H&M to charge for plastic bags

Fashion giant H&M will soon start charging customers in Singapore 10 cents for each plastic or paper bag as part of a new initiative to reduce waste.

The move, which takes effect at all H&M stores from next Thursday (July 25), is part of a packaging strategy to reduce plastic use in the long run, said the Swedish retailer in a press release on Monday (July 15).

All proceeds collected from the shopping bag charge will be donated to WWF Singapore’s Plastic ACTion (PACT) initiative, which is an industry-wide initiative to reduce plastic use by 2030.

Under PACT, proceeds from H&M’s shopping bag charge will go towards innovations to find sustainable alternative materials, research into plastic pollution and conservation projects.

Shoppers who patronise the fashion giant have welcomed the move against plastic use.

Graphic designer Audrey Ng, 25, who shops at H&M every other month, said she does not mind paying for a bag.

“If I really needed a bag, then why not pay for it? It’s 10 cents, which is not expensive and the money also goes to a good cause.”

Ms Ng added that the charge would also cause shoppers to determine if they really needed a bag before accepting one.

Civil servant Ginny Goh, 44, said that while she does not think plastic bags should be banned entirely, charging for them is the right move.

“I think all single-use bags should be chargeable. We need to drastically cut down on their use and the only way is to charge. This way, people will only take what they need.”

Ms Goh’s two teenage daughters also shop at H&M and she regularly encourages them to bring their own bags.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal to charge for bags. People will get used to it. In many other countries, bags are already chargeable everywhere, in the shops and in the supermarkets.”

H&M has already rolled out charges for shopping bags in other countries including Sweden, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Japan and Switzerland.

H&M is not the first company in Singapore to charge for shopping bags.

In October last year, the Cotton On Group embarked on a similar programme to phase out plastic shopping bags from all its stores worldwide, including in Singapore. The fashion chain now provides shoppers with recyclable paper bags which cost 10 cents each.

Cosmetics and skincare company The Body Shop stopped providing plastic bags in January 2018, and it also charges 10 cents for each recyclable paper bag.   

Lifestyle brand Miniso and clothing chain Bossini have also been charging 10 cents for a bag since 2017 and 2012 respectively.

Swedish furniture giant Ikea started charging for plastic bags in 2007 before phasing them out in 2013. Today, shoppers must bring their own bags or buy a reusable polypropylene bag at 90 cents each.

Asked about customer reaction to the zero plastic bag policy, the head of sustainability for Ikea South-east Asia, Ms Soh Bee Lian, said there was almost no negative reaction.

“We believe that Singaporeans want to do what they can for the environment,” she said.

Speaking about H&M’s initiative, the company’s country manager for South-east Asia, Mr Fredrik Famm, said: “To create a more sustainable fashion future, we need to take the lead by tackling some of the most significant challenges that are facing our planet and society.”

WWF Singapore chief executive officer  Maureen DeRooij said that H&M’s move comes at a crucial time when bold action is needed to change how plastics are produced, used and disposed off.

“A bag charge, proven to be effective in reducing plastic use, is a crucial step that retail businesses can take to stop plastic pollution,” she said.

Source: The Straits Times

王者归来

在山的那边，海的那边
住着一群神仙小企鹅

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维多利亚南部海域，
有一座美丽的岛屿，菲利普岛。

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海浪拍打着岩石，
冲洗掉了都市所有喧嚣和浮躁。

在岛西南面的萨摩兰海滩，栖息着一群神奇的小精灵，世界上最小的，身长大约30公分的神仙小企鹅。
它们总是天未明便出海，游到离岸一、二百公里的深海觅食。日落后，不管何时出海的企鹅，返回小岛的时间却像人为计时一样准确无误，整齐有序地归巢，一个方阵刚离开沙滩，另一个方阵又排列起来，蔚为奇观。

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更令人惊叹的是，即使在伸手不见五指的黑夜，他们总是能循着固定的路线回到自己的巢穴里。就这样日复一日、年复一年的在夕阳暮色时分上演着结伴归巢的壮观一幕，延续了几千年。

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菲利普岛自然公园是联合国教科文组织生物圈保护区之一，这里栖息着种类繁多的海鸟以及众多珍稀的野生动物。

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夕阳西下，南太平洋上的海面被晚霞渲染成一片橘红色。慕名而来的游客们在木质的栈道上，迎着凛冽的寒风，屏住呼吸，无比期待眼前就要出现的奇迹。

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人们难以抑制激动兴奋的心情，翘首眺望。
哦！远处的海面那些是什么？

