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Farmers Are Using Flowers To Beat Back Pests Instead Of Chemicals

Aimee Lutkin

February 06, 2018 |

Green Matters |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: England, Lancaster, Lancashire

Scientists are experimenting with a natural form of pesticide by planting flowers amongst their crops to attract insects that eat the pests that damage the crops. One study in Switzerland found a 61% reduction in leaf damage after ladybugs visited the mixture of wheat, poppies, cilantro, and dill.

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How Bourbon and Big Data Are Cleaning Up Louisville

Arthur Allen

November 16, 2017 |

Politico |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisville, Kentucky

The city of Louisville, built and sustained largely by pollution-inducing industries such as rubber factories and bourbon distilleries, is grappling with how to make the city air cleaner. The novel Air Louisville study integrated a partnership between a technology healthcare startup and a government-sponsored initiative that tracked incidence of asthma in different areas of the city. The results are already leading to healthier residents, but it is also just the starting point for long-term change.

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The world is poorly designed. But copying nature helps.

Christophe Haubursin Roman Mars Kurt Kohlstedt

November 09, 2017 |

Vox |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Missoula, Montana

In 1989, when Japan’s bullet train debuted, it reached nearly 170 miles per hour, but was also exceptionally loud as it left any tunnel. To remedy this, engineers and designers turned to nature – mimicking different bird features in their redesign of the train. Known as biomimicry, the practice of looking at nature’s forms, processes, and ecosystems and incorporating them into human-made designs has gained in popularity in the last three decades.

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Inventing a Vocabulary to Help Inuit People Talk About Climate Change

Laura Poppick

October 17, 2017 |

Smithsonian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Inuvik

A graduate student from British Columbia, the Arctic Energy Alliance, and the elders of the Inuvialuit people may seem a strange team, but together they are tackling the dual concerns of climate change and the loss of indigenous language in Canada. By inventing new terms and words in the Inuvialuit language to describe renewable energy technologies, they are increasing awareness about sustainable development while helping preserve the culture and heritage of this unique population.

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These dogs live to work — and threatened animals live because they do

Isabelle Groc

October 11, 2017 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Namibia, Otjiwarongo

The challenges of wildlife conservation are numerous, including illegal hunting and habitat loss. Numerous organizations, including the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, are training people, from farmers to scientists, to use an ancient tool to help: domesticated dogs. Better than any existing technology, working canines are helping conservationists on numerous fronts, from sniffing out poachers to tracking elusive species, as well as protecting livestock, removing the rancher's perceived need to kill predators like cheetahs.

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Teaching the Next Generation to Fight Ocean Plastic Pollution

Erica Cirino

October 03, 2017 |

News Deeply |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Newport Beach, California

The 5 Gyres program is a pilot project that takes high school students from low-income districts out on boat expeditions to study the shocking amounts of plastic that can be found in our oceans, hoping to simultaneously raise awareness about this serious environmental issue for the next generation, while sparking interest in the sciences to underserved students.

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Green movement pivots toward minorities

Elizabeth Miller

September 26, 2017 |

Great Lakes Today |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

The largely homogenous demographic of those working in conservation contributes to disparities in representation, which in turn can lead to issues like the Flint water crises. Now several organizations, including the Alliance for the Great Lakes in Cleveland and the Environmental Fellows program at the University of Michigan, are working to include the diverse voices of different races, ages, and backgrounds in the conversation.

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‘Fingerprinting' the Ocean to Predict Devastating Sea Level Rise

Erica Cirino

September 18, 2017 |

News Deeply |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States

As temperatures continue to steadily and consistently rise because of climate change, the warming ocean has become an increasing threat to the livelihoods of those living near any shore. From Hurricane-force winds to rising sea levels that threaten floods, the potential for future storm surges is only becoming more apparent. In an effort to mitigate and potentially minimize loss, scientists from around the world are "fingerprinting" sea level rise by the use of satellites in an attempt to predict which coastal areas are most at risk from these impending storms.

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As Big Marine Reserves Proliferate, a New Focus on Enforcement

Matthew O. Berger

September 12, 2017 |

News Deeply |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Chile, Coquimbo

Scientists and conservationists have been pushing for more marine protected areas, regions that restrict human activity to protect marine life. But, they're quickly realizing it’s not about the quantity of mpa’s, but the quality.

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Network Effect: The Robots, Sensors and Satellites Digitizing the Ocean

Paul Tullis

September 11, 2017 |

News Deeply |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Sunnyvale, California

Despite advancements in technology in most sectors of life leading to an increase to access of information about practically anything, little is still known about the ocean and its behavioral patterns. Liquid Robotics – a Silicon Valley-based company – is trying to change that. Engineers here have created the "Wave Glider," which essentially acts as a router within the ocean powered by wave energy and solar panels. This invention can transmit data on tectonic activity that has the potential to predict tsunamis.

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