Men’s consumption habits are worse for the planet than women’s, according to a new study. For the study, consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were measured for the average individual, the average single male, and the average single woman. These were 6, 9, 10, and 8.5 tonnes per capita per year respectively, and more than half of those amounts were due to food, holidays, and furnishings.
What’s interesting is that single men and women spend similar amounts of money on consumer goods, but men’s choices lead to 16% more GHG emissions than women’s. That is because they choose to spend money on things like cars and driving, rather than taking public transportation or trains, as women are more willing to do. More of men’s money goes toward alcohol, tobacco, and eating out, while women often spend money on clothes, home furnishings, and health-based purchases.
Curiously, there were no differences in the carbon footprints of men’s and women’s diets. While men tend to eat more meat, women make up for that in dairy products, which are also carbon-intensive foods.
Lead study author Mannikin Okayama says she wasn’t surprised by the findings because previous research had showed similar differences between single men and women regarding energy use. Instead, she expressed surprise at the fact that more studies haven’t been done on gender differences in environmental impact. “There are quite clear differences and they are not likely to go away in the near future.”
The purpose of the study was to examine where individuals could make changes to their consumption habits in order to shrink their carbon footprints. The researchers looked for ways that would require minimal additional spending, so as to be more accessible to a greater number of people. They found that only switching to plant-based diets and train-based holidays can reduce emissions by 40%.
Policy-makers would do well to pay attention to this if they want to get serious in the fight against global warming.
【小题1】What do single men and single women have in common?A.They take public transportation. | B.They choose carbon-intensive foods. |
C.They spend money on the same things. | D.They are concerned about climate change. |
A.Men seldom show interest in dairy products. |
B.Single men and women are different in energy use. |
C.The gender differences had existed for such a long time. |
D.Lack of findings in gender differences in climate change. |
A.Gender differences have long existed. | B.Global warming is getting much worse. |
C.Reducing carbon emission is not so difficult. | D.Consumption habits vary from person to person. |
A.The measures to reduce carbon emissions. |
B.The new data about greenhouse gas emissions. |
C.The consuming differences between single men and women. |
D.The link between consumption habits and carbon footprints. |
Ecofriendly Vauban, lied in the southwest part of Germany, has everything—treelined streets, perfect houses—but it's missing one urban feature of the last 100 years or so: the car. And Vauban residents don't mind one bit. Vauban doesn't ban cars entirely. Rather, it just tries to reduce the use of cars by creating "parkingfree" and "carfree" living. In Vauban, parking spots are a nono private property. Cars can only be parked in public parking lots, so living without a car saves residents the cost of parking in the public lot. Cars also are prevented from using certain roads and must stick to strict speed limits. With these limitations, fewer than 20 percent of residents own cars. And now, with a population of 5,500, it's attracting attention from around the world. Can an ecofriendly city like Vauban be a model for Americans to stop their over reliance on the cars?
Sometimes when I watch a news report what's in the back of my mind is what isn't being reported or stressed. While this ecofriendly city is inspiring in that it shows residents getting exercise and fresh air through the majority use of bicycles, as well as good oldfashioned walking, common sense would tell you that even for a place like Vauban, Germany, it owes its existence to the cars.
Do you think that bicycles were able to transport all the construction materials that were needed to build and maintain the ecofriendly homes and businesses in Vauban? It took cars to help build this city. It's one of the paradoxes of life that sometimes in order to get away from relying on something like the car, you actually have to rely on that very thing at the beginning and into the foreseeable future to some degree.
I myself haven't owned a car for more than 14 years, and mostly get around town running, walking, or using public transportation. There are times I wish I had one, since it would make many things easier, but overall I'm glad not to have to deal with the headaches of owning a car, which caused me to get rid of it in the first place. And all the walking and running has helped to keep me fit and healthy. To get even close to being like ecofriendly Vauban, Americans will need to absolutely change the way they live. Commuting (乘车上下班) patterns will have to change, public transportation will have to be invested in, and so on. And though ending our love affair with the car will be impossible during my lifetime, we may at least start to see more Vaubanlike areas in the USA.