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一个个圆圆的黑色小点点出现了。渐渐地，看清楚了！那是一群小企鹅！它们排着整齐的队伍，摇摇摆摆地上岸了。太神奇了！人们静静地看着一对对小企鹅在眼前秩序井然地走过。这难道是上演一场企鹅阅兵式吗？

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企鹅夫妇会恩爱一生，它们齐心协力，共同抗击风雨，勇敢地生活。每一个家庭成员都是最重要的，在归巢的途中，小企鹅们会耐心地等待那些掉队的同伴，不离不弃，直到重聚在一起再继续赶路。

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小企鹅是菲利普岛上最重要的自然瑰宝。从上个世纪50年代起，岛上就成立了大型企鹅保护区，通过各种举措，全面保护小企鹅以及它们的生存环境。

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所有见证过菲利普岛企鹅归巢的旅人们，无不为之震撼，感慨大自然无私的恩予。这么弱小的生命，却如此的友爱互助！这么弱小的生命，却能在惊涛骇浪中泰然自若，世世代代的繁衍生息！

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生命意志的坚韧和顽强，它们之间的真情友爱，深深地撞击着我们的心灵。在这无限感动之余，更加坚定了我们的信念，让我们担负起使命和责任，同心来保护好每一个生命奇迹吧！

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R生活 – Review 温故知新

前事不忘，后事之师。温故知新对知识、情感以及社会的重要意义就是从温故中做出深刻的判断，在知新中有潜心的思考。明史为鉴，古为今用，取其精华，去其糟粕。

REVIEW01

同一种事物，在不同的时期，不同的情景，给人的启迪是不一样的。温故知新，是比较和鉴别事物最好的方式。要从不断的温习中累积经验，时刻做好充足的准备，才能处变不惊，做到即来之则安之，一切尽在掌握之中。

REVIEW02

有自觉进取意识的人每日都会自我反省，总结一天中的所思所行来获得新知和启迪。每天都会塑造一个全新的自己。

REVIEW03

我们可以借鉴别人的成功经验，再通过主观能动的思考、提炼和总结，设计出更精彩的人生蓝图。

REVIEW04

温故知新就是永不停息的自我进化过程。要沉下心来，先知史、知过、知己、再修身、修行、修意，把自己不断地带到更新、更高的水平，永远追求卓越。

J.O.E 带你去旅行

今天我们一起去南太平洋的一座美丽岛屿，库克群岛的艾图塔基。

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这里碧海蓝天、阳光明媚、安谧祥和、海风轻拂、椰影婆娑。轻踩着细软白沙，迎着温润的海风，聆听涛声阵阵，无与伦比的自然之美，海滨的万种风情美轮美奂。五彩斑斓的海水浪漫迷人，无论浮潜至净透的水下，欣赏海底千姿百态的珊瑚奇观，还是在海边击水逐浪，卧波纳凉，都会让你心旷神怡。热带原生态的自然风光能满足你对世外桃源的一切美好想象。

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艾图塔基拥有令世人惊艳的潟湖，色彩纷呈。岛上植物繁盛，处处奇珍异草，生态环境令人赞叹称奇，是真正人与自然和谐共生的家园。甚至可以看到大批的鲸鱼出没在这片海域。

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这里的人们精神富足、简朴纯真。
木质的房屋四周鲜花锦簇，
香蕉、杨桃、木瓜、
番石榴在绿林中掩映生姿，
椰子更是天然的装饰品。

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佩戴艾图塔基的素馨花是这里的风俗。据说，鲜花戴在右侧表示未婚，戴在左侧表示已婚。在这里不妨入乡随俗，乔装打扮一番自己。

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大海就是艾图塔基人的家园，所以，他们深爱着这片海洋。对于远离陆地岛屿来说，环境和生态保护就是生命。岛上各处张贴着环保标识，矗立着醒目的Keep Aitutaki Clean。

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Aitutaki Marine Research Center 是岛上一家20多年的非盈利环保机构，承担着保护全岛水生动植物的职责。他们为来这里的游客普及海洋和环保知识。

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当我们在感悟和体验世外桃源式的美好生活、享受大自然的瑰丽带给内心安宁的时候，更要懂得珍视和爱惜生活中所有来之不易的一切！

