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A passive house takes an active stand for the environment

Emma Murray

March 22, 2017 |

Boulder Weekly |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boulder, Colorado

The heating and cooling of homes accounts for some of the greatest energy consumption in the United States, and contributes significantly to the release of CO2 into the atmosphere. A movement of "passive housing" is cropping up in response - the building of small, low-impact houses that are energy efficient and eco-conscious. One in Boulder, CO - built by an amateur architect - has received international certification and may serve as a model for future housing construction.

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While Trump promotes coal, other countries are turning to cheap sun power

Nick Miroff

March 21, 2017 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Chile

The Atacama Desert in Chili is known to be so arid, that very little can survive the harsh climate. Despite its inhospitable climate, however, it is the world’s best place to produce solar energy. In fact, it's so ideal for producing solar energy, the Chilean Energy Minister Andrés Rebolledo claims that “we’re talking about an infinite fuel source.”

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Solar air heating in factories reduces carbon emissions

Jency Samuel

March 10, 2017 |

India Climate Dialogue |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Theni

Businesses across India are using a practice called solar air heating to produce electricity and energy more efficiently. The process – which uses black, rooftop surfaces to capture heat under a glass panel that’s then carried through forced air and pipelines – has shown to save time and money in its effectiveness and ability to reduce traditional energy consumption.

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The 'sun king' who built a solar city in China

Alvaro A. Ricciardelli

March 08, 2017 |

BBC |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: China, Dehzou, Shandong

Shandong Province in China is burdened with heavy air pollution due to being a hub of coal mining. To create a cleaner energy system, one man created a "city" entirely powered by solar energy, complete with a "solar museum" and "solar hotel". The buildings are designed to adopt solar panels into its structure, making the "city" not only beneficial to the environmental, but a one-of-a-kind architectural masterpiece.

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Illegal logging in Malawi: can clean cooking stoves save its forests?

Nathalie Bertrams Ingrid Gercama

February 23, 2017 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Malawi, Mount Mulanje, Lilongwe

In much of Malawi, the electrical grid is highly unreliable and the cost of fuels like petroleum prohibitive, forcing most families to rely on the black market for illegally-sourced charcoal and leading to heavy deforestation. But some NGOs are tackling the issue with a grassroots approach: rather than relying on the army to punish illegal logging, they are helping women provide cleaner, more efficient cookstoves to their communities - reducing the amount of fuel burned as well as toxic smoke from open fires.

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Mumbai church turns tonnes of waste flowers to eco-friendly cooking fuel

Akash Sakaria

February 20, 2017 |

Hindustan Times |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: India, Mumbai

After seeing prayer flowers wasted week after week, one church in Mumbai, India, implemented a new biologically-sustainable solution. The church now creates its own biogas, reducing waste and creatively producing energy alternatives.

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Stockholm's Ingenious Plan to Recycle Old Christmas Trees

Feargus O'Sullivan

December 20, 2016 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sweden, Stockholm

In Stockholm, old Christmas trees are being converted into biochar. When integrated into the city's highly-efficient power grid, the project has been wildly successful--not only in improving soil, but also in retaining groundwater, greening the city, and lowering carbon emissions. For this reason, officials as far away as California have been eying the plan with interest.

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How To Make Hydropower More Environmentally Friendly

Matt Weiser

December 20, 2016 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Dover, Delaware

Dams make for complex and often controversial infrastructure. While hydropower generated from large dam projects is currently providing the bulk of the planet's renewable energy, dams can also cause major environmental and social damage by interrupting animal migrations, displacing indigenous communities, and collecting toxins. A number of solutions are being implemented, however, to address the various issues caused by dams, to help make them a more eco-friendly and viable source of clean energy.

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Experimental City: How Rotterdam Became A World Leader In Sustainable Urban Design

Adele Peters

December 05, 2016 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Rotterdam

Rotterdam, a port city once at the center of trade and commerce, is now threatened by climate change. The city has responded to this threat by totally transforming itself into a hub for sustainable design. It embraces crazy, environmentally friendly solutions. From a floating dairy farm to a home enclosed in a greenhouse to basketball courts that soak up rainwater, Rotterdam has established itself as a leader in sustainable urban design. By 2025, the city plans to be completely climate-proof.

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World's first city to power its water needs with sewage energy

Kata Karáth

December 01, 2016 |

New Scientist |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Denmark, Aarhus

With climate change an ever-increasing threat, one city in Denmark is helping to inspire hope through the successful implementation of a self-sustaining treatment plant that provides fresh water to the local community using only energy produced from the waste and sewage it filters. Other cities are now looking to replicate the model.

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