{{B}} Earth Angels{{/B}}
1．Joying Brescia was 8 years old when she noticed that cigarette butts (烟头) were littering her hometown beach in Isle of Palms, South Carolina. When she learned that it takes five years for the remains of a cigarette to disintegrate, she decided to take action. Joying launched a "No Butts on the Beach" campaign. She raised money and awareness about the need to keep the beaches clean. With the help of others, Joying also bought or received donations of gallon- size plastic ice-cream buckets. The buckets were filled with sand, and placed at all public-access areas of the beach. The buckets allowed people to dispose of their cigarettes before hit- ting the beach. Two years later, Joying says the buckets are full and the beach in nearly free of cigarette debris (残片).
2．People who live in or visit Steamboat Springs, Colorado, have Carter Dunham to thank for a new state wildlife refuge that preserves 20 acres of marshland and many species of wildlife. Carter and other students wrote a management plan for the area around the Yampa River. The plan was part of a class project when Carter was a freshman at Steamboat Springs High School. Working with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Carter and his classmates mapped the area and species of animals living there. They also made decisions about, among other things, where fences and parking areas should be built.
3．Barbara Brown and her friends collect oil. It started as a project for their 4H Club after one of the girls noticed her father using motor oil to kill weeds on their farm in Victoria, Texas. They did some research and discovered that oil can contaminate ground water—a real danger in rural areas, where people live off the water on their land. The girls researched ways to recycle oil and worked with a local oil-recycling company on the issue. Now, the "Don't Be Crude" program runs oil-collection sites—tanks that hold up to 460 gallons—where people in the community can dispose of their oil.
4．Five years ago, 11-year-old Ryan Hreljac was a little boy with a big dream: for all the people in Africa to have clean drinking water. His dream began in the first grade when he learned that people were dying because they didn't have clean water, and that as little as $ 70 could build a well. "We really take water for granted," says Ryan, of Kemptville, Ontario, in Canada. "In other countries, you have to plan for it."Ryan earned the first $ 70 by doing extra chores (零工), but with the help of others, he has since raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. His efforts led to the start of the Ryan's Well Foundation, which raises money for clean water and health-related services for people in African countries and developing countries.