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The Sudbury model: How one of the world's major polluters went green

Sara Miller Llana

September 24, 2020 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Sudbury, Ontario

After being known as a polluted mining town, politicians, scientists, industry officials, and residents of Sudbury, Ontario, were able to come together to restore its land. After 40 years and $33.5 million, they are about halfway through recovering about 200,000 acres of land. So far, they’ve been successful at restoring air quality, neutralizing soil to allow for replanting, and restocking lakes with fish. While some locals think the mining companies should have done more, the collaborative spirit could be a model for other communities looking to improve the environment.

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The David And Goliath Story Playing Out In Alaska's Fisheries

Stephen Miller

September 14, 2020 |

The Huffington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Alaska

A small, southeast-Alaskan fishing community banded together to protect the source of its livelihood from industrial fishing. Legislation officially protected 70,000 square miles of pristine waters in 1998. The ban on industrial fishing has resulted in much smaller, sustainable fisheries that have kept the ocean habitat flourishing and business booming for local fisheries. A cooperative model prevents overfishing and maintains a healthy ocean habitat.

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How Efforts To Save Hawaii's Forests Are Preventing A 'Freshwater Crisis'

Claire Caulfield

September 06, 2020 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

Landowners, state employees, environmental groups, and local hunters are working together to protect Hawaii’s forests and drinking water by eradicating invasive plants from the state’s protected forests. By allowing native plants to flourish, these forests could help combat climate change by sequestering carbon and allowing freshwater quivers to recharge with rainfall. Since 2013, the state has built 132 miles of fence to keep grazers away from forests to prevent the spread of seeds of invasive plants. However, this method can be expensive; a 1,400-acre fence cost over a million dollars.

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Mexico Is Saving Its Coral Reef From Hurricanes With A One-Of-A-Kind Plan

Alexandra Kirkman

August 24, 2020 |

The Huffington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo

To protect the Mesoamerican Reef from the effects of climate change, key stakeholders in Mexico created the world’s first insurance policy to protect a natural asset. The policy provides an immediate infusion of cash in the event of a damaging storm, allowing hotel owners and local governments to quickly repair the reef and prevent further degradation. A volunteer corps of people called the Guardians of the Reef make those repairs. While the insurance policy doesn’t cover pollution or overfishing, this mechanism could work for reefs in other countries to restore and protect threatened ecosystems.

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Solar Power Is Booming. But It's Putting Desert Wilderness At Risk.

Kyla Mandel

August 20, 2020 |

The Huffington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Solar development can reduce or significantly alter local biodiversity, and this should be considered when planning sustainability projects in the desert, argues a new study. Scientists measured the impact of a solar plant built in California and found that while some grasses and native shrubs grew back, cacti and yucca didn’t fare well. They recommend building solar projects on places that have already been developed or have low environmental impact. Groups like the Nature Conservancy are using that advice to pilot a project demonstrating that old mine sites in Nevada can be used for clean energy.

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Aquarium Fish, Hold the Cyanide

Stephenie Livingston

August 13, 2020 |

Hakai Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Bali

LINI for Reef to Aquarium, works with local villagers to implement sustainable fishing practices and restore reef habitats damaged by neurotoxins used to catch fish for the saltwater aquarium fish trade. LINI, with the community’s help, installed cement domes to provide refuges for ornamental fish in 2008. These alternative spots for collecting fish effectively removed pressure from natural reefs and by 2011, live coral cover had increased by 35% and continues to do well today. Villagers also started a land-based breeding program to take pressure off of the coral reefs.

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Raising Nature on Florida Ranchlands

Virginia Gewin Carlton Ward Jr.

August 11, 2020 |

bioGraphic |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Florida

Ranchers and conservationists in Florida are working together to lobby for policies that preserve their farmland, protect wildlife species, and conserve water instead of turning it over to be developed. The Sunshine State has experimented with conservation incentive programs like payments for panther habitat restoration, reimbursements for livestock losses, and water storage projects but most of these programs have had mixed success and are often underfunded.

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India's tribal farmers tap solar irrigation to cut migration

Soumya Sarkar

July 27, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Jharkhand

New solar-powered irrigation systems in the Chotanagpur Plateau region in India are giving farmers more dependable water and allowing them to diversify their crops, allowing them to also grow their income. Many farmers from a local village used to migrate to other places to search for work, but a new irrigation system has allowed them to grow cauliflower for a competitive price. While the cost of buying and installing a solar-powered irrigation system can be high, this form of irrigation could be more climate-friendly and help stabilize crop production.

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The revolutionary boat powered by the ocean

Rina Diane Caballar

July 15, 2020 |

BBC |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Philippines

Since the Philippines relies on boats to transport people and goods across the island nation, a shipbuilding company is designing a new low-carbon alternative of the bangka — a traditional Filipino boat — that uses the waves of the ocean to power it instead of fossil fuels. The ship, known as the trimaran, uses wave energy that converts into electricity for the ship. However, a typhoon and the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the project, and there are also cost and design challenges. But the trimaran’s use of wave energy could be a step toward reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

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How the University of Dayton divested from fossil fuels — and what happened to its bottom line

Brian Roewe

July 14, 2020 |

National Catholic Reporter |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Dayton, Ohio

In 2014, the University of Dayton, a Catholic institution, made a public commitment to divest its investment portfolio from any fossil fuel funding. The university has since fulfilled and stayed strong on its commitment, but the process involved putting together committees to identify and replace fossil fuel companies in its portfolio, looking for more environmentally ethical companies, and investing in more sustainable companies and practices.

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