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Treating violence like a disease helped cut Colombia's murder rate by 82%

Edward Siddons

May 15, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Cali

Colombia used a public health model of prevention to attack violent crime and has seen the homicide rate drop by 82 percent. The approach required the work of numerous public sectors, not just law enforcement, and a reliance on data to drive strategy. The country still has a higher-that-average murder rate, but the experience of several cities taking this approach offers key lessons for others to follow.

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How Healthy Soil Practices Balance Anecdotal and Scientific Observation

Christopher Biddle

May 15, 2018 |

KSJD |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Gunnison, Colorado

There's a movement rising to promote better cattle farming practices through the use of healthy soil, which means introducing more carbon into the land. Farmers throughout the agriculture industry are finding that by feeding cattle in carbon poor pastures, they are able to rejuvenate the land through leftover carbon-rich hay and manure.

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Prison

Matthew McCann

May 12, 2018 |

Temple University |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Across the country, prisons are incorporating “therapeutic communities” to help incarcerated individuals find the residential treatment they need. Substance abuse continues to be strongly linked to recidivism, and in an attempt to break that cycle, these therapeutic communities provide people with structured rehabilitation, counseling, and support as an alternative to traditional prison. Many are federally funded, but considering they’ve only recently gained traction, they still face issues like buy-in and capacity.

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Farm to Reef

Bryn Nelson

May 08, 2018 |

bioGraphic |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Cuba

The demise of coral reefs has made headlines recently as conservationists face the challenge of trying to save what is left of them from global warming, ocean acidification, pollution, overfishing – to name just a few of the threats. Gardens of the Queen National Park in the Caribbean may hold some answers. From a pro-environmental government philosophy to a reduction in nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich farm runoff, there are more than a few practices that have culminated into a solution to keep Cuba's coral reef healthy.

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Almost half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned. There's a surprisingly easy way to change that.

Karen Weese

May 01, 2018 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Delaware

To reduce unplanned pregnancies, Delaware "embarked on an ambitious experiment" that worked to eliminate barriers that prevented women from pursuing alternative forms of birth control, such as cost and convenience. After two years, rates of unplanned pregnancies decreased by 15 percent.

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The rise of the mega-donors

Catherine Cheney

April 27, 2018 |

Devex |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Ultra high net worth individuals are giving money to philanthropic causes in new ways. The international development community can engage these potential donors by approaching them as partners, using data to demonstrate impact, and drawing on the donors’ personal experiences.

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Eight months on, is the world's most drastic plastic bag ban working?

Jonathan Watts

April 25, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

Curbing society's reliance on plastic has become a top priority on international levels. In light of this, Kenya took the most drastic approach and implemented a ban on all plastic bags enforced with consequence of jail-time and steep fines. After 8 months in action some are still finding this ban to be unjust due to cost infringements on businesses, but Nairobi’s shanty towns are seeing cleaner streets, healthier waterways and improvements in sanitation initiatives.

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The Amazon's solar-powered river bus

Laura Plitt

April 20, 2018 |

BBC |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Ecuador, Kapawi

The isolated Achuar peoples in Kapawi village in Ecuador live in an area without roads, and they'd like to keep it that way. As a way of proving they can function without them while still allowing for public transport, the village has implemented a solar powered canoe that can transport villagers up a network of interconnected navigable rivers.

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One big upside of career and tech programs? They push more kids to graduate

Matt Barnum

April 19, 2018 |

Chalkbeat |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

A former high school teacher turned researcher found that both high-income and low-income students who attended career and technical education high schools were more likely to graduate than their peers enrolled in strictly academic programs. In this article, the teacher, Mr. Dougherty, explains why is he unsure of all of the reasoning behind his findings and still hesitant to suggest districts scale up the model.

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The Unlikely Upside of Cape Town's Drought

Eve Fairbanks

April 19, 2018 |

The Huffington Post |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Cape Town

When faced with the dire likelihood that the city would run entirely out of water, Cape Town communities responded by looking at the challenge with resiliency, rather than complacency or inconvenience. Though not without limitations, those that were able to implement a perspective shift created a social shift that allowed for greater communal efforts and resulted in successful water conservation, including a 40% city-wide decrease in water use.

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