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 203 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

Oregon Is Turning Sewage into an Endless Supply of Green Energy

Britany Robinson

March 17, 2022 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Clackamas county, Oregon

A wastewater treatment plant in Oregon not only cleans water that is released into the local river, but it also creates fertilizer that is sent to farmers to use on non-food crops and it produces renewable power from methane. The green energy created at the plant heats five buildings on the site and produces half of the energy the facility uses. This kind of co-generation system is growing in other places in the United States, China, Brazil, and Norway.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The ‘timber detectives' on the front lines of illegal wood trade

Peter Yeung

March 09, 2022 |

National Geographic |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany, Hamburg

At the Thünen Institute in Germany, a team of 15 people are working to identify culprits of the world’s third largest criminal sector: the illegal wood trade. Since 2013, they have been analyzing and identifying the origin of wood products to determine if they were made from endangered or protected tree species. In 2021, they analyzed about 10,000 samples and are working with organizations and authorities around the world to prevent illegal logging.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The Eco-Friendlier Future of the Disposable Spork

Michaela Haas

February 11, 2022 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany, Schwedt

A clean-tech startup in Germany is producing sustainable food packaging out of agricultural waste as an alternative solution to single-use plastic. Bio-Lutions claims its products are compostable and uses less water than other products, but the material used won’t work for some food items like hot beverages. The company already has investors such as Delivery Hero that will use its products when the factory is producing compostable packaging.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Pueblos in New Mexico turn to goats for fire management

Wufei Yu

October 29, 2021 |

High Country News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Sandia Pueblo, New Mexico

Tribes in New Mexico have enlisted over 70 goats to help clear dry brush, branches, and invasive plants, which can otherwise become fuel for potential fires. The program, which has been running for almost a whole year has proven successful and it serves a dual purpose--the goats eat, and the chances of potential fires are greatly reduced. "Sandia Pueblo’s goat experiment has garnered interest from other tribes that see goats as a more natural way to tend the land than heavy machinery and chemicals."

Read More
Go to Original Story
A shot of recycled water revives a flourishing ecosystem on the Santa Cruz River in Tucson

Ian James

September 08, 2021 |

AZ Central (The Arizona Republic) |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

By rewetting part of the Santa Cruz River in Tucson, the city has been able to revitalize an ecosystem that was once thought to be lost. Through collaboration and research, hundreds of species of creatures have returned to the river. This restoration project could serve as a model for other cities that want to help their desert rivers and sustain wildlife habitats.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Many mangrove restorations fail. Is there a better way?

Katarina Zimmer

July 22, 2021 |

Knowable Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Guinea-Bissau

Mangrove forests are known to be excellent storers of carbon and hosts of biodiversity, but they are also able to protect communities on coastlines from storm surge. However, many of the projects to restore these forests fail because they are rushed or planted in the wrong places. Scientists argue that organizers should focus on natural regrowth or “ecological mangrove restoration,” a science-based approach, which has been used in Indonesia and Guinea-Bissau.

Read More
Go to Original Story
State employees work from home when threat of bad air quality looms

Sydney Glenn

June 22, 2021 |

KSTU-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah

Although work-from-home was mostly a reaction in response to the pandemic, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the strategy has developed the potential to improve air quality. Most state employees are now required to telework certain days in order to help curb bad air quality days, and are given at least a 48-hour notice. During the pandemic, having close to 9,000 state employees stay home reduced pollution by 40 tons over the course of April 2020 to May 2021.

Read More
Go to Original Story
'The Beachcombers' town is now famous for fighting climate change

Alanna Mitchell

May 18, 2021 |

Broadview Magazine |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Gibsons, British Columbia

A hit TV show in the 1970s and ‘80s called The Beachcombers brought the town of Gibsons and its logging practices into homes across Canada. After years of pollution and land degradation, it became one of the first towns in the world to incorporate nature into the municipality’s finances. Developers have to take stock of what natural infrastructure is on their property before they build. The town also launched an initiative to encourage other places to calculate the value of their green infrastructure. So far, 30 of them have signed up across the Great White North.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The Bright Side of the Green Crab

Moira Donovan

May 13, 2021 |

Hakai Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Nova Scotia

The invasive European green crab was wreaking havoc on the soft-shell clam fishery in Nova Scotia. But fishers, researchers, and park officials worked together to remove as many of them as possible and find an alternative use for them. Their efforts were working: eelgrass meadows and clam populations were rebounding. Now, they’re testing how these crabs can be used in lobster bait, bioplastics, or even fertilizer for gardens.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Farmers Trying To Save The Ogallala Aquifer Face Tension From Peers, But Their Profits Are Improving

David Condos

May 05, 2021 |

High Plains Public Radio |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Hays, Kansas

Once Kansas formed its first local enhanced management area — or LEMA — where a certain land area had strict irrigation limits, many farmers weren’t happy about it. But a research study found that instead of cutting their water usage by 20 percent as required by the law, many decreased it by 31 percent. While they do have slightly smaller harvests, one farmer said they were making more money inside the LEMA than before. “It seems really encouraging because it seems like the program has both increased profits and increased water savings,” said one researcher.

Read More
Go to Original Story