In the past, man did not have to think about the protection of his environment. There were not many people on earth, and natural resources (资源) seemed to be unlimited (无限的).

Today, things are different. The world has become too crowded (拥挤的). We are using up our natural resources too quickly, and at the same time we are polluting our environment with dangerous chemicals. If we continue like this, human life on earth will not survive.

Everyone realizes today that if too many fish are taken from the sea, there will soon be none left. Yet, with modern fishing methods (方法), more and more fish are caught. We know that if too many trees are cut down, forests will disappear and nothing will grow on the land.

We realize that if rivers are polluted with waste products from factories, we will die. However, in most countries, waste products are still put into rivers or into the sea, and there are few laws to stop this.

We know, too, that if the population (人口) of the world continues to rise at the present rate, in a few years, there will not be enough food.

What can we do to solve these problems?

If we eat more vegetables and less meat, we will easily get more food. Land that is used to grow crops can feed five times more people that land where animals are kept. The world population will not rise so quickly if people use modern methods of birth control. Finally, if we educate people to think about the problems, we shall have a better and cleaner living place in the future.

Planting trees to stop storms

Fourteen years ago, President Xi Jinping said “clear waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets (绿水青山就是金山银山)”. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the central government has placed great importance on environmental protection. Great achievements have been made in this area in recent decades through strong measures (措施).

Fighting desertification 荒漠化防治

Desertification has been a major challenge for China. In the early 21st century, many parts of the country, including Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia, were affected by sandstorms.

During a sandstorm, large amounts of sand are blown into the air by strong winds. They usually happen in deserts. They can do great harm to plants, animals and buildings.

In recent years, the government has tried to prevent (防止) deserts from growing in size and bringing more sandstorms. Planting trees has played an important role. China’s total forest coverage (覆盖率) rose from 12 percent in the 1980s to 22.96 percent last year. The total desert coverage has been reduced by an average of 2,424 square kilometers every year. That’s as big as 340,000 soccer fields.

One example of this is the Mu Us Desert (毛乌素沙漠), one of China’s four major deserts. One-quarter of the desert has been turned into forest.

Air pollution control 治理空气污染

China has improved its air quality in recent years as efforts (努力) to control air pollution take effect.

Back in January 2013, thick smog (雾霾) covered a total area of 2.7 million square kilometers in cities around China.

To solve this problem, the government rolled out a series of measures to control air pollution, particularly in three major regions: the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster, the Yangtze River Delta and the Fenhe-Weihe River Plain.

Beijing has made many efforts to fight air pollution, such as by promoting (推广) clean energy, monitoring emissions (监控排放) from factories, and encouraging the use of new-energy vehicles instead of gas-powered cars.