More companies and recyclers are taking steps to ensure that old electronic devices such as TVs and computers aren't sent to poor countries.

    The Basel Action Network, a Seattle-based non-profit that largely exposed the overseas discarding (丢弃) of US electronic waste, on Thursday launched a programme to use third-party employees to certify (证实) recyclers who don't export dangerous electronic waste.

    The so-called e-Steward recyclers will also agree not to discard the waste in US landfills and agree to meet other criteria. The certification is intended to provide companies and consumers with some assurance that the waste, which can include toxins (毒素) such as lead and mercury, is disposed of safely.

    The Government Accountability Office, in a 2008 report, declared that US electronic waste was often disposed of unsafely in such countries as India. There, workers recycle gold, silver and copper from the waste, often in open-air acid baths.

    The Basel Network also says it won assurances from 13 organizations, including Samsung, Bank of America, Wells Far-go, that they'll use e-Steward recyclers whenever possible. Wells Fargo had already been using recyclers who declared not to export. So far, Basel has certified three recyclers and seven sites.

    Before e-stewards, even, companies that wanted to avoid export of electronic waste had to “hope for the best”, when, they handed their waste to recyclers, says Robert Houghton, president of Ohio-based recycler Redemtech. It is an e-Steward that counts major companies among its customers. “Now, they can get some proof,” Houghton says.

    Basel's standards compete with another set launched in January. It was made by industry and backed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

    That standard, called R-2, doesn't ban the export of dangerous electronic waste but requires that it be handled safely. Instead of a ban, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries says, efforts should be made to help poor countries develop safe recycling.

    The production of coffee beans is a huge, profitable business, but, unfortunately, full-sun production is taking over the industry and bringing about a lot of damage. The change in how coffee is grown from shade-grown production to full-sun production endangers the very existence of, certain animals and birds, and even disturbs the world's ecological balance.

    On a local level, the damage of the forest required by full-sun fields affects the area's birds and animals. The shade of the forest trees provides a home for birds and other special(物种) that depend on the trees' flowers and fruits. Full-sun coffee growers destroy this forest home. As a result, many special are quickly dying out.

    On a more global level, the destruction of the rainforest for full-sun coffee fields also threatens(威胁)human life. Medical research often makes use of the forests' plant and animal life, and the destruction of such species could prevent researchers from finding cures for certain diseases. In addition, new coffee-growing techniques are poisoning the water locally, and eventually the world's groundwater.

    Both locally and globally, the continued spread of full-sun coffee plantations (种植园)could mean the destruction of the rainforest ecology. The loss of shade trees is already causing a slight change in the world's climate, and studies show that loss of oxygen-giving trees also leads to air pollution and global warming. Moreover, the new growing techniques are contributing to acidic(酸性的) soil conditions.

    It is obvious that the way much coffee is grown affects many aspects many aspects of life, from the local environment to the global ecology. But consumers do have a choice. They can purchase shade-grown coffee whenever possible, although at a higher cost. The future health of the planet and mankind is surely worth more than an inexpensive cup of coffee.

    It's always adventurous and romantic to visit an island country. Take a look at some breathtakingly beautiful island countries in the world, which everyone should visit at least once in his lifetime.

    Maldives

    It's believed that Maldives is one of the most popular honeymoon places as well as one of the most beautiful island countries. Situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Maldives is made up of a series of ancient coral reefs that grow up along the sides of ancient volcanoes, with fascinating beaches.

    Fiji

    Fiji has plenty of surprises for any adventurous travelers. It is famous for the world's best surf scenes, attracting many surfing lovers to ride the great waves. Well, if surfing is not for you and you love sitting on the beach and relaxing, hiking or seeing breathtaking waterfalls, Fiji is also a suitable island country to visit.

    Malta

    Malta, a beautiful southern European country in the Mediterranean Sea, has a rich history and culture. There are amazing sky-high cliffs to climb, wonderful temples to visit and lots of amazing places to go diving. There are plenty of interesting things to explore here and everyone can find something to enjoy. The historic part of Malta is shown in its architecture, great walled cities, and many underground tunnels.

