1 . Have you ever enjoyed a trip to a zoo, but wondered whether it is acceptable for humans to keep so many treasured animals in cages. You are not alone. Many people concerned about the fate of zoo animals and feel conflicted about the very existence of zoos. However, there is no reason to worry.

Most zoos around the world provide the highest level of care and cleanliness for their animal residents. In fact, animals in zoos often experience far healthier lives than they would in the wild due to the access to medical care.

Zoos provide opportunities for people of all ages to view and connect with animal life that they would otherwise not encounter. By interacting with wild life, people can gain a greater appreciation for the animals of the world. Zoos offer educational experiences through which people can learn why it is so important to protect and maintain the diversity of animal life on Earth.

Zoos also function as places where these often rare or endangered animals can be studied. By keeping and raising animals in cages, extensive research can be conducted on the animals to help scientists understand them. This scientific understanding, in turn, contributes to conservation efforts around the world. Because zoos are a safe place for animals to be observed, scientists are able to make important discoveries about their lives.

While it is true that not all zoos are as well maintained and equipped, there is growing international pressure for universal regulations that will ensure the monitoring of all public zoos. This type of legal support will allow the world’s zoos to continue their important research programs, many of which are adjusted toward breeding programs designed to make more endangered species come in. Breeding programs are essential to continue certain species which are nearly wiped out from the wild, and zoos are the ideal place for these programs to promote the increase of the animals. In this manner, zoos contribute to restoring balance in the wilderness by giving endangered species a second-chance at survival.

If you visit a top-ranking zoo, you will enjoy viewing animals in a habitat designed to support their health. You can rest assured that by supporting such zoos as a visitor, you are also supporting valuable science and conservation efforts. Your interactions with the animals and exhibits might educate you further about creatures in parts of the world you haven’t been exposed to.

When people are inspired, they tend to take action more readily, and zoos are an inspiring example of this truth. Zoos provide an unforgettable experience in appreciating animal life and take concrete action towards advocating for their future.

2 . No doubt that humans have widely changed, developed, and exploited (开发) much of the natural world for our own ends. But how much of the land surface remains free of our often-harmful influence?

In a new study, scientists compared figures from four different sets of data using different kinds of methods and classification (分类) systems to answer this question. On average, the researchers say roughly half (48 to 56 percent) of the world’s land shows “low” influence of humans. While the figures may inspire many—stressing the vast expanse of significantly untouched lands that can still be protected through conservation measures—the study also shows just how much of the Earth has already been occupied and used by humans.

In fact, only about a quarter (20 to 34 percent) of the planet’s ice-free land surface shows “very low” signs of human influence, the researchers say, and the parts of the planet that we have left alone up until now constitute (构成) some of the least livable places on Earth. In other words, whether through urbanization, forestry, agriculture or other means, humans have applied the most influence on biodiverse land that presented ripe and easy opportunities for immediate human needs; in contrast, roasting deserts in the world’s hottest places, or frozen wastelands in its coldest spots, have been ignored.

Even so, the researchers say the results shown here give us a strong, clear marker that we can use to help structure existing and future conservation efforts by preventing disturbance on existing low influenced areas, meanwhile, recovering areas for conservation in land that has already been exploited too much.

“The encouraging takeaway from this study is that if we act quickly and decisively (果断地), there is a slim window in which we can still conserve roughly half of the Earth’s land in a relatively untouched state,” says biologist and lead author of the study, Jason Riggio.

There’s a chance, right now, to draw a line in the sand, and say “no more”.

8 . According to a report, the average American throws away 4.4 pounds of garbage each day. That adds up to 728,000 tons of daily garbage. Thankfully, states like Idaho are carrying our innovative policies that others can follow. Here’s what Idaho is doing.

    1     Now, it has a blooming wind-power industry and is one of the only six states with commercial geothermal (地热的) electricity. Geothermal power plants are able to create energy using water and heat that comes from dry steam wells or from hot-water wells. The steam then powers a machine that generates electricity.

Because Idaho never had a large supply of fossil fuels to rely on, leaders had to become more creative with their power sources. Idaho is not as densely (密集地) populated as most other states.     2    

When Boise leaders realized how much food was ending up in the local landfill, they took new steps to cut back on food waste. In 2017, the local government initiated a citywide composting (堆肥) program, where Boise residents could have their organic waste picked up at the curb (路边) along with their regular recycling.     3    

If you tend to buy less, chances are you’re throwing out less as well.     4     According to a report by Bureau of Economic Analysis, Idahoans average about $36,777 in personal spending each year, compared with $42,757 for the average American.

Idahoans manage to keep waste out of their landfills partly because of their strong commitment to recycling. Because Idaho has a series of communities — from urban areas in Boise to the surrounding suburbs — no two recycling programs in the state are alike.     5     Rural areas exploit drop-off recycling centers to cut costs, while cities use curbside pickup.

Forests of longleaf pine trees once covered two-thirds of the southeastern US. About 95% of those forests     1    （cut）since the beginning of the last century. But now these forests are returning.

The wood of the tree is very strong. Most buildings in the southern US used to contain longleaf pine wood. Today, after longleaf pine is no     2    （long） wanted to build houses, people are reusing the wood because it’s still good and resists water and insect damage. The tree is also     3    （value）to the environment since it stores CO₂ in its wood.

The US government has several programs to protect and expand longleaf pine forests, one of     4     is the Safe Harbor Program.     5     uses voluntary agreements with private landowners     6    （help）endangered animals. Now, farmers and landowners     7    （live）in the southeastern US are growing new longleaf pine trees. Instead of cutting the trees     8     wood, they are finding ways to make money from the forest of trees. One way is by selling the     9    （leaf）or needles of the trees as a ground cover. Another way is to sell hunting rights. Hunting wild pigs     10    （be） a popular sport in the southern US and the fight to hunt on land can cost from $200 to $1,000 a day.

10 . In 1968, William Anders took what has been described as the greatest environmental photograph of all time while venturing farther than any other human had travelled before aboard the Apollo 8 spacecraft. He was orbiting the Moon when a half-illuminated slice of our home planet suddenly emerged beyond the lunar horizon.     1     people called that photograph Earthrise.

    2    . In the 19th century, Tomas Moran’s painting from a little-explored comer of Wyoming helped to inspire US President Ulysses S Grant to create. Yosemite National Park.     3     His description of what Carl Sagan later described as our ‘pale blue dot’, far out there in space, was an artwork that had relevance to everyone.

    4     In the 52 years that have passed since Earthrise was taken, the humans on that little speck in space have increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in their atmosphere by almost 30 per cent, wiped out 60 per cent of its mammal, ‘bird, fish and reptile populations, and now teeter on the brink of environmental catastrophe.

    5     Perhaps the result justified the carbon-intensive moans- but what about today’s explorers? What expectations and values should we place on modern-day adventurers as they travel and return, often with stories from our last remaining wildernesses?