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Climate change and a low-carbon life There is no doubt that the world climate has been changing in recent years. Many people blame this change on gases such as carbon dioxide. Animals and humans produce carbon dioxide when they breathe. However, many other human activities also let off carbon gases. Anytime something is burnt, carbon is put into the atmosphere. Cars and other vehicles burn petrol in their engines, and electrical power plants most often burns fuels such as coal and oil in order to produce electricity. Therefore, the more petrol and electricity we consume, the more carbon we are letting off. One thing we can all do to help solve this problem is to walk or use a bicycle when possible. Although we produce carbon when we breathe, the carbon we produce is much less than that produced by a car. Of course, there are times when we need to travel long distances. In this case, public transport such as buses and the underground are always much better choices than a private car or a taxi. If you must drive a car, it is never good to travel alone--you should try to find other people to travel with you. At home, you should use as little energy as possible. Turn off the lights and anything else electrical when not in use. Since factories use a lot of energy and also let off carbon gases, it is important to recycle as much as possible. In particular, metal products and paper products require a lot of energy to produce, so you should find ways to use these again without throwing them away. Last but not least, you can plant a tree, because trees absorb the carbon dioxide in the air to produce oxygen. Planting a small tree is cheap and easy, and two decades from now, when you look at what will have become a large tree, you will find a sense of satisfaction knowing that you did your part to help solve the problem of climate change. 气候变化与低碳生活 毫无疑问，近年来世界气候一直都在变化着。 很多人把这种变化归咎于诸如二氧化碳的气体。 动物和人类在呼吸时会释放二氧化碳。 然而，很多其他的人类活动也会释放出碳气体。 无论什么时候何时燃烧物品，碳都会被释放到大气层。 汽车和其他交通工具的发动机燃烧汽油，电力型的工厂经常燃烧煤和油等燃料来发电。 因此，我们消耗越多的汽油和电，释放的碳也就越多。 想要解决这个问题，我们都可以做到的一件事就是尽可能的步行或骑自行车。 尽管我们呼吸时释放碳，但我们释放的碳量远不及一辆汽车所产生的含量。 当然，有时候我们需要走很长的距离。 遇到这样的情况，可以选择公共交通，比如公共汽车和地铁，这比选择私家车或打车好得多。 如果必须要开车的话，最好还是不要独自旅行—你应该找其他人一起旅游。 在家里，你应该尽可能少地使用能源。 关掉电灯和其他不使用的电器。 由于工厂耗费了大量的能源，释放了碳气体。所以尽力回收是很重要的事情。 特别指出，金属制品和纸产品需要大量的能源来生产，所以你应该寻找再利用这些东西的方式，而不是将它们扔掉。 最后一项要点是，你可以种一棵树，因为树会吸收空气中二氧化碳并产生氧气。 种植一棵小树成本低也很简单，但二十年之后，当你看到它长成大树时， 你会有一种满足感，因为你知道自己为帮助解决气候变化问题尽了一份力。 |
