怎樣步入“低碳生活”？

Combating climate change is going to take the combined efforts of everyone on the planet. Well， here’s how we can live a low-carbon life.

防止氣候變化需要地球上的每個人共同來努力。下面，我們來看看怎樣步入低碳生活。

1. Only turn the water heater on when necessary. Put a lid on a pan when boiling water.

熱水器不用就別開。燒水時在鍋上蓋上蓋子。

2. Only buy the amount of food you need. Ask to take food home from restaurants if there’s some left， but remember to take your own container to avoid using a disposable carton.

只買適量的食物。在餐廳吃飯，如有剩飯一定要打包。但是，切記要使用自己的飯盒，避免用一次性飯盒。

3. Find out what the recycling options are in your area. Then make sure you keep items such as paper and plastic bottles separate so that they can be recycled.

了解身邊的回收利用設施。然后，確保把紙張、塑料瓶等物品分開以方便回收。

4. Take showers rather than baths and reduce your shower time. This will save water and give you a few extra minutes in bed.

采用噴頭淋浴而非浴缸，縮短洗澡時間，省水的同時也為自己多爭取了幾分鐘的睡眠時間。

5. Each week， choose one day when you don’t eat meat. Meat uses up lots of energy because it takes a long time to produce.

每周有一天吃素。由于烹飪肉類耗時較長，所以耗能更多。

6. This is obvious， but essential： Switch off all appliances when you’re not using them. This includes lights.

這一點很明顯也很重要：不使用時，關掉所有電器，包括燈。

7. Look for reusable， recyclable items and remember to carry your reusable shopping bags！

使用可再用、可循環物品。記得使用可再用的購物袋。

8. The greediest home device along with the washing machine is the fridge. Make sure it’s as efficient as possible by keeping it out of direct sunlight and away from the oven or heater. Don’t put food in when it’s still warm.

和洗衣機一樣位列“最貪婪”家電的就是電冰箱了。電冰箱要避免太陽直射，遠離微波爐或火爐，盡量保證它的工作效率。另外，切記不要把熱的食物放進冰箱。

9. Conserve energy by using efficient light bulbs. They use about one-third of the energy of normal bulbs and last 10 times as long.

使用節能燈泡節省能源。它們的耗電量僅是普通燈泡的三分之一，持續時間卻是后者的10倍。

10. Only print things out when necessary， and print double-sided and reduce the margins.

取消不必要的打印工作，紙張兩面都可打印，盡量減少頁邊空白。

11. Take your own mug and cutlery to work. This saves throwing away disposable cups and containers—but that could be outweighed by washing your cutlery. So， pay attention to how you use water when washing your dishes.

在單位盡量使用自己的杯子和餐具。這能減少一次性杯子和餐具的廢棄量——但是，這就意味著洗餐具要消耗很多水。因此，洗餐具時要注意用水方法。

12. Food production eats up lots of energy. When you buy food， choose local items rather than imported ones， and get fresh vegetables instead of frozen.

食品生產耗能巨大。買食品時，請盡量選擇當地生產的食品而非進口食品，買新鮮蔬菜而不是冷凍食品。

13. When using the washing machine， be sure there’s a full load and turn the temperature down if it’s not really grubby.

使用洗衣機時，確認滿載，如果衣服不是很臟就把溫度調低。

14. All motorized travel is carbon-intensive. Buses and trains are better than cars， but walking or cycling is better still. It’s better for your health and also cheaper.

所有機動化的外出旅行都會產生二氧化碳。公共汽車和火車會比汽車好，但是步行和騎自行車更好。這不僅有益身心健康，還很便宜。

15. Find out about local groups that are committed to combating climate change. Stay informed， get involved， and spread the word.

了解當地致力于防備氣候變化的組織。多了解該方面信息，積極參與活動和傳播消息。

Vocabulary

combined adj. 聯合的

boil v. 煮沸，燒開

avoid v. 避免

disposable adj. 一次性的

recycling n. 回收利用

separate adj. 分開的

appliance n. 家用器械

efficient adj. 有效率的

conserve v. 節省

print v. 打印

import v. 進口

grubby adj. 骯臟的

motorized adj. 機動化的

involve v. 使參與

spread v. 傳播