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

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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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?

    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

    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

    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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  • Flood City: Louisiana prepares to move neighborhood after 50 years of floods

    February 19, 2021 |

    USA Today |

    Multi-Media |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New Roads, Louisiana

    Pecan Acres in Louisiana is known as Flood City since many residents can’t remember a time when their homes weren’t impacted by rising waters. To help these people, the state has started a relocation project to move the neighborhood to higher ground. The new neighborhood, called Audubon Estates, already has 17 households signed up to move in. The government is buying the residents out of their old homes, which has proved a more difficult process than originally thought. Yet, some are ready for the change.

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  • The Great Kenyan Giraffe Rescue

    February 16, 2021 |

    Atlas Obscura |

    Multi-Media |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Kenya, Longicharo Island

    The nonprofit group Save Giraffes Now, the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Northern Rangelands Trust, and local community members are working together to save the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe species. Rising lake levels and flooding have stranded the animals on its island, so they made a custom-built steel barge to relocate them to a protected wildlife reserve. It’s not easy to move giraffes, but so far they’ve successfully moved three out of nine of them.

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