We can hope that Americans will consider using their feet more to get around, cutting down on pollution, and giving themselves some more exercise.
【小题1】Why don't over 80% of the residents in Vauban own car?A.The streets there are very narrow. |
B.There are many limitations on the use of cars. |
C.The government limits the number of cars. |
D.Most cars belong to their public property. |
A.opposite things |
B.big shortcomings |
C.great strengths |
D.firm bases |
A.Curious. |
B.Proud. |
C.Grateful. |
D.Regretful. |
A.Not mentioned. |
B.They are not ecofriendly. |
C.They have too many cars. |
D.They work hard. |
E-bikes are becoming more and more popular. It opens cycling to older people, those with disabilities, people who live in hilly cities where regular cycling requires serious effort.
Three things are needed to make e-bikes popular—a safe place to ride, good affordable bikes and a secure place to park. Safety comes first. For bike lanes (车道) to work, the network has to be continuous, not just forcing cyclists into the middle of a busy street. It should be well protected so that the cyclists won't feel they'll be knocked down by cars. It's necessary to provide good affordable e-bikes to customers either in physical stores or in online stores. Only in this way can people consider buying one as their means of transportation. Parking remains an avoidable problem if we want to encourage more people to ride e-bikes. In Netherlands or Copenhagen, large bike parking lots at train and bus stations encourage varieties of transport. People can easily find bike parking everywhere. This is going to be needed in other cities too for e-bikes to really become a form of transportation.
As a matter of fact, people have found that e-bikes are effective transportation choices. A recent study shows that people who ride e-bikes increase their travel distance from 2. 1 to 9. 2 km per day on average. That is sure to do good to their health. It's also believed that if just 15% of a city’s population turn to e-bikes, it would reduce the carbon emissions (排放) from transportation by 12%.
All of these lead me to conclude that e-bikes are a far better way of dealing with transportation emissions than electric cars. They won't work for everyone, but they don't have to.
【小题1】What is the most important for cyclists?A.Their safety. | B.Affordable bikes. | C.Good parking lot. | D.Fast transportation. |
A.To show their good e-bikes. | B.To show their e-bikes are affordable. |
C.To show cyclists have safe places to ride. | D.To show they offer good bike parking lots. |
A.The rules of riding bicycles. | B.The advantages of riding bicycles. |
C.The health benefits of riding bicycles. | D.The harmful influence of riding bicycles. |
A.Worried. | B.Positive. | C.Doubtful. | D.Unconcerned. |
China published its official document on biodiversity conservation on Oct 8,2021. It said that China has achieved great results in biodiversity conservation.
In 2010, the China National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2011-2030) was published. Since then, China has been working for a better ecological environment through establishing and improving policies and laws, carrying out nationwide biodiversity surveys, and putting into place various programs and action plans for biodiversity conservation.
Protected areas
There are about 10,000 protected natural areas, covering 18 percent of total land area. The well-planned protected areas system has brought 90 percent of terrestrial (陆地的) ecosystem types and 71 percent of key state-protected wildlife species under effective protection.
Plants
China has contributed up to 10 percent of the new plant varieties identified worldwide in the past decade. In this period, the country identified about 200 new varieties of plants per year.
Wild animals
The habitats for wild animals in China have been expanding and their populations are growing. The population of giant pandas in the wild has grown from 1,114 to 1,864 over the past four decades. The crested ibis (朱鹮) population has increased from only seven to over 5,000.
Greenness
China was the largest contributor to the world’s gain in greenness between 2000 and 2017. The country contributed about 25 percent of global vegetation growth in the period and China’s forest coverage and forest reserve areas have both continued to expand for the last 30 years. The country has realized the largest growth in forest resources among all countries in the world.
【小题1】In China’s efforts to protect biodiversity, the following elements are mentioned EXCEPT ________?A.the habitats for wild animals |
B.the accessible water resources |
C.forest reserve areas and coverage |
D.the well-planned protected areas system |
A.China’s contribution to the world |
B.Increasing protection for animals |
C.China’s contribution to greenness |
D.China’s efforts on biodiversity conservation |
A.an academic paper | B.a student diary |
C.China Daily | D.fashion magazine |
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