乘帆船在南太平洋破浪前行
被椰林夕照美景所震慑
与海鸟、珊瑚、鲸鱼近距离接触
在旅程的终点深深地意识到
只有保护这片海洋
人间才有世外桃源！

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面对气候变化 新加坡以长远规划加强应对措施

气候变化带来的威胁迫在眉睫，全球若不采取行动，继续对当前温室气体排放情况置之不理，新加坡到了2100年将面对更炎热天气、海平面上升问题，以及南极冰架倒塌带来的强大破坏力。

联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会将在2022年发布第六次评估报告，我国已经准备检讨规划范围，将报告中的新预测纳入考量，以更好地应对气候变化带来的影响。

国务资政张志贤星期四（7月4日）在蚬壳石油公司举办的”共创未来”论坛上致辞时，详述我国在应对气候变化所做的方方面面准备，包括减排、促进与利益相关者的合作，以及加强我国面对气候变化的抵御能力。

也是国家安全统筹部长的张志贤说，我国资源有限，早在1960年代发展初期，气候变化仍未成为关注点之前，已经致力于打造一个绿色环境，而这份长期规划理念一直不变。

新加坡目前应对气候变化所采取的对策，是参考了新加坡气候研究中心所进行的第二份全国气候变化调查。这份调查是以联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会2014年发布的第五次评估报告预测为依据，从而为新加坡制定对策。

张志贤指出，如果全球各国不采取行动应对当前温室气体排放情况，到了2100年，我国可能面对平均每日气温比1980年至2009年间，上升4.6摄氏度的情况，而到时的全球海平面相比于1986年至2005年间，将上升达一公尺。

到时的这个情景还未将南极冰架倒塌可能带来的冲击纳入考量，而它所带来的影响一直备受全球科学家关注。不少外国媒体去年底也报道了南极冰架倒塌恐引发全球大规模水患等隐忧。

新加坡在这方面早已未雨绸缪，采取行动，包括在2011年已把新填海土地的最低填海水平调高一公尺，而未来的大型基础建设如樟宜机场第五搭客大厦和大士码头也都会建在更高平台。同时，政府也在探讨需要进一步采取哪些填海、建造防波堤（sea wall）等措施，更好地保护我国沿岸地带。

张志贤说：”这些是我国必须做出的重大投资，以保障我们的未来，应对未来几十年海平面上升所带来的影响。”政府会谨慎探讨各项措施的成本效益（cost-benefit）。

此外，新加坡也正在透过让资源来源更多元化和自给自足能力的加强，来强化我国气候变化应对能力。

张志贤说：”在我们加强韧性的同时，也会积极帮助企业将挑战转变为机遇，建造绿色建筑与研发节能科技，推动节能节水及节省土地的城市耕作”

例如，吉宝岸外与海事正在与本地研究机构合作设计可抵抗北极海洋与冰川情况的钻探平台（rig）和其他岸外设施。新科工程最近也获颁合同，为美国海岸卫队设计和建造能穿越极地冰区的新重型破冰船。

另一方面，蚬壳石油公司也在”共创未来”论坛上宣布于本地设立旗下首个全球城市解决方案生活实验室。

蚬壳石油公司将与政府、私人企业和各地社群紧密合作推动创新概念与先进科技，改善能源与资源的使用方式，朝更节能减碳的未来迈进。

张志贤说：”气候变化无疑是我们现在面对的最棘手全球挑战之一。我们现在就须要采取行动减低碳排放量并培养应变能力，以在这个世纪末和更长远的未来保护好我们自己。”

SINGAPORE – As a small, low-lying island state, Singapore will continue to take preventive action against the impact of climate change, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Thursday (July 4).

Mr Teo drew attention in particular to the Republic’s efforts in going low-carbon and managing rising sea levels in a speech at the sixth Asian edition of the Shell Powering Progress Together forum.

Singapore raised the minimum level for newly reclaimed land by 1m in 2011, a move that preceded the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) most recent report in 2014 by three years.

The report projected that global sea levels – relative to Singapore’s sea levels from 1986 to 2005 – will rise 1m by 2100 if the world’s current carbon emission trajectory remains unchanged.

But sea waters could potentially rise even further, Mr Teo noted, as the report did not factor in the impact from the possible collapse of melting Antarctica ice shelves.

“We are currently studying what further measures we need to take, such as reclamation, sea walls or pumping stations, to better protect our coastal areas,” said Mr Teo, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security.

“By planning early, we can phase in the necessary measures so that the cost can be spread out over many years.”

For example, the new mega-port at Tuas Terminal and Changi Airport Terminal 5 will be built 1m and 1.5m above the minimum level required respectively.

The focus of this year’s forum was on sustainable energy use in future cities. At the forum, Shell launched its first global City Solutions Living Lab, to be located here.

