Snow forests make up about 30% of the world’s total forest areas. Although these wonderful woodlands (林地) are not as famous as the Amazon or other rainforests, they are very important for the Earth’s health.

Snow forests are found in the far north of the world, in areas that are quite cold and usually have a lot of snowfall. They run for thousands of miles and cover about 17% of the Earth’s total land area. Winters in these woodlands can last up to six months but even so, snow forests are home to many kinds of animals.

Snow forests have an important job-helping to absorb (吸收) carbon-based (碳基) gases. However, snow forests are facing several dangers. Trees are being cut down faster and faster for their wood. Some forests are being cleared for new roads and houses. This leads to less and less living space for wildlife. What’s more, as the world gets warmer, the risk of fires in snow forests rises. In recent years, Canada and Russia have seen very dangerous fires.

It’s very time to take some measures to protect snow forests now.

Make a goal to develop new classroom habits. The new habits you develop are helpful to the environment.

Recycling-Cut back on the waste paper you throw away. Get a large box. Place the box next to the garbage can. Throw the paper into the box instead of throwing it here and there. Take the box to a recycling center once the box is full of paper. Many schools can even make money for the waste paper they are able to collect and recycle. Help your school by recycling paper.

Reducing-Reduce the paper you use. Make it a habit to write on both sides of your notebook paper. Also try writing your words smaller so you can fit (放置) more on a piece of paper. The more words you can fit on both sides of your paper, the fewer pieces of paper you will need. But you shouldn’t write too small. Others need to be able to read your handwriting.

Saving-Turn off the lights when you are not in the classroom. Also, turn off computers when they are not being used. Closing the windows will also help save energy in winter.

Your new habits will soon become the old hat. This means that by doing them over and over again the habits will become part of what you do without even thinking about doing them. Our environment needs your effort (努力).

Some people think that they have an answer to the problems of traffic and pollution in large cities. Their answer is the bicycle or bike.

In a great many cities, hundreds of people ride bicycles to work every day. In New York City, some bike riders have even formed a group called "Bike for a Better City". They claimed that if more people rode bicycles to work there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown section of the city and therefore less dirty air from car engines.

For several years this group has been trying to get city government to help bicycle riders. For example, they want the city to paint special lanes (车道)—for bicycles only—on some of the main streets, because when bicycle riders must use the same lanes as cars, there may be more accidents. "Bike for a Better City" feels that if there were special lanes, more people would use bikes.

But no bicycle lanes have been painted yet. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea. Taxi drivers don't like the idea—they say it will slow traffic. Some store owners on the main streets don't like the idea—they say that if there is less traffic, they will have less business. And most people live too far from downtown to travel by bike.

The city government has not yet decided what to do. It wants to keep everyone happy. On weekends, Central Park—the largest open place in New York—is closed to cars, and the roads may be used by bicycles only. But "Bike for a Better City" says that this is not enough and keeps fighting to get bicycle lanes downtown. Until that happens, the safest place to bicycle may be in the park.