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How Jersey City Middle Schoolers Stopped a Flood

Phil Roberts

March 12, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Jersey City, New Jersey

In a science class in a local New Jersey school, students came up with a green solution to a storm water management and flooding problem in their parking lot when it rained. With help from the Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program out of Rutgers University and funding from city agencies, they were able to build planters and install concrete to absorb the runoff. The project galvanized the community, encouraging the school to expand their STEM curriculum.

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Balancing climate, culture, and community: Fiji's relocation challenge

Nithin Coca Naomi Mihara Walter Gerard

March 11, 2021 |

Devex |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Fiji, Korolevu, Vanua Levu

After a river in Fiji continued to flood, an entire village relocated uphill 2 kilometers away. About two-thirds of the residents participated in this voluntary relocation, which proved effective when a strong cyclone hit the island. Government policies are making it easier for villages to relocate due to climate change; in fact, four have done so already. Balancing the people’s cultural connection to the land and the need to move can be tricky, but as people continue to be displaced, their responses could help inform other coastal communities around the world.

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Road Salt Is Imperiling Aquatic Ecosystems. It Doesn't Have To.

Anne N. Connor

March 11, 2021 |

Undark |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Lake George, New York

An experiment in upstate New York showed how town officials could maintain clean and safe roads during the winter season and protect the environment. By using a salt brine before winter storms, they were able to plow the roads more efficiently and, at the same time, reduce the amount of salt going into waterways that could impact freshwater ecosystems. The effort, launched by the nonprofit FUND for Lake George, required “a culture shift within the towns’ maintenance departments,” but the communities were able to cut their salt usage in half over two years.

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The magic greenhouse

Julie Ball

March 09, 2021 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Somalia

A greenhouse that is cooled by seawater and the wind is allowing farmers in Somaliland to grow crops like tomatoes and vegetables despite extreme heat. By creating an environment that is higher in humidity and cooler in temperature, plants don’t need to drink as much water — almost 10 times less water because of the cooling system. There are challenges to scaling the response, but these greenhouses offer farmers the potential to increase their revenue in Africa.

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How Giant Batteries Are Protecting The Most Vulnerable In Blackouts

Lauren Sommer

March 08, 2021 |

WBUR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States

States are creating microgrids with the use of large batteries and solar panels in an effort to fortify their utilities infrastructure against extreme weather. Such investments enable communities to prevent prolonged blackouts and therefore stay safe during storms, wildfires, extreme cold, and whatever else climate change might cause in the future.

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Japan's tsunami survivors call lost loves on the phone of the wind

Issei Kato Mari Saito

March 05, 2021 |

Reuters |

Photojournalism |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Japan, Otsuchi

A man who lost a cousin to cancer built a phone booth with an unconnected rotary phone to imagine conversations with his loved one. It became "the phone of the wind," used by thousands across Japan who lost family in the 2011 tsunami and others whose longing for contact with lost loved ones turns the "conversations" into a deep form of relief and grieving. People in Poland and Britain plan to adopt this approach for survivors grieving losses in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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'Solidarity, not charity': Mutual aid groups are filling gaps in Texas' crisis response

Alexandria Herr

February 26, 2021 |

Grist |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

Texas mutual aid groups raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help people with food, housing, and other supplies after natural disasters, which are increasing due to climate change. Organizers go door-to-door and use social media to identify people in need of assistance, particularly people impacted by structural inequalities in low-income communities, communities of color, and people with insecure housing. Donors, most of whom also come from the community, help with cash or goods donations. Recipients aren’t means-tested and the neighbors-helping-neighbors model allows for quick and passionate action.

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Ten years after Fukushima: could new fuels make nuclear power safer?

Michael Allen

February 23, 2021 |

Physics World |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Urbana, Illinois

After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, scientists are looking for ways to ensure the future of nuclear power is safer. One possibility is improving the protective barrier that surrounds the fuel pellets. They coated the fuel road with chromium and in tests, the new coatings performed well. However, modeling suggests that the chromium-coating might not provide enough time to stabilize a power plant during a meltdown. Still, these materials have started to appear in commercial nuclear reactors and could help reduce fuel waste and save money.

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“Power Companies Get Exactly What They Want”: How Texas Repeatedly Failed to Protect Its Power Grid Against Extreme Weather

Vianna Davila Jeremy Schwartz Kiah Collier

February 22, 2021 |

The Texas Tribune |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

After winter storms and freezing temperatures in 2011 and 2014 caused power plants in Texas to shut down, the state’s energy regulators failed to adapt the state’s electric grid for future extreme weather events. Experts say the state’s deregulated energy market, failure to weatherize facilities, and a lack of action from lawmakers to update the power grid caused millions of customers to lose power during the deadly 2021 winter storm.

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The Texas Freeze: Why the Power Grid Failed

Katherine Blunt Russell Gold

February 19, 2021 |

Wall Street Journal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

By relying on the market to give energy suppliers' incentives to keep the power going during extreme weather events, a historic cold snap in Texas revealed cracks in the state’s free-market energy system, which left millions powerless during the storm. Critics of the state’s system say “the alphabet soup of Texas energy oversight bodies” led to inaction and there was a lack of preparation from plant owners to ensure that they could continue to operate in extreme heat and cold temperatures.

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