It’s a hot summer afternoon in St Louis and Dawn Weber’s yard is filled with life. A catbird flies over groups of bees as Dragonflies skip across a pond. At just over a quarter of an acre, the carpet of native plants around Ms. Weber’s house is home to about 38 species of insects and 99 species of birds. “I really enjoy seeing the life,” she says. “There’re about 300 species of plants in the yard.”

Ms. Weber is among the growing number of homeowners who have traded manicured lawns(修整的草坪) for native and wildlife garden. The trend follows growing awareness of the need for species conservation in local ecosystems.

“The plants and animals around us run the ecosystem,” says Doug Tallamy, professor at the University of Delaware. But he adds, “We’re losing our insects, and were losing our plants and losing our birds. This is a disaster. And it stems from the fact that we’ve taken away the native plants or used incorrect plants. Not all plants support the insects that run the food web s that feed the birds and everything else. This breakdown of the food web has led to what environmental experts call a mass extinction event.”

But conservation experts think anyone with a yard can be part of the solution. America has more than 40 million acres of land used as lawns. Although green lawns may look pleasing. Professor Tallamy calls them “dead scape” land that does not support biodiversity or the local ecosystem.

Native gardens of any size in residential (住宅的) areas form “conservation passages” that support local wildlife. Local insects depend on these conservation passages and in turn support creatures higher on the food chain. If you add all of the residential landscape, it’s far more than the national park systems combined. If enough people could devote part of their landscape to the native plants that have developed with the insects in their ecosystem, we could reduce the impact and maybe even stop the ma ss extinction.

Jimmy likes to follow rubbish trucks. His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he's an environmental scientist who studies how to reduce rubbish, including things that fall off rubbish trucks as they drive down the road. What is even more interesting is that one of Jimmy's jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bag.

Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many and up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them in supermarkets. The bags are not allowed in some 90 cities in California, including Los Angeles. Seeing these headwinds, plastic-bag makers are hiring scientists like Jimmy to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.

Among the bag bakers' arguments: many cities with bans still allow shoppers to buy paper bags, which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce and transport. And while plastic bags may be ugly to look at, they make up a small percentage of all rubbish on the ground today.

The industry has also taken aid at the product that has appeared as its replacement; reusable shopping bags. The stronger are usable bag is, the longer its life and the more plastic-bag use it cancels out. However, long-lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make. One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be better for the earth than plastic.

Environmentalists don't question these points.They hope paper bags will be banned someday, too. They want shoppers to use the same reusable bags for years.

Hunger and malnutrition still exist in the world. Luckily, there are exciting, creative solutions to solving the extra food coming from restaurants, grocery stores, and farmers. 【小题1】

On June 7, 2022, Spain adopted a draft bill on leftovers. Food businesses will have to submit their plans to reduce food waste. 【小题2】 Restaurants will soon be required to provide containers for customers to take home their leftovers. Although this may seem like normal practice, in Spain, this is not the custom. With this upcoming law, diners can request their leftovers to be wrapped in recycled packaging for no extra cost. 【小题3】 Supermarkets will also be asked to donate their unsold food to food banks and neighborhood organizations.

【小题4】 It can help reduce greenhouse gasses, ensure there is more food for the hungry, and save money in an economic depression. It may also heal nature as there’ll be less demand to destroy forest to grow crops and raise livestock. This, in turn, could reduce the usage of water and decrease pollution in the agricultural sector.

Along with France and Italy, Spain is paving the way for other countries to address this global issue. Spain hopes to enforce these new laws by 2023 and is also developing an awareness program to educate the consumer. Much food waste also comes from within the household. 【小题5】 Hence, teaching children about food waste is a big step towards making the world a better, less hungry place.