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Work to save PH eagles won't stop for pandemic

Jhesset Enano

August 09, 2020 |

Philippine Daily Inquirer |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Philippines, Davao City

Despite restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine Eagle Foundation is turning to digital tools and the internet to continue their work of saving the critically endangered species. Since March, the organization rescued four eagles and used telemedicine via the Messenger app to share proper information about how to care for the birds. However, weak Wi-Fi signals sometimes get in the way of treatment.

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Bellevue uses AI technology to identify problem intersections and make them safer

Michelle Baruchman

August 07, 2020 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Bellevue, Washington

Artificial intelligence and traffic cameras are being used to identify dangerous intersections in Bellevue, Washington. Data from thousands of hours of footage revealed that intersections where drivers, bikers and pedestrians had near misses were the most problematic spots in need of improvement. Leveraging traffic data allowed the city to pinpoint potentially dangerous situations relatively quickly and implement the changes that are needed to secure those intersections.

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AI & Big Data Will Lead to Better Conservation

Jake Bullinger

August 07, 2020 |

Bitterroot |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Naturalists are using technology like smartphone cameras and artificial intelligence to better track animal and plant conservation efforts across the United States. The online platform eButterfly allows users to share photos of butterflies that can inform scientists about how certain species’ ranges are shifting. Colorado Parks and Wildlife use a version of AI to identify and count species photographed by camera traps. While, AI could allow scientists to sort through more images and map out more complex ecological relationships, machine-learning algorithms take time to set up and large datasets to train.

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In San Diego, ‘Smart' Streetlights Spark Surveillance Reform

Sarah Holder

August 06, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

A smart-streetlight program has helped businesses and residents by collecting a wealth of data to make parking easier, monitor air quality, and inform drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists of traffic patterns. But its use by the police to collect evidence of suspected crimes has prompted a privacy backlash. Police officials say the videos have been used only in serious crimes and have both incriminated and exonerated suspects. Critics say mission creep has led to improper surveillance of protests and racially disparate enforcement in minor crimes. City legislators are considering ways to regulate the practice.

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Surveillance Planes Watch Over Baltimore, But Catch Few Criminals

J. Cavanaugh Simpson

August 05, 2020 |

Baltimore Magazine |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

In the first half of a six-month experiment, Baltimore's "wide-area surveillance" using video cameras flying above city streets to aid in crime investigations has led to only one arrest. The city's police commissioner doubts the city will agree to pay for the surveillance once private funding for the pilot project runs out, but he says he'll know more after the six-month experiment. The experiment is aimed at Baltimore's high rates of gun violence. Besides its effectiveness, critics worry about its privacy implications and that it targets mostly Black neighborhoods.

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Prison Voicemail: Messages from behind bars

Ruth Evans

August 04, 2020 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: England

Prison Voicemail is a smartphone app that lets incarcerated people in the UK stay connected to their families, improving their mental outlook while imprisoned and their chances of success once they're released. The fee-based app closes gaps left by ordinary pay phones and other means of communication by letting people communicate through recorded messages, rather than when they both happen to be available. Sound clips of families talking in this podcast drive home the profound personal impact of children and parents sharing the routine news of their lives across the barrier of prison walls.

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How Europe's Greenest Capital Is Saving City Trees

Edward Belleville

August 03, 2020 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Berlin

Cities around the world are using apps and interactive platforms to encourage resident volunteers to care for their urban forests. For example, in Berlin, Gieß den Kiez (Water the Neighborhood) is an app that allows users to watch their local trees and water them in times of need. When the app launched, there were 1,000 unique users and over 7,000 individual tree waterings in the first six weeks. However, the cost of planting and maintaining trees can be expensive and where the trees are located in cities and who benefits from them is not always equitable.

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The ‘solar canals' making smart use of India's space

Kalpana Sunder

August 03, 2020 |

BBC |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Gujarat

Covering canals with solar panels has allowed Indian communities to save land, water and carbon emissions, and even bring electricity to rural villages. The solar panels are suspended on metal structures over the canal, which can generate electricity for farmers and be fed into the state grid or sold to public utilities. While these canal-top solar power plants can be expensive to build, so far, eight Indian states have commissioned canal solar projects.

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How Hawaii's New Voting System Could Help Disabled Voters

Blaze Lovell

August 03, 2020 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

Voters with disabilities in Hawaii have more options for voting than in most other states. Electronic ballots in particular, which can be paired with assistive technology, allow voters more freedom and independence. Any voter with a disability can request a ballot be emailed to them as an HTML file. Voters must sign a privacy waiver and ballots have to be printed and signed. Hawaii is one of the few states that allows voters to scan their signed ballots and return them by email, as well as by mail or dropped in an official ballot box. More voter outreach is needed to make people aware of this option.

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How to save a life: Easing grief from inside COVID ICUs

Joan van Dyk

August 03, 2020 |

Bhekisisa |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Cape Town

To combat the grief, trauma, and frustration caused by COVID-19 hospitalizations where families are cut off from loved ones and from most information about their care and condition, the staff at Vincent Pallotti Hospital created a new way of capturing doctors' updates on patients that improved the flow of information. Instead of recording their observations and treatments on paper charts, doctors enter the information on an online system. Volunteer counselors with access to that information then update families daily, relieving some stress and bringing solace to families and patients alike.

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