A multidisciplinary team will develop technological solutions aimed at helping cities move people and goods with lower emissions and switch to cleaner energy options, while working together with city authorities.

Shell said it chose to base the lab in Singapore due to the city-state’s active push for energy transition and sustainability, its pro-business environment and Shell’s longstanding presence here, going back to 1891.

Singapore’s commitment to a green environment dates back to the 1960s and going low-carbon is an extension of that, said Mr Teo.

Singapore introduced a carbon tax earlier this year and is investing in infrastructure for more electric vehicles to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.

The tax, currently set at $5 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions in carbon dioxide equivalent, will be reviewed in 2023 with a view to increasing it to between $10 and $15 by 2030.

Mr Teo added that Singapore is happy to work with businesses like Shell who have adopted significant measures to reduce their carbon footprint.

“Businesses need to transform their business models for a world that demands corporate climate responsibility, and take advantage of the opportunities that this offers,” he said.

Source: Zaobao / The Straits Times

四品牌八超市将设捐赠箱 推广自备及再循环购物袋

本地四大连锁超市首次与非政府组织“零废新加坡”合作，从本月至10月展开全国“自备购物袋”活动，并在八间超市设置环保袋捐赠箱，让居民捐出干净且可循环使用的多余购物袋。

职总平价合作社（FairPrice）、冷藏公司（Cold Storage）、百美（Prime）和昇菘（Sheng Siong）将在旗下八间超市举行48场路演与推广活动，届时除了将收集到的环保袋分发给没有自备袋子的消费者，还会随机给予自备环保袋购物的人士奖励，希望能向逾120万名消费者宣导环保信息，减低对塑料袋的依赖。

这八间超市分别是：嘉龙威购物广场（Kallang Wave Mall）的职总霸级超市、职总平价城市广场（City Square Mall）超市、冷藏公司启汇城（Fusionpolis）超市、冷藏公司勘宝坊（Compass One）超市、百美阿裕尼上段裕盛超市、百美裕廊西75街超市、昇松金文泰西2街超市和昇菘武吉班让Junction 10超市。

八间超市的收银员都将佩戴“BYOB”徽章，也会有意识地询问顾客是否需要塑料袋，以提醒与推动客户自备购物袋（Bring Your Own Bag，简称BYOB）。

环境及水源部兼卫生部高级政务部长许连碹博士星期三（7月3日）在嘉龙威购物广场职总霸级超市举行的启动仪式上，引述新加坡环境理事会最近公布的一项调查称，本地居民每年从超市索取8.2亿个塑料袋，相等于每人每次取走三个袋子。她认为尽管许多人用这些塑料袋装垃圾，但拿取的数量已超所需。

零废新加坡（Zero Waste Singapore）经理白海琳受访时说，活动目的不是要禁用塑料袋，而是从塑料袋取用量最大的超市着手，希望减少国人过量使用的习惯。

她表示：“一些国人习惯用完塑料制品随手就扔……我们通过收集反馈和观察发现，许多人在家有多余且不常使用的环保袋。与其制造更多环保袋，我们希望利用现有资源再循环，鼓励社区内的重复使用。”

“自备购物袋”的倡议引发现场公众讨论。居民黄惠莲（76岁，退休者）从八年前就习惯在外出购物前自备环保袋。她认为捐赠箱的设立，有利于促进资源合理再分配。“我家有很多多余的环保袋没地方收，正好能捐出。”

另一名受访退休人士杨大卫（67岁）则认为捐赠环保袋并不实际。“消费者能自备袋子就偷笑了，还要他们特地捐更多出来？我觉得它不会起作用。”

公众：对塑料袋收费能有效降低使用量

从吉隆坡来新探亲的廖定妹（72岁，退休者）分享，促使公众自备购物袋的最佳做法是超市对塑料袋收费。

“我之前完全没有自备袋子的习惯。自从吉隆坡的超市今年3月起对每个塑料袋收2角钱后，包括我在内的全城市民都很记得去到哪里都要带袋子。”

Forgotten reusable bags collecting dust around the home can now be put to good use and help save the earth.

From Wednesday (July 3), members of the public can drop their unused reusable bags into a donation bin at eight supermarket outlets – two each from FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Cold Storage and Prime Supermarket.

Local environmental group Zero Waste SG (ZWSG), which is behind the initiative, will then collect the bags and ensure they are in good condition before redistributing them to random shoppers at each of the selected outlets. This will happen every two to four weeks from now till October.

