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Microplastics in Water — a Wake-up Call for All of Us
Today researchers announced that they have found tiny pieces of plastic in water samples from around the world. These pieces are called microplastics and are so small that they are invisible to the naked eye and are very difficult to remove from the water. When in the water, they are swallowed by fish and other animals and then enter the food chain.
Even more concerning is the fact that the plastic has also been found in drinking water across the world. This means that we are drinking plastic every day. Scientists do not know what level of harm this will cause us in the future.
Microplastics come from a number of different sources, in particular from washing and drying synthetic (non-natural) clothing and from cosmetics and cleaning products, such as toothpaste and face washes. Microplastics are even found in the air outside and at our homes.
Almost every country across the world agrees that we cannot continue using so much plastic in our lives. We need to find a solution to remove microplastics from our oceans. We also need to introduce new taxes and other means to encourage companies to choose environment-friendly ingredients and recyclable packaging for their products.
We need to take personal responsibility, too. We all have the freedom to choose how we spend our money and what kids of business and products we support. Let’s work together to protect our environment, both now and for the future.
Remember: Reduce — Reuse — Recycle. (244 words)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the United States alone, over 100 million cell-phones are thrown away each year. Cell-phones are part of a growing mountain of electronic waste like computers and personal digital assistants. The electronic waste stream is increasing three times faster than traditional garbage as a whole.
Electronic devices contain valuable metals such as gold and silver. A Swiss study reported that while the weight of electronic goods represented by precious metals was relatively small in comparison to total waste, the concentration of gold and other precious metals was higher in so-called e-waste than in naturally occurring minerals.
Electronic wastes also contain many poisonous metals. Even when the machines are recycled and the harmful metals removed, the recycling process often is carried out in poor countries, in practically uncontrolled ways which allow many poisonous substances to escape into the environment.
Creating products out of raw materials creates much more waste material, up to 100 times more, than the material contained in the finished products. Consider again the cell-phone, and imagine the mines that produced those metals, the factories needed to make the box and packaging it came in. Many wastes produced in the producing process are harmful as well.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that most waste is dangerous in that “the production, distribution, and use of products — as well as management of the resulting waste — all result in greenhouse gas release.” Individuals can reduce their contribution by creating less waste at the start — for instance, buying reusable products and recycling.
In many countries the concept of extended producer responsibility is being considered or has been put in place as an incentive for reducing waste. If producers are required to take back packaging they use to sell their products, would they reduce the packaging in the first place?
Governments’ incentive to require producers to take responsibility for the packaging they produce is usually based on money. Why, they ask, should cities or towns be responsible for paying to deal with the bubble wrap that encased your television?
From the governments’ point of view, a primary goal of laws requiring extended producer responsibility is to transfer both the costs and the physical responsibility of waste management from the government and tax-payers back to the producers.
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1. 分析土壤污染的成因；
2. 如何减少和预防土壤污染。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：pesticide 杀虫剂； chemical fertilizer 化肥；residue残留物；substance物质
Soil pollution
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When you think of the Arctic (北极), you imagine an icy land of pure white snow. Others imagine it as the last really clean place left on Earth. We have polluted the deepest oceans with plastic trash, and now, CNN says, “It’s the Arctic’s turn”
German scientists have recently found micro plastics (微塑料) in Arctic snow, the Associated Press reported. Micro plastic are pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters. Sadly, the scientists found 1,800 pieces of micro plastic per liter of snow.
How is plastic pollution reaching the Arctic? According to scientists, “It’s readily apparent (显然的) that the majority of the micro plastics in the snow comes from the air.” they fall off of plastic objects and are moved by the wind, just like dust. They mix with ice in the air and fall to the ground as snow. Finding these plastics in Arctic snow means that we may breathe them in. An even higher amount of micro plastic was found in the snow around cities.
The high concentrations (浓度) found in snow samples (样本) suggest micro plastics, which contain rubber or chemical used in synthetic fabrics (合成纤维), may cause significant air pollution.
Are they bad for us? Scientists cannot answer this question for now, according to the World Health Organization. We do know that our bodies cannot take in “large” pieces of micro plastics. However, if the plastics are small enough, they can find ways into our bodies and stay there for a long time, which can be bad for our health. What’s more, earlier studies have shown that micro plastics may contributes to lung cancer risk, heightening the need to further assess (评估) the risks of taking them in, the study said.
Micro plastics have also been found in rivers and oceans around the world. Previous research has found that they flow long distances and into tour oceans, damaging ecosystems (生态系统) along the way. They start in our wastewater when we wash clothes with plastic fibers. The waste water then flows into rivers and out to sea, where they are eaten by sea animals. If people then eat these animals, it means that we’re eating the plastic as well.
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Pollution is the price we pay for an overpopulated, over industrialized planet. When you come to think about it, there are only four ways you can deal with rubbish: dump it, burn it, turn it into something you can use again, attempt to produce less of it. We keep trying all four methods, but the quantity of rubbish we produce worldwide threatens to overwhelm us. Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. There is an even more hidden kind of pollution that particularly affects urban areas and invades our daily lives,and that is noise.
