The eastern Siberian landscape is not normally like hell. In winter it is blanketed in snow:in summer, its forests are lush(苍翠繁茂的). This year, however, the region is on fire, as one large parts of the Arctic Circle.

The fires began in June, caused by an extremely hot and dry early summer. It was the hottest June on record globally. In the regions that are burning, temperatures peaked at 8-10℃ warmer than the average from 1981 to 2010. This has dried out the landscape, producing tinder(易燃物)for natural forest fires.

So far, hundreds of above-ground fires have been recorded by satellites in the Arctic and sub-Arctic. It is estimated that fires within the Arctic Circle have produced more than 100m tonnes of carbon dioxide in a year. That is a lot. But burnt vegetation can regrow within a decade, and in doing so reabsorbs much of the released carbon dioxide. It is what is happening below ground that most worries ecologists and climate scientists.

Global warming will melt Arctic permafrost(永久冻土), releasing large amounts of stored greenhouse gases. But if fires in the region become more common, that could have even bigger consequences. Wildfires will release much faster and bigger amounts of carbon, rather than melting permafrost. The fires also produce black carbon which, if dropped on the Arctic sea ice by favourable winds, will darken its surface, making it more likely to absorb sunlight and melt. This decreases the reflectivity of the region and further increases Arctic warming.

Smog from the fires is blanketing much of Siberia. "What is scary about the Arctic fires is that they are driven by climate change, and there's very little you can do," says Thomas Smith. Few natural fires this big have ever been successfully managed. The only way to deal with the spread of these fires is to slow the rate of global warming. Don't hold your breath.

Indonesia

What Indonesians commonly do is put their trash in their personal garbage area which is usually located at the front of their houses, right at the side of the street. Put trash there, and the garbage collectors with their big garbage trucks will pick it up.

Germany

The country has a quite detailed way of sorting its wast — down to the color of the glass waste and the type of paper that can be put inside the garbage bin. Some common public garbage bins are available in the German apartment/housing area：

Some items don’t belong in your housing area’s public garbage bins. Items like used batteries, electronics, unused paints, and light bulbs must be returned to special locations so they can be recycled. Other items such as clothes, oversized trash and furniture are advised to be sold or donated.

South Korea

Here are the types of garbage bin provided in South Korea：

Because the food waste bin is reserved for anything that can be eaten by animals, eggshells, crustacean shells and bones are fairly forbidden from it. You have to separate the bones from your meat waste, put the meat waste in the food waste bin and put the rest of the bones in the general waste bin.

One million species face extinction, more than ever before in human history, according to a UN report released in May. And humans should be responsible.

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) based the assessment(评估)on some 15, 000 sources considering the causes and results of environ- mental changes over the past 50 years.

The findings are clear and alarming. The researchers have found that about 25 percent of the world’s plants and animals are at risk of extinction. These include sea and land animals. Even the domesticated(驯养的)animals are at risk: Over 9 percent of the domesticated ani- mal species used for food and agriculture might have been lost.

There are some big problems. This rapid decrease of the natural world endangers global food safety and quality of life. For example, about 4 billion people rely on natural medicines, produced by the disappearing species, for their health care. And losses of species that pollinate(授粉)plants threaten up to ＄577 billion in crops each year.

The researchers identified five drivers responsible for the unpleasant news. They think at the top of the list is the change of land and sea use. The change in ecosystems towards agriculture, aquaculture and other human developments has led to changes in the natural living space of species. It is followed by the direct overuse of creatures (harvesting crops, cutting down the trees, hunting and fishing) and climate change, including rising sea levels and increasing extreme-weather events, wildfires, floods and droughts. The final causes of species extinction are pollution, especially plastics, and the spread of non-native species that can displace or kill native plants and animals.

The researchers say it is time for humans to make a change. They think maybe a new global way to save food and refuse waste in our life could turn the tables. Whether that is possible is an open question.