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How a #Litterati army on Instagram sparked a global fight against litter

Michael J. Coren

October 12, 2020 |

Hothouse Solutions |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

What started as a small group of people taking pictures of waste in their communities and tagging it on Instagram with the hashtag #Litterati, turned into a global effort, and even an app, to map and dispose of trash. Users can upload to the app an image of trash and machine-learning algorithm can tag it location, material, and company who made it. The city of San Francisco asked the makers of the app for help documenting cigarette butts and tobacco products on its streets and ended up winning a legal victory over the tobacco industry to increase the taxes on their products.

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Harnessing Food Waste to Empower Communities in Brazil

Agostino Petroni

October 09, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

Favela Organica is a social enterprise that address food insecurity, increases access to healthy foods, and reduces waste. The founder, Tchelly, has provided free courses to around 30,000 people in Rio’s favelas, mostly women, who learn how to repurpose food waste from local markets and grow produce at home. The premise relies on an integrated food cycle of growing food, utilizing all of it, and creating compost with what is left to fertilize the garden to grow the food. Students use the lessons to lower food costs and, for some, to increase the amount of food they can sell, which adds to monthly incomes.

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As Trump Blames 'The Chinese Virus,' These Asian American Women Won't Stand For The Racism

Josie Huang

October 08, 2020 |

LAist |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Responding to growing attacks on Asian Americans, based on racist reactions to the pandemic, one young woman self-published a handbook, "How to Report a Hate Crime," in multiple languages. Though limited funding kept its print run small, the booklet found an audience through social media. Then its author connected with the victim of a verbal assault, inspired her to push back against police department apathy, and sparked a number of new hate-crime reports and better training for Los Angeles police officers.

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Minnesota has figured out a way to help stressed farmers. Can it be replicated?

Marissa Plescia

October 07, 2020 |

Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Minnesota

The Rural Mental Health Outreach program in Minnesota is helping farmers in the region to tackle mental health challenges that are related to the stresses involved in their profession. Other states have taken notice of the program's success and are now piloting similar programs as a means of addressing a rising concern of suicide within the farming industry.

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Bringing the chill of the cosmos to a warming planet

Sarah Kaplan

October 07, 2020 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Stockton, California

SkyCool Systems manufactures panels that can be incorporated into existing cooling systems to reduce the amount of electricity needed to turn hot air into cold air. The technology is based on radiative cooling and utilizes a thin, mirror-like film engineered using nanotechnology to send heat into space while absorbing almost no radiation. It lowers the temperature of objects by more than 10 degrees and doesn’t require electricity or special fuels, so it does not produce greenhouse gases. While piloting the panels, a grocery outlet saved over $3,000 in electricity costs over the course of just one summer.

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A world without avalanche closures

Tom Hallberg Bradly J. Boner

October 07, 2020 |

Jackson Hole News & Guide |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Snoqualmie Pass, Washington

A failed bridge construction project in the 1960s in Wyoming to mitigate the impacts of avalanches inspired Washington state to complete a similar project fifty years later. The project included an elevated bridge that allows snow from slide paths to pass beneath the roadway, which ends up saving losses of economic activity due to road closures. While the construction can be expensive, Wyoming is looking to see if a similar solution can be applied to their own mountain passes.

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Hanover paramedics make house calls to test resident for coronavirus

Johanna Seltz

October 07, 2020 |

The Boston Globe |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Hanover, Massachusetts

In Hanover, two collaborative efforts – one between the hospital system and the town and another between the public school district and paramedics – have helped residents access coronavirus testing without leaving their homes. Although test results aren't delivered immediately, the partnerships have still helped over 1,200 people get tested and are available to all town residents.

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Training police to patrol each other

Daniel Gordon

October 06, 2020 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

In the wake of George Floyd's killing by police in Minneapolis, where several officers failed to prevent one officer's actions, New Orleans police have been besieged by requests from police nationwide to export their method of training officers to intervene to prevent misconduct by fellow officers. New Orleans' reputation for police brutality and corruption has improved, in part because of its "active bystander" training. Complaints are down and public support is up. Now its internal EPIC training course is available free to other departments as ABLE: Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement.

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Of hemp's many uses, one of the most promising could be in construction

Nate Berg

October 06, 2020 |

Ensia |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Hempcrete is made from the dried core of hemp stalks and a lime-based binder and can be cast into blocks and panels just like concrete. But unlike concrete, which emits CO2, hempcrete actually absorbs it while also reducing construction waste. Though not strong enough to be load bearing, it has outperformed other materials in terms of insulation, and is therefore an ecofriendly option for covering walls. Reducing the need for air conditioners in warm climates limits CO2 emissions even more. Hempcrete has been used to build new structures and retrofit existing ones in Europe and Australia.

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Bug Breeders Are Cultivating Waste-Guzzling Flies to Gobble Up America's Trash

Colleen Stinchcombe

October 05, 2020 |

Future Human |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Camas, Washington

A growing number of bug breeders in the United States are raising black soldier flies to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, land degradation, and food waste. The larvae can convert waste into fertilizer for crops, while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In one experiment at Louisiana State University, about two tons of cafeteria food waste is processed by the fly larvae. Creating a similiar system on a larger scale for municipalities can be expensive, but the flies could be a multifaceted solution to the country’s trash problem.

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