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

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 493 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • Cities Are Boosting the Economy by Rewarding Those Who Shop Local

    Akron, Ohio, is “creating a circular economy” in hopes of helping small businesses and encouraging residents to shop locally. A city-sponsored app, Akronite, is used by consumers to make purchases and earn reward points which can be redeemed for discounts and other perks. The app’s success is clear in the high return on investment, which shows $9 generated for every dollar invested by the local government. Other cities across the country are also adopting the initiative, tweaking it to their own communities.

    Read More

  • How Vancouver is protecting itself from future flooding — with plants

    Large cities like Vacounver and Seattle are increasingly leaning towards "green infrastracture," a method of managing stormwater through natural systems like green roofs and rain gardens that absorb rainwater. Cities have traditionally relied on traditional sewage systems, but in the face of climate change, and more intense storms, its proving to be inadequate. Green infrascture lowers flood levels, filters out pollutants in the water, and regulates city temperature. In Seattle, an early adopter of green infrastructure, rain gardens absorbed 1.5 trillion liters of rainwate.

    Read More

  • In Pennsylvania, agroforestry holds a key to cleaning up waterways and Chesapeake Bay

    The state of Pennsylvania set to plant 86,000 hectares of riparian buffers, the practice of planting trees and shrubs along a river or stream to filter water. Other benefits of riparian buffers include things like restoring the soil and cooling the water. In order to meet their goal, the state scientists used a bottom approach, enlisting the help of local farmers by offering them grants to plant trees and showing farmers how they can profit off of riparian buffers. While the state is behind its goal, the state is planting about 1,000 to 2,000 hectares a year.

    Read More

  • 'The Beachcombers' town is now famous for fighting climate change

    A hit TV show in the 1970s and ‘80s called The Beachcombers brought the town of Gibsons and its logging practices into homes across Canada. After years of pollution and land degradation, it became one of the first towns in the world to incorporate nature into the municipality’s finances. Developers have to take stock of what natural infrastructure is on their property before they build. The town also launched an initiative to encourage other places to calculate the value of their green infrastructure. So far, 30 of them have signed up across the Great White North.

    Read More

  • Study Shows Gun Violence Program Working

    Advance Peace mentors young people at risk of committing or suffering gun violence, guiding them through a "life map" process to exit street life and set goals for a safer, healthier future. The program, which started in Richmond and has expanded to other cities in California and beyond, contributed to a 22% decrease in gun homicides and assaults in an 18-month period. The decrease was 39% in the first targeted neighborhood. Mentoring includes linking youth to cognitive behavioral therapy, jobs, and field trips to expand their experiences. When they meet certain goals, they get paid a "life map allowance."

    Read More

  • The long shot that saved Belize's coral

    After a hurricane hit the coast of Belize in 2001, it essentially destroyed the coral reefs in Laughing Bird Caye National Park. Lisa Carne wanted to start transplanting coral to regrow the reefs, but it took five years to secure funding to start her project. Restoring coral reefs is a lot of effort, so she founded a nonprofit called Fragments of Hope that hired local residents to help. Because of her efforts, over 85,000 corals have been planted and 89 percent of them survived after 14 years, The techniques used are being applied in other countries like Colombia, Jamaica, and St. Barts.

    Read More

  • This Restaurant-Led Agriculture Effort Wants To Help Farmers And Ranchers Fight Climate Change

    A new county initiative in Colorado aims to support regenerative agriculture projects on farms as a way to take carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the soil in an effort to combat climate change. Restaurants donate 1 percent of their profits to the Restore Colorado initiative in Boulder County. The McCauley Family Farm is one of the first to sign on to this initiative and plan to plant more trees on their grazing land. While it can take years to see any benefits, organizers are looking to scale the initiative to be statewide.

    Read More

  • Want to Move to Our Town? Here's $10,000 and a Free Bike.

    Several American cities are attracting potential residents with stipends for down payments and curated experiences for the new transplants. With remote work on the rise, people have more flexibility in choosing a place to live. New residents that purchase homes and remain long-term have the potential to give smaller cities and towns an economic and social boost.

    Read More

  • The climate solution adding millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere

    A decade after California established its forest offset program as a way to incentivize saving trees to store carbon, a new analysis shows that it might not be working. Loopholes in the program allow for people to claim credits for trees that aren’t delivering the carbon benefits they should and ultimately results in companies emitting more pollution than is being stored. While this program has provided economic benefits for several Indigenous tribes, some argue that “the program creates the false appearance of progress when in fact it makes the climate problem worse.”

    Read More

  • Can “democracy dollars” keep real dollars out of politics?

    Democracy Vouchers, a tax-payer-funded program that sends four $25 certificates to residents to donate to local candidates, made Seattle the national leader by increasing the percent of the electorate donating to local campaigns to nearly 8%. They also allow more non-establishment candidates, who lack connections to wealthy donors, to run for office. Four of the nine 2019 city council candidates used vouchers to help fund their campaigns and the vouchers are being expanded to the city’s mayoral races. A national pilot program was also approved to try vouchers for congressional candidates in three states.

    Read More