如何步入低碳生活？-英语点津

Each and every one of us is responsible for the greenhouse gases we emit in our daily actions and choices. Therefore, combating climate change is going to take the combined efforts of everyone on the planet.

我们每个人都应该对自己每天的生活和选择所产生的温室气体负责。因此，防止气候变化需要地球上的每个人共同来努力。

The average household carbon footprint in China is 2.41 tons of carbon dioxide annually. That's enough to fill half an Olympic swimming pool.

在中国，平均每户每年的碳排放量是2.41吨二氧化碳。这足够填充半个奥运游泳池了。

Surprised? Well, here's how you can work to reduce it:

吃惊么？好吧，就让我们来看看减少碳排放量的方法吧。

1. Take showers rather than baths and reduce your shower time by two minutes. This will save water and give you an extra two minutes in bed.

建议采用喷头淋浴而非浴缸。缩短两分钟洗澡时间，省水同时为自己多争取两分钟睡眠时间。

2. Don't purchase unnecessary clothes, and be careful about the materials you buy. Wool and cotton fabrics have a really high greenhouse gas impact. Manmade fibers such as polyester are a better choice.

不要购买不需要的衣物，对衣物料子的选择要谨慎。羊毛和棉织品生产时排放的温室气体更多。人造纤维，例如伸缩尼龙就是个更好的选择。

3. There's no point having the heat up high while the wind's blowing in under the door or sneaking in through the window. Reseal all window frames to keep the heat in.

门底或窗户缝进风时，没必要提高室内温度。再密封一下窗户缝就可以留住热气了。

4. Try to buy high-quality, long-lasting products even though they may cost a little more. A laptop is more efficient than a desktop, and a small screen TV is better than a big flat-screen.

尽量买高质量，寿命长的商品，尽管这可能会有一点贵。笔记本电脑比台式电脑效率更高，小屏幕电视比宽屏电视要好。

5. Only turn the water heater on when necessary, and adjust temperature controls to avoid overheating. Put a lid on a pan when boiling water.

热水器不用就别开，控制温度不要过热。烧水时把壶盖盖好。

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

使用洗衣机时，确认满载，如果衣服不是很脏就把温度调低。

7. 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.

和洗衣机一样位列“最贪婪”家电的就是电冰箱了。电冰箱要避免太阳直射，远离微波炉或加热器，尽量保证它的工作效率。另外，切记不要把热的食物放进冰箱。

8. This is obvious, but essential: switch off all appliances when you're not using them. This includes lights.

这一点很明显也很重要：不使用时，关掉所有电器，包括灯。

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.

使用节能灯泡节省能源。它们的耗电量仅是普通灯泡的三分之一，持续时间却是后者的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，纸张两面都可打印，尽量减少页边空白。

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.

在单位尽量使用自己的杯子和餐具。这能减少一次性杯子和餐具的废弃量——但是，这就意味着洗餐具要消耗很多水。因此，洗餐具时要注意用水方法。

12. 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. There are places where you can recycle electronic appliances and batteries. Make sure you find them.

了解身边的回收利用设施。然后，确保把纸张、塑料瓶等物品分开以方便回收。也有回收电器、电池的地方，确保你能找到它们。

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

使用可再用、可循环、可降解物品。记得使用可再用的购物袋。

14. 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。由于烹饪肉类耗时较长，所以耗能更多。

15. Only buy the amount of food you need and if there are leftovers, get creative. For instance, make them into a soup. 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.

只买适量的食物，如有剩饭要富有创新精神。例如：将剩菜做成汤。在餐厅吃饭，如有剩饭一定要打包。但切记要适用自己的饭盒，避免用一次性饭盒。

16. Food production eats up lots of energy. When you buy food, go local rather than imported, and get fresh vegetables instead of frozen.

食品生产耗能巨大。买食品时，请尽量选择当地食品而非进口食品，买新鲜蔬菜而不是冷冻食品。