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

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  • This Is the First Ecosystem With Its Own Insurance Policy

    In Mexico, the Mesoamerican Reef, a 100-mile long coral reef system, the second largest in the word, is insured. The insurance policy is the result of a collaboration between the local government, hotel owners, an international NGO, and an insurance company who saw the value of protecting the reef. After Hurricane Delta, the insurance first kicked in, the insurance paid out $850,000. The money was used to uproot 2,152 coral colonies and close to 14,000 coral fragments. The model could be an example of future moves to insure the environment.

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  • In Assam, ATMs purify arsenic-laced water

    A water management committee manages Barigaon’s water ATM, which uses a nanotechnology-based ion exchange resin to remove iron and arsenic from groundwater. Residents, who swipe a pre-paid card to collect water in their own containers, pay 40 cents per 20 liters or a flat monthly fee of less than $3. Water is free for families who can’t afford the fee and delivery is arranged for those who are unable to transport water. Around 250 villagers use the ATM each day and its success inspired five additional ATMs, with plans to install 172 statewide. Fees cover maintenance and the landowner’s electricity costs.

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  • Ohio cities fight hunger and food waste with a smartphone app

    Want to help fight food insecurity? There’s an app for that. Food Rescue Hero helps connect extra food with those who need it. Volunteers use the app to see if any food is available and when it is, they pickup and deliver the donation to a pre-approved recipient, all through the app.

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  • Tribes Are Leading the Way to Remove Dams and Restore Ecosystems

    After decades of collaboration between the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in Washington state, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other organizations, the Elwha River dams were taken down to restore fish populations and return the ecosystem to its natural state. Grant funding has helped tribal biologists partner with organizations and universities to implement their fish restoration plan. While the work is expected to take years and funding isn’t always guaranteed, the restoration work so far has seen native plants and fish return.

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  • Reimagining Public Spaces: The Share-It-Square in Portland, Oregon

    The Share-It-Square is a public space intended to foster a sense of community. Neighbors started the idea as a way to get to know each other. The intersection in Portland has grown from a simple meeting place to one that now boasts a library, a playhouse, a message board and a kiosk that’s always full of tea.

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  • Could A Ward Map Drawn By Citizens, Instead Of Aldermen, Become A Reality In Chicago?

    California residents passed Proposition 11, a redistricting reform ballot initiative, in 2008 and in 2010, voters strengthened that reform by passing a bill to allow an independent commission to redraw state and congressional lines. Fourteen people, who were selected from 30,000 applicants, spent a year holding public hearings across the state to make informed decisions on how to fairly redraw district maps. As a result, more than a dozen Congressional incumbents lost their seats, which was not an intentional outcome but rather what resulted from decisions made based on the public testimony they heard.

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  • As Men Lead Charge Against Period Poverty In Nigeria, More Girls Now Make Their Pads

    The Feyisayo Sobowale Initiative (TFSI) works to address Period poverty, the lack of access to menstrual products by people who cannot afford them. In the four-hour training, TFSI distributes free sanitary products and teaches girls in schools how to make reusable pads so as to avoid the dangers of using old rags or paper. The girls receive a pattern and pamphlet with the steps to turn locally sourced cotton fabric into a sanitary pad that can be washed and reused for up to a year. The pad consists of two pieces of the cotton fabric sewn together with a pre-cut towel material inserted between them.

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  • Kathy Friedman and InkWell Workshops offer struggling writers a chance to turn the page

    InkWell Workshops offers a safe space for writers who have experienced mental health and addiction issues. In addition to mentorships and other professional development guidance, the group offers free weekly drop-in workshops led by professional writers, all of whom have lived with mental illness. The weekly schedule provides routine, while the drop-in structure allows needed flexibility for those managing the ups and downs of their mental health. The group has made a point of reflecting participant diversity in their instructors. Participants have published work created in Inkwell’s workshops.

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  • The Brooklyn Bridge needs a makeover. Is rainforest lumber still in style?

    In the 1990s, Guatemala established the Maya Bisphere Reserve to stop the burgeoning rates of deforestation. However, some communities lived within this region. The organization tasked with overseeing the MBP decided to let the communities stay in the area as long as they agreed to a tight supervision of how they used the forest. The arrangement is known as a forestry concessions. Community-owned concessions must follow strict guidelines or face eviction. It worked. Deforestation rates are low, wildlife is thriving, and communities earn an income without depleting the forest.

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  • How Montana ag producers are building topsoil, drought resilience and profits

    Faced with the effects of climate change, in Montana, some farmers are turning towards organic or regenerative practices, a form of farming that includes thing like crop rotation, and using fewer pesticides. It’s a switch from conventional farming, which usually involves mono crops, heavy use of pesticides, and genetically modifies seeds, producing thehighestt yield. A technique that has led to soil erosion. Nationally, farmers are turning towards regenerative farming which builds the topsoil, meaning it is better for the land and the environment.

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