Is growth good for biodiversity? To answer the question, it is critical to define what we mean by growth. Is growth gross domestic product (GDP), the “monetary value of all the finished goods within a country’s 【小题1】”? Or does it mean improving the human standard of living? Today, when people say growth, they mean GDP, a measure that is over 70 years old. Actually GDP demonstrates negative 【小题2】for biodiversity, as this “growth” measures only money inflows while far more important is the balance sheet, which shows properties and debts. As biodiversity delivers no cash, it has no place in GDP system, but biodiversity provides the asset side of the balance sheet, such as forests, rivers, wetlands and animals—the list goes on.

It is argued that growth is good for biodiversity in the long run as there is an environmental Kuznets curve where 【小题3】conditions get worse in the early stages of modern economic growth, but improve once a growth level has been reached. According to some people, once GDP has been high, more resources are to invest in 【小题4】, and new technologies are used to protect nature. They said people would have more interest in protecting the environment, and some of the forests started to return and many pollutants were almost 【小题5】. Standing in America today it might appear that the environmental Kuznets curve works.

At first sight there appears to be a logic. Today the U. S. GDP is increasing while many precious species populations are also 【小题6】. Such conditions, according to some people, can be explained by greater efficiency in cars or more efficient agricultural production. But in fact, the majority of the negative impacts have simply been 【小题7】. The high-polluting industries have been outsourced to developing nations. Therefore the bitterest punishments are largely felt beyond the borders while we Americans are 【小题8】high GDP and selfish biodiversity at the same time. This can be seen in the WWF annual Report, where species population trends are increasing by 7% in high-income countries and declining in middle- and low income countries by 31% and 60% 【小题9】.

It is self-evident that growth, as currently defined, has a major negative impact upon biodiversity. What needs to change is the definition of growth from a GDP-essential concept to a balance-sheet approach. Organizations and world community should work on 【小题10】new vision or reform that will help ensure a real balance between an improving standard of human life and a thriving biodiverse landscape.

Bathroom Reveals Your Repayment Ability

Banks and other lenders typically look at borrowers’ credit histories, tax forms and other financial information to determine whether they will get paid back. In China, 【小题1】 lenders also look at borrowers’ bathrooms.

As the economy slows, the government wants to develop a credit culture to get Chinese families spending instead of saving. While the country is getting wealthier, the financial system has not kept 【小题2】. Some people have had no 【小题3】 to credit card or mortgage, so lenders often have little reliable information about potential borrowers.

To fill the gaps, one lender, China Rapid Finance, assigns its investigators to check for the number of toothbrushes or towels to determine how many people are living in a house. They look for dirty dishes in the kitchen. They take photos of a potential borrower at work to 【小题4】 employment status.

A growing number of companies are trying to crack the credit code in China. The Internet giants Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are developing credit 【小题5】 systems based on users’ online transactions (交易) and search histories.

The World Bank estimated that 79 percent of China’s population above the age of 15 have bank accounts, while only 10 percent have ever borrowed from the formal financial system. China’s banks have a(n) 【小题6】 consumers lending business. Contrarily, online lenders are 【小题7】 as the pioneers, satisfying China’s rising consumer class.

Alibaba’s financial affiliate (隶属机构), Huabei, makes small loans to online shoppers and vendors (小贩) on its e-commerce platforms. Peer-to-peer platforms have proved hugely popular in China, but the industry’s reputation has been ruined by scandal, like the 【小题8】 of Ezubao (易租宝).

After that, regulators have stepped up their supervision of online lenders, which includes setting 【小题9】 on the amounts that can be borrowed. The regulators’ tightening management is “something like a shepherd herding (放牧) his sheep into a(n) 【小题10】 narrowing pen (围栏),” said Mark Natkin, the founder and managing director at Marbridge Consulting, based in Beijing.

Disney plans to lay off 4,000 more workers

The Walt Disney Co. announced plans to lay off 4,000 more workers in its theme parks division in California and Florida because of the pandemic’s effect on the industry.

The 【小题1】 by the company was made in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing earlier this week, saying 32,000 employees will be 【小题2】 in the first half of fiscal year 2021, which began last month. In late September, Disney had already announced plans to terminate 28,000 theme park workers.

In the SEC document 【小题3】 on the eve of Thanksgiving Day, the company said it also put 37,000 employees not scheduled for termination on furlough(休假) as a result of the pandemic.

“Due to the current 【小题4】, including COVID-19 impacts, and 【小题5】 environment in which we are operating, the company has generated efficiency in its staffing, including limiting hiring to 【小题6】 business roles, furloughs and reductions-in-force,” the document said. The company also said it may make more 【小题7】 in spending such as reducing film and television content investments and additional furloughs and layoffs.

In Florida, the company has been limiting attendance at its parks and changing protocols(计划)to 【小题8】 for social distancing by limiting characters’ meet-and-greets.

The company has not 【小题9】 the number of workers who would be affected in its Orlando theme parks. Disney’s parks closed in March as the pandemic started spreading in the United States. The Florida parks reopened in the summer, but the California parks have yet to reopen 【小题10】 on state and local government approvals.