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Why California spends billions but can't control its wildfires. ‘No simple or cheap solution'

Dale Kasler Ryan Sabalow

August 27, 2020 |

Sacramento Bee |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

After 2017's devastating wildfires, the state of California and businesses committed billions of dollars to thinning forests and other fire-prone areas to contain the spread and intensity of wildfires. But the state's "fire deficit," a legacy of more than a century of policies to suppress fires rather than let them periodically consume the fuel on the ground, has been too great to solve the problem quickly. Experts say wildfires like the record-setting conflagrations of 2020, worsened by climate change, will continue without even greater efforts by California and the federal government.

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India's first two ‘Tsunami Ready' villages in Odisha

Manish Kumar

August 26, 2020 |

Mongabay |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Ventakraipur, Odisha

Two decades after a massive cyclone killed close to 10,000 people in India's Odisha state, the government's efforts to protect coastal villages vulnerable to cyclones and tsunamis has produced a host of safety measures, from reinforced shelters and early-warning systems to search and evacuation training. Two villages were singled out as the first in the Indian Ocean region to achieve UNESCO's "tsunami ready" certification. A drill in 2019 showed how quickly villagers were trained to respond to an imminent threat.

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In India, an ancient grain is revived for the modern era

Anne Pinto-Rodrigues

August 25, 2020 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Thottampatti, Tamil Nadu

The Women’s Collective is a nonprofit that works with more than 10,000 subsistence farmers in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu to promote food security using millets, a crop resilient to drought and climate change. For Pavitra, one of those farmers, she began cultivating the ancient grains in 2015 and now has more than enough food to feed her family year-round. However, there’s a lack of public investment in millet production and machinery. And there’s no unified effort to create demand for millets: Some state governments lead the charge and in other states, it’s led by grassroots organizations.

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Community gatherings offer healing for emotional wounds after disasters

Megan Cattel

August 25, 2020 |

Center for Public Integrity |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Santa Rosa, California

Wildfires cause anxiety and other mental-health problems, but Sonoma County's Latino people can get help from a convivencia: a community gathering hosted by one of the nonprofit health and community centers in the area. To connect with people who may distrust or be blocked from using government-funded mental health care, or who may distrust mental health care altogether, the support-group therapy comes in the guise of a social gathering. Some sessions may focus as well on domestic violence or other social problems.

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To Manage Wildfire, California Looks To What Tribes Have Known All Along

Lauren Sommer

August 24, 2020 |

NPR |

Multi-Media |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Mariposa, California

To combat wildfires in California, Native American tribal leaders and government officials are coming together to facilitate “cultural burnings” or controlled burns. Regularly burning the landscape prevents thick, dried out vegetation from catching fire and causing massive wildfires. Tribal groups used to perform this ritual in the 1800s, but as settlers moved West, many of them prevented Native Americans from doing these cultural burnings. While controlled burns can be challenging in places where there’s too much underbrush, these partnerships can bring together indigenous knowledge and wildfire management.

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Beirut explosion: Lebanese open their homes to strangers displaced by blast

Olivia Cuthbert

August 05, 2020 |

The National |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Lebanon, Beirut

Within hours of a massive explosion that left 300,000 people homeless, residents in and around Beirut opened their doors to house those impacted by the destruction. Thawramap, which normally identifies locations of peaceful protests, posted a map online showing where housing was available in private homes, hotels, and shelters. Six hours after the explosion 42 locations were available on the map to accommodate thousands, with more offers on social media using the hashtag #ourhomesareopen. Despite intense political polarization that often divides people in Lebanon, residents are displaying great solidarity.

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How Europe's Greenest Capital Is Saving City Trees

Edward Belleville

August 03, 2020 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Berlin

Cities around the world are using apps and interactive platforms to encourage resident volunteers to care for their urban forests. For example, in Berlin, Gieß den Kiez (Water the Neighborhood) is an app that allows users to watch their local trees and water them in times of need. When the app launched, there were 1,000 unique users and over 7,000 individual tree waterings in the first six weeks. However, the cost of planting and maintaining trees can be expensive and where the trees are located in cities and who benefits from them is not always equitable.

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How Mexico City's poorest neighbourhood is battling climate change

Laura Puttkamer

August 03, 2020 |

Inkline |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Mexico City

The people in a neighborhood in Mexico City are coming up with innovative solutions to handle climate-related disasters like flood. They use an early warning system that uses a radio signal and WhatsApp to warn residents of environmental dangers. However, the app does not always work. And a mobile classroom offers simulations about how government decisions are made when deciding danger levels of disasters. While thousands of residents had been trained, the classroom is usually only in the neighborhood for a day. Yet, these solutions based on education and communication could be applied to other communities.

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Amid biting drought, sisters in Zambia fend off hunger with organic farming

Doreen Ajiambo

July 16, 2020 |

Global Sisters Report |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Zambia, Chilanga

In Zambia, where severe drought due to climate change has negatively affected agriculture, the Daughters of the Redeemer are practicing organic farming to feed hundreds of children and families whose basic needs are not being met. This group of religious sisters do not rely on rainfall to farm; they installed a drip irrigation system that has allowed them to grow crops like cabbage, maize, tomatoes, and beans. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the sisters provided training to local villages about organic farming, and this has allowed families to support themselves during the crisis.

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Could leaving 'room for the river' help protect communities from floods?

Samantha Harrington

July 15, 2020 |

Yale Climate Connections |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Davenport, Iowa

While many communities in the Midwest use dams and levees to control the Mississippi River, some are trying new approaches to flood control as climate change threatens to increase rainfall and the severity of storms in the region. Some cities are turning to the Dutch solution of leaving “room for the river” to allow the body of water to flow naturally and design public spaces to handle inundation. While this technique doesn’t always work during major flooding events, traditional flood control strategies can be more harmful and actually worsen flooding.

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