As people in southern Florida prepared for Hurricane Irma, many included four-legged family members in their plans. Even with the best plans, though, pets can get lost in a natural disaster. Animal rescue organizations like ASPCA see an increase in lost animals after storms.

Some pets get frightened and run away. Others hide in places where their owners can’t find or reach them. Then, in the confusion of an evacuation, they get left behind. “We strongly suggest families should not evacuate without their pets. If it’s too dangerous for you, it’s too dangerous for your pet,” says Tim Rickey, vice president of Field Investigations and Response at the ASPCA.

An owner’s first and best defense against losing a pet is to have the animal microchipped (植入芯片) and registered. The cost of a microchip is around $50. Any vet (兽医)can put the microchip under the pet’s skin. Owners can then register the pet with the company that makes the microchip. There’s also a “universal” database (数据库)that will search all of the different chip companies. The human just has to provide contact information for the pet in the chip’s database, and then keep that information current. “All too often, people change phone numbers or they move, but they don’t remember to update their pet’s information,” Rickey says.

Other ways Rickey recommends depend on an owner’s knowledge of their pet. Does Fido or Fluffy tend to make a run for it when they get frightened? Then it might be time to buy an extra-strong leash and collar, and keep an extra-close watch. If your pet prefers hiding, create a safe shelter for them that is also easy to be found. That way, you’ll know where to look first in case everyone needs to make a quick getaway.

There are many wetlands（湿地） in China and some of them have become the world’s important wetlands. The Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands are among them. They are in Yancheng，Jiangsu Province. They are home for many different kinds of birds and animals. The world’s largest Milu Deer Nature Reserve（自然保护区) is in them. More than 700 milu deer live freely there. There are not many red-crowned cranes in the world, but every winter you can see some in the Red-crowned Cranes Nature Reserve in the Yellow Sea Wetlands.

The temperature in the wetlands is usually neither too high nor too low. There is a lot of rain and sunshine，too. They are really good places for wildlife（野生生物）. Offering food and home for some special kinds of animals and birds is not the only reason why we need to protect wetlands. Wetlands are important because they also prevent flood. But some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for wildlife.

Luckily, more and more people are beginning to realize the important of wetlands and wildlife. Every year，on February 2nd，many activities are held to tell people more about wetlands.

Since the earliest times, trees have always been very useful and important to men who made use of them in a number of ways for their daily life. Even today trees continue to serve men in so many useful ways.

They supply men with food, fuel (燃料) for burning and building materials in the form of wood. Without trees it would be impossible to build houses, boats and even bridges. Furniture such as tables and chairs is also made of wood.

In the tropics (热带) where it is very warm throughout the year, trees protect men from the terrible heat of the sun. They are also useful in preventing good and fertile (肥沃的) top soil from being washed away during heavy rains which are so common in the tropics. If there were no trees or vegetables of some types to hold back the soil with their roots, heavy rains would wash away the rich surface soil so important for agriculture. The result is that the land becomes useless and unproductive.

There are many desert areas in the world. A long, long time ago these areas must have been rich, fertile areas too, but people in ancient times cut down trees without any plan. They never took the trouble to plant new trees. Strong winds bit by bit blew away the rich surface soil and in the end the land was turned into useless desert where nothing could grow.