Australia's koalas could die out within 30 years unless immediate action is taken to stop the losing in population, according to researchers. They say development, climate change and bushfires have all combined to reduce the number of wild koalas sharply.

    The Australian Koala Foundation said a recent survey showed the population could have dropped by more than half in the past six years. The number of koalas was once estimated to be more than 100,000, but now is as few as 43,000.

    The foundation collected field data from 1,800 sites and 80,000 trees to calculate the numbers. In one area in northern Queensland estimated to have 20,000 koalas a decade ago, a team of eight people could not find a single animal in four days of searching.

    The foundation said besides problems caused by cutting down forests, hotter and drier conditions because of global warming had reduced the nutritional value of their main food, eucalyptus (桉树) leaves, leading to poor nutrition for them. Koalas, which live in the forests in Australia's east and south, are very picky about what types of the leaves they eat.

    Foundation chief Deborah Tabart said: “The koalas are missing everywhere we look. It's really no tree, no me. If you keep cutting down trees you don't have any koalas.”She is hoping the new figures will persuade the government's Threatened Species Steering Committee (TSSC) to list the koala as threatened. But committee chairman Bob Beeton said a decision was not likely recently and the koala's status as one of the country's favorite animals would not be a factor. “There's a number of species which are attractive and people have special feelings towards them. We don't consider that,” Mr Beeton said.

    Going green seems to be fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days.Whether that is good or bad，we can't really say, but for the two of us，going green is not a fad but a lifestyle．

    On April22nd，2011，We decided to go green every single day for an entire year．This meant doing 365 different green things，and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond easy things．Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green  things to do and this was no easy task．

    With the idea of going green every single day for a year .Our Green Year started．My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment．We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps．

    Over the course of our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyle．We now shop at organic(有机的) stores．We consume less meat, choosing green food．We have greatly reduced our buying we don't need．We have away half of what we owned through websites．Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made flesh bread .In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished．

    Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year．We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others .We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet．

    You may think there are no differences between British and American people. After all, they speak the same language, don't they? If you ask a British or an American person, he will probably tell you that there are differences. And the differences are quite great.

    What do British people think American people are like? The British think American people are very strange. They make a lot of noise and they laugh too loudly. They are rich, and they only think about money. But the British do say that American people are kind friendly people. They're happy to help you if you are in trouble.

    What do Americans think of the British? Well, they think the British are cold and very unfriendly. They are not interested in success or in making lots of money. They think British is the best country in the world. They look down on other countries. But Americans say that the British are quite hard workers. They are brave and honest. And in time of trouble they face difficulties happily.

    You can see that these ideas can cause misunderstanding between the British and Americans. But when American and British people become friends, they usually find things are not as bad as they expected.

    How are you and your family going to celebrate Earth Day? It's a great day to get outside and ride a bike, but there are other ways you could spend the day. Here are four books. You can learn more about the earth and the animals that make the world a special place to live in.

    The Busy Beaver, by Nicholas Oldland

    Beaver is very, very busy, and he doesn't always think carefully. As a result, he makes a mess of the forest and ends up in hospital. Finally, he realizes how careless he's been and decides to make things right when he returns to the forest.

    Lessons from Mother Earth, by Elaine Mcleod

    Five-year-old Tess is visiting her grandmother and, for the first time, she visits the garden. Along the way, Tess's grandmother tells her the rules of the garden, "You must always take good care of our garden. Never throw rubbish around. There is plenty for everyone to share if we don't destroy the soil." The story is beautifully told as a caring conversation between a child and her grandmother.

    Luz Sees the Light, by Claudia Davila

    When Luz's community(社区) experiences a series of black-outs(停电), she quickly comes to understand the need to save energy and find other ways of doing things. With the help of her friends and neighbors, she creates a community garden and park that everyone can use. The book attracts many young readers.

    The Lorax, by Dr Seuss

    A young boy learns of the role of the Lorax as protector(保护者) of the trees, and how his home became polluted. The book contains memorable forestry conservation (森林保护).

    Two of the saddest words in the English language are "if only". I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

    My father is famous in our family for saying, "Take the extra minute to do it right." I always try to live by the "extra minute" rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an "if only" moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp comers of a glass coffee table.

    I don't only avoid those "if only" moments when it comes to safety. It's equally important to avoid "if only" in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say "I love you" or "I forgive you." When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn't be here. But then I thought about the fact that he's 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn't give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

    I know there will still be occasions when I have to say "if only" about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I'm doing the right thing. I'm buying myself peace of mind and that's the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.

    When the telephone rings late at night, most women guess it must be one of only four or five people calling. A sister? Maybe. An emergency? Possibly. A mother? Probably not at that time of night. Much more probably it is a close female friend calling to tell you that she has split up with her boyfriend again or perhaps simply that a good movie has just started on TV.

    At a time when families are spread far and wide and marriages often end in divorce, friendships are becoming more and more important. Erika, a 32-year-old lawyer, is strengthened by her ten-year friendship with her married friend Jane. “I was very sick one night, so I called Jane at about 3:00 a.m. to talk about it,” she says. “She was very supportive and even came over to take me to the doctor's the next morning.”

    As American TV shows like Friends, which follows the lives of a very close group of young friends, have become more popular, many of us are beginning to see the value of such friendships. TV shows like this tell us that our romantic relationships may not last, but we need to keep in touch with our close friends if we want to survive.

A TV show called Real Women is about the lives and relationships of five former school friends. In this show, family, husbands, and work are all less important than friendships. One of its actresses says the show reflects her own experience. “Friendship is about commitment. I don't see some of my friends for ages but when we get together, it is as if time hasn't passed.”

    This is true of Erika and Jane's friendship. With Erika's family 200 miles away, it is Jane who keeps a spare set of keys to Erika's apartment and waters her plants whenever she is away. “Having Jane around gives me a certain amount of freedom. It is not the kind of thing that you could ask anyone to do, but she knows I would do the same for her.” Erika feels that because she no longer sees her family every day, she now enjoys a closer relationship with her best friend. Jane, who may move to a different city soon, is worried about leaving such a support system of friends. “My friends have more to do with my life than my parents and, therefore, I don't have to spend a lot of time explaining things to them. Friends are more up to date with what is happening.”