners will use 55% less energy than average residents in Canada. Residents will have individual water metres_________ studies show that people use around 20% less energy when they are billed for exactly what they use. __________, water is treated at Dockside Green and reused on site for flushing (冲洗) toilets.

Planners of eco-communities such as Dockside Green must take the __________ into account. Dockside Green plans on reusing 90% of its construction waste. They also plan to continue using local suppliers for all of their transport and maintenance needs. This is a great way to reduce__________.

Dockside residents will be encouraged to make use of a mini transportation system and buy into the community’s car share program. Finally, plans are in the works for a high-tech heating system that will use __________ energy instead of fossil fuels (化石燃料).

Dockside residents will __________ excellent local services with high quality healthcare, shopping and education at the heart of the community, along with excellent recreation facilities and plentiful green open spaces. The Eco-Community will favour the use of locally-sourced goods and services; they will be__________ places to live, promoting a tangible (看得见的)sense of civic pride, responsibility and, as the name suggests, community.

4 . In 200 Years Cows May Be the Biggest Land Mammals (哺乳动物) on the Planet

Around 13,000 years ago North America had a wider variety of mammals than modern Africa. There were multiple horse species, camels and some now-extinct animals. And such _________ creatures were not just found in North America. On every continent mammals on average were a lot larger from around 2.5 million until about 11,700 years ago.

Scientists have long debated what caused all these large creatures to go extinct while many of the smaller ones _________. A team of researchers led by biologist Felisa Smith analyzed evidence from millions of years’ worth of mammalian extinctions and found that on each continent large mammals started to _________ around the same time humans first showed up.

If the extinction trend continues, many more large mammals will soon disappear as well, as the primary threats from humans have _________ from overhunting to indirect processes such as habitat loss. The largest land mammal 200 years from now could well be the domestic cow, Smith’s research suggests. In their new study Smith and her team analyzed a database of all land mammals that lived from 65 million years ago until today. “We found _________ no effect of climate on mammalian extinction over 65 million years,” she says. But starting around 125,000 years ago and continuing until today, large mammals have been more likely to go extinct than smaller ones, the researchers found.

The average _________ of surviving mammals has decreased as a result. And those large-mammal extinctions are tightly coupled with the _________ of humans. For most of mammalian _________ history, an animal’s size was not predictive of its extinction risk. That _________ only appeared once humans began to live alongside large mammals.

This finding does not mean climate-related changes could not have __________ some wildlife populations, enabling humans to more easily bring about their eventual downfall. __________, it suggests the greater likelihood of large mammals going extinct is tied to human activities. The animals that evolved without the risk of hunting from humans were suddenly faced with a new __________. They simply could not __________ fast enough to survive the invasion of humans.

Smith says the lesson to be learned from the new findings is that our ancestors prepared us to be extremely skillful killers. “What’s __________ now,” she says, “is that some of us are comfortable enough, have a high enough standard of living, that we can start thinking about our use of the Earth.” Rather than simply behaving as __________, many of us are now in a position to become environmental protectors.

7 . We’ve heard many stories of individuals across the world who’ve adopted a zero-waste lifestyle. However, it’s much less often that we come across an entire community that is trying to become waste-free. The residents of Kamikastsu, Japan, take recycling so ________ that they actually hope to become the nation’s first zero-waste community.

Kamikatsu has no ________ trucks, so residents need to compost (制成堆肥) their kitchen waste at home. They also have to wash and sort the rest of their trash into 34 different categories. They would then bring it to the recycling center themselves where workers make sure that the waste goes into the correct bins. It apparently took some time for the residents to   ________ this rule, but they eventually managed to adapt to the dramatic changes and are now seeing them as normal.

Reuse is highly ________ in Kamikatsu. There is a local kuru-kuru shop where residents can ________ new things with used items at no extra cost. And the kuru-kuru factory employs women to make bags, clothes, and stuffed dolls out of ________ items. Businesses are also encouraged to participate in responsible waste management. The town has a zero-waste brewery (啤酒厂) housed in a building constructed of reused materials.

With a population of just over 1,700, Kamikatsu ________ about 80 percent of its trash and only 20 percent goes to landfills (垃圾填埋场). You could say that the town is very ________ to achieving its goal. They’ve ________ their old practice of dumping trash into open fires after declaring their zero-waste ambition in 2003.

All the recycling facilities in Kamikatsu are managed by a Zero Waste Academy. It also regularly hosts groups of local schoolchildren, ________ them on the benefits of a zero-waste lifestyle. Every year, the Academy receives around 2,500 visitors from all around the world, all of them eager to learn more about zero-waste and how Kamikatsu has managed to implement its principles in such a short period of time.

8 . Keeping The Taps Running in Thirsty Cities

Water covers 71% of Earth’s surface yet only 2% of it is accessible as a source of fresh water. ______ on this limited resources is rising, a trend likely to continue.

It is important to recognize that it is not just city residents who ______ water. Agriculture, industry and tourism often require more water than the municipal water supply. Globally, 70% of fresh water is ______ for agriculture, but locally in heavily irrigated(灌溉)areas this can increate to 90%. A healthy environment also requires fresh water, and the quality of available water is as important as its ______.

Water stress is not always caused by physical shortages in dry areas. ______ for water resources between different users within river catchments or basins can also be a cause.

Every thirsty city operates within its own context, _____ to the challenge of providing adequate water supplies. Cape Town, ______, has faced three years of drought during which winter rains failed to materialize. At the end of the 2017 rainy season the city faced the ______ of its dams running dry during 2018. The dams were only 37% full—in the same week four years before they were full to the top. In January 2018, it was ______ that Cape Town would reach Day Zero, when it would be forced to turn off the taps, in April. This was despite the city reducing its water use by more than half, from 1.2 billion litres a day in 2015 to fewer than 600 million litres, and working ______ with industry and agriculture to reduce demand.

On February 1, the authorities put in place a strict limit of 50 litres of water per person per day. ______, in Britain this is considered enough for a five-minute shower of half a washing machine cycle on full load.

In addition, a ban was placed on using ______ water for gardens, water management devices were installed at household with a high water use and the water pressure was reduced to cut demand and leaks. At the same, the city launched a media ______ to change habits and introduced higher duties. This is not without its costs; agriculture and tourism, both significant areas of employment, have ______. It is a classic example of the problem of water economics-the cost of water is low but the cost of a lack of water is very high.

Crises such as the Cape Town drought are in danger of becoming the new norm. The ______ of Day Zero must serve as a wake-up call for cities across the world to develop cost-effective water management strategies to cope with an uncertain future.