“Singapore has a ‘use and throw’ culture. We want to reduce the country’s excessive usage of plastic bags and cultivate a habit of using reusable bags when shopping,” said ZWSG manager Pek Hai Lin at the launch of the initiative, held at FairPrice Xtra Kallang Wave Mall on Wednesday.

Some 820 million plastic bags are taken from supermarkets here every year, a recent study by the Singapore Environment Council found.

Ms Pek said that most plastic bags do not get recycled, as it is not profitable for recycling plants. Instead they get incinerated, a process that increases carbon emissions and contributes to global warming.

When shoppers use a reusable bag for a year, it is estimated that they save 125 single-use plastic bags, according to study commissioned by the National Environment Agency.

“Though the initiative is a good step to encourage the use of reusable bags, this alone is not enough,” said retiree Narayanan S.R, who was shopping at Kallang Wave Mall’s FairPrice Xtra.

The reusable bag sharing stations are placed at the Sheng Siong and FairPrice supermarkets at Khatib Central.

The Indian national said that he uses cloth bags made from coir, the fibre from coconut outer husks, to dispose of his garbage as an alternative to using plastic bags.

“It is the mindset of the population that they are entitled to using plastic bags which needs to be changed,” said the 70-year old.

But fellow shopper Mr Yang, who declined to give his full name, thinks that the initiative will not be effective.

The 67-year-old retiree said: “Everyone already has a reusable bag somewhere at home, and will still need to use plastic bags eventually.

“I try to take at least 10 plastic bags when I go grocery shopping, because what else am I going to use to dispose of my garbage at home?”

The participating outlets are: FairPrice City Square Mall and Kallang Wave Mall, Sheng Siong at Clementi West Block 720 and Junction 10, Cold Storage Compass One and Fusionopolis Way, and the Prime Supermarkets in Joo Seng and Jurong West Street 75.

Source: Zaobao / The Straits Times

科学家警告：南极洲海冰面积缩至40年新低

研究指出，南极洲海冰面积在数十年来不停扩大，原因不明后，在仅仅数年内消融的面积是法国的4倍多，如今海冰面积创新低。

在1979至2014年间，科学家观察到一个有趣且令人松口气的现象，那就是南极洲海冰面积正在扩大。

但美国国家航空暨太空总署（NASA）气候学家巴金生（Claire Parkinson）表示，自2014至2017年，南极融化的海冰几乎与北极一样多，面积缩水至近40年来新低。

南极洲海冰面积自1280万平方公里缩减了200万平方公里，但原因仍不清楚。

巴金生表示：“南极洲海冰面积在2014年创下40年新高，到2017年一路缩水至40年新低。”巴金生的研究结果发表于“美国国家科学院学报”（PNAS）。

研究团队分析了这段期间美国国家航空暨太空总署和军方卫星的微波测量，以建立至今关于海冰面积的最精确描绘，但仅为涵盖面积，而非冰层厚度。

南极洲先前面积扩大及当前缩减的原因都仍不清楚。

WASHINGTON (AFP) – After mysteriously expanding for decades, Antarctica’s sea ice cover melted by an area four times greater than France in just a few years and now stands at a record low, according to a study published on Monday (July 1).

Scientists already knew Antarctica was thawing at an increasing rate, like the Arctic, because of accelerating discharge from glaciers, the rivers of ice that push up slowly against the shore.

But between 1979 and 2014, they observed a phenomenon that was both intriguing and reassuring: the sea ice cover was expanding.

From 2014 to 2017, however, “the Antarctic lost almost as much as the Arctic” over almost 40 years, NASA climatologist Claire Parkinson told Agence France-Presse, and the trend has continued ever since.

From a peak area of 12.8 million square kilometres, the sea ice cover receded two million square kilometers for reasons that remain unknown.

“It went from its 40-year high in 2014, all the way down in 2017 to its 40-year low,” said Parkinson, whose findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The team analysed microwave measurements from NASA and military satellites over the period to build up the most precise picture to date of the historic sea ice cover, measuring only area but not thickness.

Neither the reason for the earlier expansion nor the current decline are well understood.

Competing hypotheses exist, pinning the changes on everything from the hole in the ozone layer to shifting winds and ocean currents, but it’s far from clear cut.

“None of the hypotheses are good in my opinion,” said Douglas Martinson, an oceanographer from Columbia University, one of the paper’s peer reviewers.

But he cautioned against trying to apply findings from the Arctic to the Antarctic, saying it would be “like comparing apples to army trucks.”

