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Smart Grid Experiment Saves Participants the Equivalent of One Electric Bill Per Year

Lynne Peskoe-Yang

February 04, 2019 |

IEEE Spectrum |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Turkey, Istanbul

Gamifying energy-efficient behavior can help consumers adjust their habits. Project GresBAS (Grid Responsive Society through Building Automation Systems) incentivizes consumers by allowing them to compete against their own personal records, as well as their neighbors. The Project has piloted studies in Turkey and Portugal, signaling the broader possibilities of gamifying user interactions with smart grid technologies.

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Electric airplanes developed by a Colorado startup take aim at global pilot shortage

Tamara Chuang

January 31, 2019 |

The Colorado Sun |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Centennial, Colorado

The aviation world is changing and companies like Bye Aerospace are leading the way toward a new industry with the development of an all-electric airplane. At the same time, the number of pilots in the United States is dwindling due to the expensive cost of pilot training, which comes from the high fuel costs associated with the needed 1,500 hours of trained flying. This is where companies like Bye Aerospace can help invigorate the field, making training cheaper and the field more forward-looking.

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You Flushed the Toilet. They Made Some Bricks.

JoAnna Klein

January 31, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Australia, Melbourne, Australian Capital Territory

A civil engineer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Australia is converting biosolids, or disinfected leftovers from the water treatment process, into bricks for building. He claims they look, smell, and work the same as conventional fired clay bricks, but with an added benefit of saving land and energy and reducing carbon emissions.

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Reclaiming Appalachia

Mimi Pickering

January 18, 2019 |

Making Connections News |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Whitesburg, Kentucky

Innovative mine reclamation projects across five states in the Appalachian region allow local organizations, schools, and businesses to clean up and utilize abandoned mine land. From a school that's transforming abandoned mine land into a field of solar panels to a housing development project that uses abandoned mine federal grant money to build affordable and energy efficient housing, the Appalachian region is using a comprehensive approach to renew blighted mines.

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Reshaping Africa's rural food systems and cutting food losses

Peyton Fleming

January 15, 2019 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi Area

Food loss in sub-Saharan Africa is a common occurrence, due to the unreliability of brokers that sell the farmers produce, but groups throughout the region are fighting against this. From cooling systems that allow produce to last longer to connecting local farmers to work together to negotiate sales, post-harvest food projects are becoming an increasingly common solution.

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These startups are trying to reduce the massive carbon footprint of concrete

Adele Peters

January 14, 2019 |

FastCompany |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

A handful of sustainability-oriented startups are working with concrete companies around the world to reduce their carbon footprint. The concrete & cement industry is responsible for 8% of global carbon emissions; however, with technologies that capture CO2 within solid concrete, some companies have been able to decrease their emissions, while improving efficiency in the process.

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Solar Farms Shine a Ray of Hope on Bees and Butterflies

Jodi Helmer

January 14, 2019 |

Scientific American |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

As farmland is converted to space for solar panels, researchers are planting native wildflowers amongst the technology to support populations of bees and other insects facing endangerment. While it's not the only solution needed to reverse the decline of pollinating species, as seen in the past decade, planting them in solar sites are a useful start.

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Dutch eco initiative halves energy bills in first UK homes

Adam Vaughan

January 07, 2019 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Nottingham, England

By piloting a Dutch initiative to make homes more energy efficient with new windows and solar panels in the United Kingdom, tenants are seeing their monthly energy bills decrease by almost half. More than 150 social housing homes in Nottingham are testing the “Energiesprong” approach, which has already seen success in the Netherlands.

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This old coal plant is now a solar farm, thanks to pressure from local activists

Adele Peters

January 03, 2019 |

FastCompany |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Holyoke, Massachusetts

Turning a coal plant carbon neutral requires a community effort. In Holyoke, Massachusetts, community organizers from the Toxics Action Center and Neighbor to Neighbor, a local Latinx organization, succeeded in getting the coal plant in their city shut down and transformed into a commercial solar farm. Today, Holyoke’s electric utility uses the solar energy as part of a carbon-neutral plan.

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How a Louisville company aims to make electric cars cost less and drive farther using technology from CU

Mark Jaffe

January 02, 2019 |

The Colorado Sun |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisville, Colorado

Solid state battery technology is gaining momentum towards positively impacting electric cars in both cost and distance efficiency. In Louisville, Colorado, one company is looking at expanding this momentum by raising funds to build the largest solid state battery factory that is focusing on making "light, fast-charging and, hopefully, cheaper batteries for electric transportation, from next-generation electric vehicles to drones or even electric airplanes."

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