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Meet Mr. Trash Wheel: Baltimore Harbor's Googly Eyed Garbage Gobbler

Peter O'Dowd

April 16, 2019 |

WBUR |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

A trash interceptor floats along a tributary of the Baltimore Harbor removing trash from the water before it can reach the ocean. Known to the community as Mr. Trash Wheel, the machine is powered by the river’s current and collects floating debris that moves along a conveyor belt and ends up in a dumpster. While it doesn’t solve the problem of how trash gets into the water in the first place, it has collected 1,100 tons of trash and one million Styrofoam containers since it started 2014.

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As floods increase, cities like Detroit are looking to green stormwater infrastructure

Erica Gies

April 16, 2019 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

In Detroit, a city with plenty of open space, there is ample opportunity for green stormwater infrastructure to help the city better manage water. The dual goal of decreasing water pollution and better managing flood conditions has already started with the 16 GSI projects in use. A new approach to water drainage fees based on amount of land has incentivized business owners to implement their own stormwater-reducing measures. The city plans to spend $50 million more on these efforts in the next ten years.

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Changes Coming To Housing Program For Former Inmates

Edward O'Brien

April 15, 2019 |

Montana Public Radio |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Missoula, Montana

The state of Montana helps former prison inmates find and pay for stable housing and to improve their job-hunting skills after their release. The pilot program is praised both by former inmates, for the support they received, and landlords, who now have an incentive to rent to this population.

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Decades of wise use pay off for a Kabale wetland

Fredrick Mugira

April 15, 2019 |

InfoNILE |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Uganda, Rubaya, Kabale

In 1980, the Ugandan government signed an agreement with local communities in the Mugandu–Buramba wetland that gave them the right to own, manage, and conserve their own property. Today, the wetlands are thriving —reducing degradation and improving biodiversity— and creating a livelihood for the 276 people that live there. The government says that since they are using the land responsibly, their agreement will continue.

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Cardboard Bombay cafe by Nudes is made entirely from cardboard

India Block

April 13, 2019 |

Dezeen |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: India, Mumbai

A new cafe in Mumbai is made entirely of cardboard to showcase the material's structural stability and dynamism, as well as its environmental sustainability. Everything from walls to chairs, and tables to lampshades, has been crafted from cardboard. The architecture firm is just one of many around the world experimenting with cardboard.

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Can This Breakfast Cereal Help Save The Planet?

Dan Charles

April 13, 2019 |

NPR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Human beings' reliance on crops like wheat and rice has a detrimental environmental effect: because these annual crops need replanting every year, farmers are required to destroy any existing vegetation in order to get the seeds to germinate. But scientists with the Land Institute are promoting kernza, a perennial relative of wheat that provides seeds year after year.

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Denver Builds Out Pioneering Gun Crime Investigation Unit

Ann Givens

April 12, 2019 |

The Trace |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Denver has formed a law enforcement collaborative, called the Regional Anti Violence Enforcement Network (RAVEN), to bring together eleven agencies to solve gun crimes in the surrounding cities and counties. RAVEN was borne out of Denver’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center – an earlier collaboration – and uses the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network to share information, technology and resources, and identify regional patterns of crimes rather than local, isolated events.

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Despite Many Challenges, the U.S. Has More Young Farmers Than it Did Five Years Ago

Julia Hotz

April 12, 2019 |

Civil Eats |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boone County, Kentucky

With the average age of the American farmer at 57.5 and the number of farmers over 65 outnumbering farmers under 35 by a factor of 6 to 1, many are worried about a severe shortage of ecologically-minded young farmers to take over from the older generation. To address this gap, states and institutions are launching initiatives like debt-free agricultural college, tax incentives, and loan programs.

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How to Restore a Million Acres of Strip-Mined Land? Bring in the Elk

Mason Adams

April 12, 2019 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Grundy, Virginia

Strip mining, a method in which the entire top few hundred feet of mountain are blown up to expose coal seams, has left Virginia and other Appalachian states with nearly a million acres of flat, problematic lands. Environmental scientists have released a herd of elk at one of these former strip mine sites to enrich the habitat for diverse animal species and to revitalize the local economies through wildlife tourists and hunters.

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Barcelona's superblocks are a new model for "post-car" urban living

David Roberts

April 11, 2019 |

Vox |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Spain, Barcelona

The implementation of "superblocks," or large areas of urban space dedicated to pedestrian & bike multi-use traffic and the unification of urban and rural living benefits, helped one Spanish city reduce automotive traffic. Now, an urban innovator aims to bring superblocks to Barcelona in an attempt to scale this community-oriented solution.

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