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The library of things: could borrowing everything from drills to disco balls cut waste and save money?

Leo Benedictus

April 24, 2019 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: England, Oxford

From London to Vancouver, across the globe libraries of things are popping up to rent out common, but rare-to-use, household objects. Items include telescopes, lawn mowers, ice cream makers, power drills, you name it. These volunteer-led shops take reservations online and lease the items at no or low-cost to the user, all while strengthening the sharing economy and reducing waste.

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Could Hawaii Be Paradise For Hydrogen-Powered Public Transit?

Laura Bliss

April 22, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

Funded by federal grant money, the state, and the Office of Naval Research, Hawaii County public transit has developed its first hydrogen-powered shuttle bus. What’s been called the “fuel of the future,” hydrogen fuel cells create a power source that’s only emissions are clean water vapor. While a seemingly viable and scalable clean-energy source, such development and infrastructure requires large financial investments that many states have yet to prioritize.

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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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Energy Equity: Bringing Solar Power to Low-Income Communities

Maria Gallucci

April 04, 2019 |

Yale Environment 360 |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

Dozens of states across the US are adopting programs that offer solar power for low-income communities in order to cut down on their utility costs and provide renewable energy that they previously would not have had access to. Some of these programs also incorporate other social goals into their programs, such as offering job training or developing sites of backup energy should there an outage. Solar development is currently one of the fastest growing industries in the US, and analysts predict that the nation will be able to hold over 2,000 megawatts of solar capacity this year alone.

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Waste to Wealth: How Kenyan farmers are bringing life back to degraded Lake Victoria swamps

Annika McGinnis

March 22, 2019 |

InfoNILE |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Kisumu, Kisumu County

Families living in the wetlands of Lake Victoria in Kisumu, Kenya are working together with a nonprofit called Ecofinder Kenya to protect and conserve the wetlands they live on. The crux of the incentive centers around the Eocfinder toilet, which converts human and animal waste to biogas, but they also work with solar lamps, water pumps, and a "farmer-to-farmer" program in which farmers share environmentally-friendly expertise. The program has been going on for 3 years now, and the wetlands have since seen a return of wildlife and growth, particularly with fish and birds.

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Restoring Indonesia's peatlands to their natural soggy glory

Daniel Grossman

March 20, 2019 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Borneo

The Indonesian government is working with family farmers in Borneo to spread the cultivation of sago crops, which requires the restoration of the country's historic, boggy swamps. This type of agriculture, called paludiculture, makes the lands less prone to devastating wildfires, protects residents' health, reduces CO2 emissions, and offers a long-term farming solution.

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These five cities are taking bold steps to rein in sprawl

Robert Kunzig

March 14, 2019 |

National Geographic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Hamburg

The sustainable city of the future involves public transit and a revitalized downtown - at least, that’s the common thread between what five cities are working towards across the globe. Los Angeles, Atlanta, Shanghai, Hamburg, and La Paz have all taken efforts to invest in building cities where families can work and live without commuting in a car, and where walking is encouraged. Some have made more progress than others, but government investment in sustainable design bodes well for the future.

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This new neighborhood in Amsterdam is made of floating houses

Adele Peters

March 04, 2019 |

FastCompany |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Amsterdam

A community in North Amsterdam tackles the issue of rising water levels head on by building homes that can float. The houses are built to include solar energy grids using blockchain so neighbors can share electricity, and the structures rise and fall with the ebbs and flows of flooding.

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For a Warming World, A New Strategy for Protecting Watersheds

Jacques Leslie

February 19, 2019 |

Yale Environment 360 |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Santa Fe, New Mexico

As climate change alters environments across the United States, it has become increasingly important to manage watersheds as a preventative measure to wildfires. Amid responses across the country, one private-public partnership, the Rio Grande Water Fund, is leading the way, demonstrating enough success that the model has become federal policy. The Fund brings together government agencies, NGOs, businesses, and residents to fund watershed restoration which, in turn, creates jobs and build more resilient ecosystems.

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Zookeeper, Zookeeper Make Me A Match: How The Denver Zoo Sets Up Animal Pairs

Stacy Nick

February 14, 2019 |

KUNC |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Species Survival Plan Coordinators help grow zoo populations across the United States sustainably. In an interview with the vice president of Animal Care at Denver Zoo, Hollie Colahan, she explains how detailed and scientific this process is. Coordinators must have an understanding of the animals’ genetics, pedigrees, and personalities to best ensure their ability to pair up and mate.

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