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Stuck in traffic? These folks found a solution by joining a vanpool

David Gutman Michelle Baruchman

April 28, 2018 |

The Seattle Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

When public transportation is not an option and commuting alone is undesirable, vanpools are a great option for shared commuting. Seattle’s vanpool program is the largest in the country, with 1,469 vanpools, followed by Los Angeles and San Diego. Company buy-in helps, such as when Boeing and Microsoft offered subsidies to those using vanpools. The goal is to decrease costs and drive-alone rates in major cities.

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Refugees adopt energy-saving stoves to save trees

Lilian Namagembe

April 26, 2018 |

Daily Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Uganda

Nearly one million South Sudan refugees have fled to Uganda to seek refuge among a safer setting. With this rapid population growth, however, the environmental impacts have included massive deforestation in areas. Although not a solution in and of itself, conservation organizations are taking steps to mitigate against this impact by creating energy saving stoves made out of clay soil.

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California rural education network launches to help isolated teachers share resources

Carolyn Jones

April 24, 2018 |

EdSource |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

The new California Rural Ed Network is working to connect isolated teachers in small towns and rural communities with resources and education about social-emotional learning and trauma-informed approaches. The initiative, still in its nascent years, aims to "join forces to attract new resources" and "share expertise."

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Basic Income Is Already Transforming Life and Work in a Postindustrial Canadian City

Jordan Pearson

April 23, 2018 |

Motherboard |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Hamilton, Ontario

A pilot program in Hamilton, Ontario tests the viability of a universal basic income. While bureaucratic red tape and critics from both political sides limit the enrollment in the program, citizens partaking in the pilot note that support in the form of cash keep them healthy and able to avoid living in poverty.

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Get To Work

Jane M. Von Bergen

April 19, 2018 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Transportation is one of the biggest barriers to employment in Philadelphia. Despite having a public transit system, many people do not own cars, so they cannot access higher-paying jobs in the suburbs. The Commuter Options program, funded by a Department of Transportation grant and supported by the Philadelphia Unemployment Project, provides a way for workers to carpool to jobs that share a similar schedule and location. Though it is only one part of the solution, the program is helping 65 people access jobs outside of the city.

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Real-world Minecraft mod: How the popular video game is transforming parks and other public spaces

Gregory Scruggs

April 19, 2018 |

GeekWire |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Serbia, Pristina

Popular video game Minecraft, an easy-to-use game where users construct the world around them, has been used by UN-Habitat in 40 projects across 35 cities in 25 countries to design public spaces. The accessible platform allows laypeople to quickly mockup what they would want in a public park or space, which is valuable community input for architects and urban designers.

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In India, this group helps turn wasteland into greener pastures

Fred de Sam Lazaro

April 19, 2018 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV Programs |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: India, Tamil Nadu

An organization funded by the government called Foundation for Ecological Security is leading the charge to reforest wastelands in India to alleviate some of the struggles that rural areas undergo. This creates holding ponds, replenishes soil, and even prompts the community to work together to equitably distribute any leftover water amongst the farmers. It also helps stem the tide of urbanization and addresses the concern that the country may soon run out of food. The group has worked in 13,000 villages across India, reaching about 8 million people, and they still have millions of acres of land to reforest.

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Can Dirt Save the Earth?

Moises Velasquez-Manoff

April 18, 2018 |

The New York Times Magazine |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Marin, California

One tactic for combatting climate change has to do with soil health. Soil can withdraw and store carbon from the atmosphere—at a higher rate when covered by manure—and also supports long-term soil sustainability and saves farmers money. Because agriculture already consumes much of the world's surface, proponents of carbon farming envision a world where large swathes of land act as a carbon sink. Potential drawbacks and things left to explore include how to produce compost without creating more energy than it saves and how to use cows effectively when they also contribute much of the carbon in the atmosphere.

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Cooperative agroforestry empowers indigenous women in Honduras

Monica Pelliccia

April 16, 2018 |

Mongabay |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Honduras, Gualcince

Restoring biodiversity to agricultural land improves food security and helps to sequester carbon. In Honduras, the revival of indigenous agroforestry techniques includes the use shade-grown organic coffee, grown alongside fruit-producing trees and other useful crops. Cosagual Lenca, an all-female cooperative of coffee growers, works to introduce and popularize the techniques.

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How One Small School District Embraces A Challenge For Computer Science Education

Anthony Moreno

April 12, 2018 |

KRWG-PBS |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Melrose, New Mexico

In many states, schools are now required to offer computer science curriculum. But in New Mexico, particularly in rural towns, there are few resources in place to expose students to the growing field. In Melrose, a town of 700, the state's Supercomputing Challenge is an attempt to fill this gap. By participating in after school sessions and submitting their final work to the competition, teens who wouldn't otherwise learn these highly marketable skills may even receive related college scholarships.

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