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

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  • Through Crowdfunding, An Initiative Helps Communities Access Clean Water

    Through the #BuildAWell project, the Water the Needy Foundation uses crowdfunding to build wells, boreholes, and manual hand pumps in Nigerian communities without consistent access to clean water. The organization has worked with more than 400 communities since 2017 and contracts with local workers to encourage a sense of community responsibility for the projects and ensure ongoing maintenance of the wells.

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  • Steel is recycled more than almost anything. Why does it create so much pollution?

    Steel is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, even though lots of it is recycled every year. Recycling steel uses coal too, but an Australian steelmaker is experimenting with alternatives. These alternative include using briquettes made from plastic waste, which is less polluting.

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  • The ‘AI-Powered Midwife' Helping Pregnant Nigerian Women and Newborns Stay Healthy

    Encouraged by her own pregnancy experience, medical technology expert Abisola Oladapo worked with two of her colleagues to create Sister Agnes. It is an AI system that delivers periodic, timely information to pregnant women by calls and texts in local languages to empower them with information about their health. 79 percent of the women who used the service delivered in health centers, were four times more likely to survive the pregnancy, and the survival rate of their children was 33 percent higher than the national average.

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  • What our sewage can (and can't) tell us about the spread of Omicron

    Throughout the pandemic, testing for COVID-19 in wastewater has been used to monitor the transmission of the virus. Wastewater testing is a reliable tool that often complements clinical COVID-19 testing and can be used for the early detection of outbreaks and surges. In Ontario, each of the province’s 34 public-health units joined Ontario’s Wastewater Surveillance Initiative, allowing researchers and public-health units to work together on testing water samples.

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  • Can Remote Court Services Help to Improve Digital Equity?

    Technology has allowed courts across the country to maintain - and even expand, -services during COVID-19. In Utah, courts held remote hearings and used Doodle to schedule hearings and request interpreters. The virtual schedules filled up fast and, in some cases, officials had to bring laptops and tablets to people who lacked access to technology. Spreading the word in unique ways, including social media, and setting up mobile courts addressed some access issues, particularly among people experiencing homelessness.

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  • Burning Sugar Cane Pollutes Communities of Color in Florida. Brazil Shows There's Another Way.

    In Brazil, the world's largest producer of sugar cane, industry leaders have found a way to harvest the crop without sugar cane burning. Sugar cane burning is harmful to the environment and nearby residents. After complaints and regulations, producers invested in technology that allows them to cut the cane without burning it. This is a contrast to South Florida, despite producing less sugar cane than Brazil, producers in the state continue the practice.

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  • How vending machines are making life better for Kenyans

    Vending machines are dispensing basic grocery items such as milk and cooking oil in parts of Kenya. The machines allow patrons to customize their purchase instead of buying prepackaged sizes. This helps cash-strapped citizens who need to buy smaller portions. They’ve also created economic opportunities for entrepreneurs.

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  • They Said the Tornado Would Hit at 9:30. It Hit at 9:30.

    Advances in meteorological technology have helped drive down the fatality rate from tornadoes in the U.S. to a fraction of what it was a century ago. Violent tornadoes rarely evade advance detection, thanks to weather satellites, advances in radar, and a communication system to announce warnings. The deadly tornadoes that struck Kentucky and other states in December 2021 illustrate the ways in which even this system – one scientist called it "one of the most incredible success stories in applied science" – can fail, including when people ignore warnings or buildings cannot withstand the high winds.

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  • Room for everyone: Tribal college expands its reach

    Tohono O’odham Community College in Arizona shifted its courses online during the pandemic and offered them for free to any Native student, expanding the tribal college's reach beyond the Tohono O’odham Nation for the first time. The college saw its enrollment jump by 96 percent — the largest increase of any tribal college in 2020 — and now serves students representing 55 tribal nations.

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  • How role-playing helps police do their job without firing their guns

    Training courses based on role-playing that supplement classroom teaching have helped some police departments reduce incidents of unnecessary use of lethal force. In response to protests over police shootings, more departments are using a variety of courses that train officers to seek alternatives to shooting when they perceive a threat. The most expensive and intensive course uses live actors. Others use video and virtual reality headsets. The key to effectiveness is the realism of a training that lets officers repeatedly act out the lessons so that they become second nature.

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