Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 298 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

How a Guatemalan Town Tackled Its Plastic Problem

Lola Mendez

January 03, 2019 |

Atlas Obscura |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Guatemala, San Pedro La Laguna

San Pedro La Laguna, a town in Guatemala, has banned single use plastics including plastic bags and straws after realizing that plastic pollution was ruining the ecosystem of Lake Atitlan and that a new waste facility would be unable to handle the amount of garbage created in the village. To ensure that people follow the new regulation, there are heavy fees - but the town also bought traditionally made biodegradable replacements; the change is being framed as a way to return to traditional, indigenous ways for the communities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
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.

Read More
Go to Original Story
With no oil cleanup in sight, Amazon tribes harvest rain for clean water

Dan Collyns

December 27, 2018 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Ecuador, Lago Agrio, Sucumbíos

Following decades of oil companies contaminating the water, indigenous groups in Ecuador’s Sucumbíos province have built systems for rainwater collection and filtration. These systems have provided people with clean water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing--a potentially powerful tool for other contaminated rural areas.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Guatemala: An indigenous community rejects, then accepts, a protected area

Anna-Catherine Brigida

December 12, 2018 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Guatemala, Río Sarstún

After initially not involving the indigenous Q’eqchi community in designating land for the Río Sarstún Multiple Use Area – land that this community lives on – the government and the Q’eqchi since partnered together to advance conservation efforts and land management. Over a decade later, the two stakeholders work together on things like overfishing and ecotourism, part of a larger global trend of governments and local communities working collaboratively toward conservation.

Read More
Go to Original Story
With eyes on COP24 in Poland, a Dutch success story offers inspiration

Lizan Nijkrake

December 07, 2018 |

Open Canada |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Netherlands

With national governments around the world dragging their feet when it comes to honoring their commitments to curb carbon emissions, some citizens are finding success in court. In 2015, a coalition of unlikely Dutch citizens, including a DJ, entrepreneurs, and national weathermen, successfully sued the Dutch government for endangering them by not cutting gas emissions enough. The court then ruled that the Netherlands had to cut the nation’s emissions by 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Artist Installs Bells Throughout Oakland that Detect Air Pollution

Emily Wilson

November 30, 2018 |

Hyperallergic |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Installed throughout Oakland, Rosten Woo’s sculptures consist of bells that chime at quicker frequency the more particulate is present in the air. Through this means, Woo make air quality data visible and pushes for environmental justice.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Evangelicals Working To Stop Climate Change

Dave Miller Allison Frost

November 29, 2018 |

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

Portland-based NGO, Micah Challenge USA, uses scripture to reach Evangelicals about climate change. The organization partners with legislation-making initiatives, travels to Christian colleges, and contacts national and local leaders urging them to join the Climate Solutions Caucus. Underpinning every initiative is a core strategy: climate change is causing people to suffer, especially those that are experiencing poverty, and as Christians, they are called to help the poor and end their suffering.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Tanzanian Farmers Crack the Code for Fighting Land Grab

Kizito Makoye

November 13, 2018 |

OZY |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Tanzania

Indigenous people in Tanzania are using “legal expertise, political pressure and smart solutions like land mapping to win back plots — and then secure them — from corporations they accuse of using loopholes to grab territory.” While indigenous people live in most of the world’s land, they legally own less than ten percent of it. By mapping their territory and publically registering land, it is much harder for corporations to take control.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Why Green Classrooms Could Be the Schools of the Future

Adrienne Day

November 02, 2018 |

NationSwell |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Whether they have access to an excess of land or a spare rooftop on their building in the middle of a cramped city, schools across the United States are making efforts to incorporate more green space into their properties. Gardens and trees, in lieu of traditional asphalt playgrounds, offer a multitude of mental health and environmental benefits. Advocates of the green schoolyard movement emphasize that adding green spaces to schools is essential and should be thought of as part of any municipality's larger park planning process.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Toxic secrets: Pollution, evasion and fear in Wausau's River Street neighborhood

Shereen Siewert

October 30, 2018 |

Wausau Pilot and Review |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wausau, Wisconsin

A local citizens group called Citizens for a Clean Wausau in Wisconsin is calling for greater transparency from government officials on environmental records related to project zoning and properties. While the group has had some legal successes, project development projects have continued to move forward despite public health and environmental concerns from digging up contaminated soils.

Read More
Go to Original Story