    In the four months since I last posted articles on my blog, I've been spending a lot of time studying Chinese. I wanted to pass the HSK. From the beginning of my program, the HSK was the end goal of my Chinese learning this year. Luckily, I passed it and now I have one and a half months to go home and stay with my family.

It's really exciting to learn Chinese in an environment where I can study very fast. What's more, I can see my own progress in different ways. When I got here eight and a half months ago, I only knew a few of the 150 words tested in the HSK 1.However, until now, I've taken and passed the 2500­word HSK 5.

    I remember a time around January. I thought my Chinese had reached the point where I was comfortable in my day­to­day conversations. So my progress would slow down greatly. However, it turned out that I was totally wrong. The conversations I can have now far surpass(超过) the ones I was having in January.

    Today I hit a language­learning landmark(里程碑) that was particularly exciting for me: I finished reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Chinese. It might not seem that exciting, but it was for me because it's the first full book I've read in Chinese. And it's the third language I've read Harry Potter in. I'm especially proud because I spent about seven months reading the first 35 pages, but in the last month and a half, I managed to read about 150 pages. My next challenge is to read a novel written by a Chinese author, rather than one that I've already read many times in English!

    Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up my language­learning progress over the next month and a half, because I know I'll probably never have another opportunity to learn a language like this.

    Do you want to learn a new language？If you do, go to the country where people speak it and learn it from the locals.

We are what we eat. That is an old expression, but one worth knowing. A recent look at diets around the world shows that people who eat healthy food—and not too much of it—live longer. But which areas of the world have the best diets？Researchers found that foods in some of the healthiest diets—Mediterranean, New Nordic, Japanese and French—may be very different, but they are all heavy on local, seasonal and limit processed foods, which are high in vegetables and seafood and low in red meat.

Mediterranean diet contains lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and olive oil. The diet has proper amounts of fish and poultry (禽肉). Red meat and foods high in sugar and salt are not big parts of this diet.

New Nordic diet has whole grains like oats and rye, vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and eggs, seafood, fruits, oil, low­fat milk and cheese. Very sugary desserts are not common in this diet.

Japanese people are some of the longest­living people on the planet, with women up to 87 years old and men up to 80. The Japanese diet is the reason for such lengths of life. The diet has many foods that are low in calories and high in nutrients. Japanese people eat a lot of seaweed, tofu, rice, vegetables and fish. The tradition there is to stop eating when your stomach feels 80 percent full.

However, French people eat fatty foods but do not get fat. And they live a long time. This phenomenon is called the "French Paradox". The reason why the French eat fatty foods without getting fat may be simple. They eat less. Serving sizes in French restaurants and in products sold in stores are smaller than those in most countries. And generally speaking, most French people do not snack. This means they do not eat food between meals.

There's a useful concept from psychology that helps explain why good people do things that harm the environment: the false consensus effect. That's where we overvalue how acceptable and prevalent（普遍的） our own behavior is in society. Put simply, if you're doing something （even if you secretly know you probably shouldn't）, you're more likely to think plenty of other people do it too. What's more, you likely overestimate how much other people think that behavior is broadly OK.

This bias（偏见） allows people to justify socially unacceptable or illegal behaviors. Researchers have observed the false consensus effect in drug use and illegal hunting. More recently, conservationists are beginning to reveal how this effect contributes to environmental damage.

In Australia, people who admitted to poaching（偷猎） thought it was much more prevalent in society than it really was, and had higher estimates than fishers who obeyed the law. They also believed others viewed poaching as socially acceptable; however, in reality, more than 90% of fishers held the opposite view. The false consensus effect has also shown up in studies examining support for nuclear energy and offshore wind farms.

Just as concepts from psychology can help explain some forms of environmental damage, so too can they help address it. For example, research shows people are more likely to litter in areas where there's already a-lot of trash scattered around; so making sure the ground around a bin is not covered in rubbish may help.

Factual information on how other people think and behave can be very powerful. Energy companies have substantially reduced energy consumption simply by showing people how their electricity use compares to their neighbors. Encouragingly, stimulating people's natural desire for status has also been successful in getting people to "go green to be seen", or to publicly buy eco-friendly products.

As the research evidence shows, social norms can be a powerful force in encouraging and popularizing environmentally friendly behaviors. Perhaps you can do your bit by sharing this article!