A recent survey of the effects of noise revealed a large number of sources of noise that we really dislike: Lawn mowers whining on a summer's day, late-night parties in apartment blocks, noisy neighbors, vehicles of all kinds, especially large container trucks thundering through quiet village, planes and helicopters flying overhead, large radios carried round in public places and played at maximum volume. To our surprise, dogs' barking incessantly in the night rated the highest form of noise pollution on a scale ranging from one to seven.
New technology has also made its own contribution to noise. A lot of people object to mobile phones, especially when they are used in public places like restaurants or on public transport. Loud conversations on mobile phones invade our thoughts or interrupt the pleasure of meeting friends for a quiet chat.
The noise pollution survey revealed an amusing old fashioned source of noise. It turned out to be snoring (打鼾)! Men were found to be the worst offenders. It was revealed that 20% of men in their mid-thirties snore. This figure rises to a staggering 60% of men in their sixties. Against these figures, it was found that only 5% of women snore regularly, while the rest are constantly woken or kept awake by their trumpeting partners.
Whatever the source of noise, one thing is certain: silence, it seems, has become a golden memory.
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Solving the Problem of E-Waste
One of the problems damaging our planet is the number of things we throw away. A more recent addition to the list of things we chuck away is e-waste - electronic items that are broken and not recycled.
Tonnes of televisions, phones, and other electronic equipment are discarded chiefly because we lack the skills to repair them. Fortunately, now solutions are being found to give e-waste a new life.
There's a growing trend for repair events and clubs which could be part of a solution to the growing amount of electrical and electronic junk. A Restart Project in London, is one that many found around the world. One of its volunteers, Francesco Calo, said that "this project allows you to reduce waste, extend the life of objects, and it helps people who cannot afford to get rid of items that have developed a fault.
As many electrical items contain valuable metals, another idea is e-waste mining. An experiment at the University of New South Wales involves extracting these materials from electronic appliances. It's thought that doing this could be more profitable than traditional mining.
These projects make total sense --- collections of e-waste for recycling are depressing or even decreasing" according to Ruediger Kuehr, of the United Nations University. And in countries where there is no laws, much of it just gets dumped. However, the European Union, for example, is trying to tackle the problem by insisting manufacturers have to make appliances longer-lasting and will have to supply spare parts for machines for up to 10 years.
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A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world's people may not have enough water by 2025.
A private American organisation called Population Action International (PAI) did the new study. It says more than three hundred and thirty-five million people lack enough water now. The people live in twentyeight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.
PAI researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025, about three thousand million people are short of water. Eighteen more countries are expected to have serious water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on the earth stays the same.
Mr Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase.
The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking water is not safe. Mr Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases like cholera that are carried in water.
Lack of water may also lead to more international conflicts. Countries may have to fight for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need large amounts of water when they are beginning.
The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem. One way, it says, is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third way is to use less water of agriculture.
The report also says longterm solutions to the water problem must include controls on population growth. It says countries cannot provide clean water unless they slow population growth by limiting the number of children people have.
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Suzhou,May 2020:According to a government's plan,all major cities in China are expected to start garbage classification this year, and the system should be completed and functioning by the end of 2025.The city of Suzhou has thus acted and related campaigns have been launched and flourishing throughout the neighborhoods.
In a summer camp,one of the events,a group of adolescents visited several waste treatment plants where they gained a better understanding of methods of sorting and recycling organic waste,sewage(生活污水）and sludge(生活污物）。In another event,a team of residents.and a team of students from a local college had a debate on"Should Practice of Garbage Classification Rely More on Law Enforcement or Moral Consciousness'.Many residents watched the debate and acquired a good knowledge of garbage classification in the process.Still another community offered the local administrative staff working on garbage disposal(处置）and environmental protection and staff from the local property management company a chance to visit a community in Wujiang District,Suzhou to learn experience for more efficient garbage classification.
【写作内容】
1.用约30个单词概述上述内容；
2.谈谈垃圾分类的重要性（至少两点）；
3.结合自身实际，谈谈作为学生你如何为保护和改善环境贡献自己的力量。
【写作要求】
1.表明个人观点，同时提供理由或论据；
2.阐述观点或提供论据时，不得直接引用原文中的句子；
3. 文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
4.不必写标题。
【评分标准】
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
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Environmental problems are becoming more and more serious all over the world. For example, cars have made the air unhealthy for people to breathe and poisonous gas is given off by factories. Trees on the hills have been cut down and waste water is being poured continuously into rivers. Furthermore, wherever we go today, we can find rubbish carelessly disposed(处理)．
There are different kinds of pollutants, each of which comes from different sources. It is necessary to identify the source of pollution, in order to make a policy to get rid of them. Different products, processes and activities of our industrialized world together form the major source of pollution.
The forms of pollution can be mainly divided into three kinds—solids，liquid and gas. These pollutants have greatly damaged our planet and continue to do so. In fact，pollution is threatening our existence. The whole ecological balance of the earth is changing. Massive destruction of environment has brought about negative effects and even posed a great threat to man’s existence.
We must face the situation that exists and take action to solve our environmental problems. For instance, new laws must be passed to place strict control over industrial pollution; the public must receive the education about the danger of pollution and raise their awareness of protecting the environment and so on.
The earth is our home and we have the duty to take care of it for ourselves and our later generations. Fortunately, more and more people have realized these problems. Measures have been taken to deal with these situations by the government. And laws have been passed to stop pollution, I hope the problems will be solved in the near future and our home will become better and better.
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