The Arctic is an ocean surrounded by land, while Antarctica is a continent surrounded by oceans, where icebergs are less constrained.

While parts of western Antarctica are warming, the continent remains the coldest place on Earth, as well as its largest source of freshwater.

Its mountains are covered in ice are capable of raising the level of the oceans by 57 meters, according to a 2013 study.

Chris Rapley, a climate scientist from the University College of London, said the previous gains did not in any way undermine the thesis of global warming.

“It simply demonstrates that in a complex, interconnected system, counter-intuitive outcomes can occur – at least for a while.

“We have a tendency to seek simplistic explanations of cause and effect, when in reality the situation is much more complicated and nuanced.”

Source: Zaobao / The Straits Times

R生活 – Result 结果

你必须要埋下一颗正确的种子，通过每一步的精心培育和辛勤汗水的浇灌，才能换来开花结果。任何成功的结果都源于积极的行动。

RESULT01

生活和工作中，如果没有好的结果，要么是方向和方法不对，要么是努力不够。不能耗费了时间、精力、物力和财力，虚度了光阴和生命。

RESULT02

越是全力付出、积极争取的人，越是重视结果。我们每天需要学习，就是为了拓展自己的视野，把意识狭隘，思想封闭的自我，练就成一个知书达理、觉悟自律和心明眼亮的人。

RESULT03

差之毫厘，缪之千里。生活的一切都是由细节构成的。人的思维会对细节有所遮蔽和忽视，特别容易导致行事偏差。一个小的疏忽，便会前功尽弃。所以，精准性和做好细节是做出结果的绝对条件。比如航天载人宇宙飞船轨道计算时，一个微小数据的相差，这艘飞船就不能进入既定轨道，将永远消失在茫茫的宇宙之中。

RESULT04

人要学会换个角度去思考问题和看待事物，得出的结果将会大有不同。我们要用聪明才智，把所有的结果都变成好的结果，有人说过程很重要，决定了结果，那么就让我们用好的结果来证明过程吧。每个人对人、对事、对生活，就都应该拥有认真的态度和担待的思想意识，做到过程步步完美，才会有精彩结果的人生！

新西兰7月1日起禁用一次性塑料袋

（惠灵顿法新电）新西兰星期一（7月1日）正式禁止使用一次性塑料购物袋，商家若违例将面对重罚，包括可能被罚款高达10万新西兰元（约9万新元）。

塑料污染在全球日益受到关注。据估计，每年有100万只鸟和超过10万只海洋哺乳动物，因为被塑料包装困住或在摄取食物的过程中吞入塑料而受伤或死亡。

新西兰环境部长塞奇说：“新西兰的清洁、绿化声誉，令新西兰人感到骄傲。我们希望不辜负这个声誉，而停止使用一次性塑料购物袋就能做到。”

根据新条例，商家再也不能为顾客提供只能使用一次的薄塑料袋，但法律允许商家继续提供可重复使用的购物袋。

对新西兰人来说，这项新法对他们的实际影响不大，因为新西兰的大规模超级市场已经自愿停止使用一次性塑料购物袋。

塞奇接受新西兰电台节目访问时承认新禁令“做得远远不足够”，但她说新法的“重要性在于开启了相关的讨论。人们现在开始讨论一次性塑料产品以及该如何逐步淘汰它们”。

根据联合国环境署的统计，全球已有80多个国家禁止使用一次性塑料袋。

WELLINGTON (XINHUA) – Single-use plastic bags are officially banned for all New Zealand retailers from Monday (July 1).

As stipulated by the Waste Minimisation (Plastic Shopping Bags) Regulations 2018, which came into force on Monday, New Zealand retailers including stores, supermarkets and restaurants will no longer be able to sell or distribute any single-use plastic shopping bags.

Single-use plastic shopping bags are defined as any plastic bag which has handles and is less than 70 microns thick. Plastic shopping bags in the fruit and vegetable section and other areas of supermarkets are the only exceptions.

New Zealand Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said that the ban on single-use plastic shopping bags is a step towards healthier oceans and giving nature a hand.

“New Zealanders are proud of our country’s clean, green reputation and want to help ensure we live up to it. The plastic shopping bag ban is one step to tackle New Zealand’s waste issues. We also need to recharge our materials recovery and recycling systems and shift to a circular economy,” Ms Sage said.

Mainstream supermarkets have already made the change away from single-use plastic shopping bags. Businesses were given six months ahead of the ban to phase-out single-use plastic bags.

Source: Zaobao / The Straits Times