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Power Struggle

Mitch Anderson

December 07, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Humboldt County, California

The Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe in California installed its own small-scale electrical supply grid using solar panels and Tesla batteries to make their community more resilient to energy disruptions and lower carbon dioxide emissions. This proved useful during the 2019 wildfire season when utility companies shut down power for millions of residents. The tribe is now helping other Native reserves to build their own microgrid systems.

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Safer at sea: The unexpected benefit of traceability for small-scale fishers

Laura Villadiego

November 12, 2019 |

Mongabay |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Philippines, General Santos City

Efforts to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing also make fishermen safer at sea. Vessel Monitoring Mechanisms (VMM) and electronic catch documentation (eCDT) track the origin of fish headed to market, part of an international effort to ensure sustainable and equitable practices. Data transmission also makes fishermen safer, relaying their locations from hundreds of miles out at sea. In the Philippines, a partnership between Futuristic Aviation and Maritime Enterprise (FAME) and USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership helps cover subscription fees for FAME radio transmitter service.

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In Borneo, healthy people equals healthy forests

Adam Wernick

November 12, 2019 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Borneo

Those who live on the island of Borneo understand that their well-being comes from the Gunung Palung National Park, but logging remained rampant because it was the only way to make money to pay for healthcare. Thus, an organization named "Health in Harmony" was borne through "radically listening" to locals to find out what they needed. This organization accepts creative forms of payment for healthcare and offers incentives to cease logging, including a chainsaw buyback program. As a result, ten years later they saw a 90% drop in logging households and a re-growth of 52,000 acres of forest.

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A Native American Tribe's Quest: Give Us Back Our Island

Sarah Holder

November 05, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Eureka, California

In October of 2019, the city of Eureka, California returned stolen lands to the Wiyot Tribe, the region’s Native American people. This was done over a decade after a brutal massacre on the land, which is an island that had slowly become overgrown and deemed uninhabitable. The Wiyots worked every weekend for years cleaning up the land, and now, with a clean bill of health and the property rights, they can start to heal as a community together again.

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Water Warriors

Michael Premo Rachel Falcone

November 04, 2019 |

PBS POV |

Documentary |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Canada, New Brunswick

After an energy company began exploring New Bruncwick territory for oil and natural gas, Indigenous tribes and white people worked together to protect their water and ban fracking. They held protests at government buildings and set up road blocks to prevent equipment trucks from getting out. Some of the protests included violent clashes with police, which made national news and drew more supporters. As a result of their actions, the government put a moratorium on fracking in the Canadian province.

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Think rural America doesn't care about the climate? Think again.

Scott Shigeoka

October 29, 2019 |

Grist |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Morris, Minnesota

Voices for Rural Resilience is an organization that spurs collaboration amongst rural farmers on addressing issues of climate change. Anna Claussen, the founder, says that there are misconceptions of rural America and that a space is needed for people to have these conversations with those who disagree with them. The group identifies local issues and solutions to those issues, and they present them to local, state, and national policymakers. Participants also testify to the power of the conversations and learning new things.

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Resisting GMOs and Preserving Indigenous Culture in Rural Mexico

Timothy A. Wise

October 26, 2019 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Cuetzalán, Puebla

A collection of remote villages in Mexico have banded together to create "a union of cooperatives that is achieving food sovereignty through agroecology." Their efforts started in the 1990s, when corporations were looming to come in and stir up ecotourism. They created The Tosepan Titataniske and zoned their own community, winning out against Walmart and Montsanto. Now the area is completely food independent, growing their own produce and making money on local coffee.

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Can Green License Plates Help Plug Electric Cars?

Feargus O'Sullivan

October 25, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

The United Kingdom has started cracking down on high-emission vehicle drivers by creating restricted zones that fine drivers of cars that emit a designated amount of pollution into the air; the carbon emissions in this type of zone in London has decreased by more than a third in six months. Now, the U.K. is taking their sustainability initiative a step further by labeling low-emission cars with green license plates that allow them to be easily recognized - and rewarded.

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A Vision For Floating Buildings, Minus the Libertarian Politics

Lindsey J. Smith

October 16, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

A floating prototype in the San Francisco bay - envisioned by researchers at California College of Art - is testing the sustainability and possibilities of the creation of floating buildings. The structure, which has successfully integrated with barnacles and other marine life, is one in a number of visions of floating communities that respond to the rapidly appearing effects of climate change on coastal communities.

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5 Decades Later, New Communities Land Trust Still Helps Black Farmers

Debbie Elliott

October 03, 2019 |

NPR |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Albany, Georgia

The New Communities Land Trust was created in the 1960s as a way to build power and equity for and among African Americans in Georgia. The Trust works with Black farmers on many different levels, including helping them strengthen their farming practices and businesses. While the Trust was lost in 1985 due to discriminatory bank practices, it was restarted with a $12 million settlement from the federal government.

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