Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • This Real Estate Co-Op is Looking for Investors Who Want to Put Community First

    The 2012 federal JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) took some time to gain traction, but in recent years it has democratized the financing of worker-owned co-ops and other community-based entities that ordinarily would be frozen out of capital markets. By making possible what is called a direct public offering, the law has made it easier to finance businesses that promise greater social benefits than just profit maximization, by opening investment opportunities to a more diverse and egalitarian mix of investors.

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  • The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats

    A Spanish chef piloted a project to start a “marine garden” — cultivating eelgrass and obtaining grains it produces to be used in different recipes. The grain has healthy benefits, including 50 percent more protein than rice, and growing the seagrass can transform salt marshes into biodiverse ecosystems that can also capture carbon emissions. They are working to scale the project to understand the ideal conditions to grow the plants.

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  • Indiana publisher irrigates the news desert

    A wealthy investor bought 21 local publications in Indiana to prevent them from closing, an increasingly common trend in the U.S. The 21 Indiana publications employ about 60 people and have relied on a model to be profitable that includes hyper-local reporting. The newspapers don’t shy away from journalism that breaks news and holds officials accountable, but their focus is on “refrigerator journalism,” reporting on local events, such as Little League games, that people want to clip and hang on their refrigerators. Some have also transitioned from daily to twice-weekly publications for profitability.

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  • Parent burnout was an issue even before the pandemic. Could respite centers be the answer?

    A respite and resource center in New Hampshire is offering a reprieve to overburdened and stress-riddled parents during the coronavirus pandemic. The Relief Parent Respite and Resource Center has received positive reviews from those who have used the services available, but it can be cost-prohibitive for low-income families.

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  • Minneapolis restaurants offer takeout food without a side of guilt for using wasteful containers

    A clean tech startup called Forever Ware created reusable, stainless steel containers for restaurants to use instead of single-use takeout containers. So far, four restaurants in Minneapolis are participating in the program, where customers pay a deposit for the container and can return it to any restaurant in the network. Within two months, the containers were used about 1,400 times, which probably cut back on some plastic waste ending up in landfills.

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  • Teen invents playing cards that are gender-equal -- and diverse

    16-year-old Maayan Segal and her father launched Queeng, a deck of cards that represents gender equality and includes a range of racial and cultural identities. The first iteration sold over 50,000 decks but was re-designed after critics cited the lack of racial diversity. The hand-drawn cards include a range of skin tones and facial features, and king cards are replaced by male and female “Monarch” cards, "Dutchess" or "Duke" cards replace queen cards, and "Prince" or "Princess" cards replace jack cards. There are also female jokers. Five days after its release, Queeng 2.0 already sold over 4,000 decks.

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  • The mechanical stomach powering homes by digesting old food scraps

    The electricity powering 3,000 Perth homes might have started out as moldy bread and rotting lettuce. The city of Cockburn collects food waste from supermarkets and restaurants to be fed into a mechanical "stomach" that converts the waste to energy. Methane is trapped and used to power electric generators. The remainder of the "digested" food is turned into compost and liquid fertilizer. The operation has recycled 43 tons so far, removing 81,000 kilograms of gases that otherwise would escape landfills and warm the atmosphere.

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  • What Went Into Building Europe's Largest Floating Solar Park

    Evides Waterbedrijf, a drinking water company, created Europe’s largest floating solar park. They installed almost 3,000 solar panels on an island in the middle of a reservoir that allows it to move with the sun to maximize its energy. This setup generates about 15 percent of the electricity the company uses at the site.

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  • Babyl Rwanda bridging healthcare gap through mobile technology

    Babyl Health provides over 3,000 daily e-health consultations to bridge the gap between Rwandan providers and patients. The two million registered users can dial *811# to book an appointment and are triaged, with those needing more extensive care referred to one of the 483 partner clinics around the country. The country’s universal health coverage pays for 90% of the appointment and the patient pays 200 RWF. The platform works on an app available on most citizens’ phones and doesn’t require an internet connection. When needed, patients receive prescriptions via SMS that they can bring to a local pharmacy.

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  • Fighting the Mafia on Its Own Turf

    La Placido Rizzotto is one of nine farm co-ops in a network of properties that were seized from Sicily's Mafia and reused to create a productive alternative to the area's crime-based economy. Part of the Libera Terra (Freed Land) network, La Placido Rizzotto employs 22 people and its farm, winery, and tourist inn generated nearly $900,000 in sales in 2019. The government has confiscated thousands of properties in its effort to hurt the Mafia economically, but managing the properties remains a challenge that the "social use" movement addresses. Libera Terra's model has been copied by an Argentinian co-op.

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