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Silicon Valley voters just demanded that tech companies be responsible for their communities

Sean Captain

November 07, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Taxing big tech is a popular idea among residents of cities profoundly shaped by the industry. San Francisco, Mountain View, and East Palo Alto have all approved new taxes pulling money from big tech to fund housing and homelessness programs, public transportation and bike paths, and local STEM education.

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Make Voting Easy

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

November 07, 2018 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

Voter turnout is higher where voting is made easy. Consider one innovation: vote-by mail. States that allowed mail-in ballots had an average of 10 percent more voting in the 2016 election than other states. More innovations include pre-registering young voters, automatically updating a voter’s address when they move, automatically registering citizens unless they opt out, and same-day voter registration.

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From German trains to South Korean buses, hydrogen fuel is back in the energy picture

Bianca Nogrady

November 06, 2018 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Hamburg

Hydrogen fuel has made promising strides from Germany to Japan, thanks to shifting markets for renewables, improved storage technologies, and emissions-reduction goals. Electrolysis that uses renewables to make the fuel could transform transportation and energy infrastructure, but a few concerns about the unintended effects persist.

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The Country That Can Jail You For Using Plastic Bags

Sam Judah

November 06, 2018 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Kenya

Countries across the world are aiming to reduce their plastic waste. African countries, however, are leading the way with a variety of techniques. Kenya in particular has taken one of the most drastic approaches by having plastic bags in one's possession punishable by $40,000 or even jail time.

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Undocumented Black Migrants Build an Informal Organizing Network

Carla Pineda

November 06, 2018 |

Law at the Margins |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Grassroots organizers use mobile technology to spread information and resources to underserved immigrant communities. Groups like the Haitian Bridge Alliance and UndocuBlack mobilize legal and social resources for immigrants who belong to groups often characterized as “invisible” in the public discourse, because they represent such a small percentage of the migrant population. Mobile tech enables these nonprofits to publicize individual cases and quickly connect immigrants to appropriate social networks.

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Seattle's radical plan to fight big money in politics

Sarah Kliff

November 05, 2018 |

Vox |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Seattle tripled the number of people who contributed to local political campaigns by giving each resident $100 in “democracy vouchers” to contribute to the candidate of their choice. The concept was to counter the effect of big money in politics. Although the program was a widely popular idea, it ended up being expensive to run and only 3.3 percent of residents who received the vouchers actually used them.

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E-rickshaws as antidote to air pollution: Hope for Bengaluru or pipe-dream?

Manasi Paresh Kumar

November 02, 2018 |

Citizen Matters |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Bengaluru

In Bengaluru, switching from rickshaws to electric autos could help reduce noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 0.11 million tons each year. But the policies that encourage electric autos only exist, largely, on paper.

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The Seattle Experiment

Kenny Malone

November 02, 2018 |

NPR |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Seattle’s “Democracy Vouchers,” funded by a ballot measure to increase property taxes, provide money for residents to make campaign contributions, which increases civic participation and helps people running for office without political connections fund their campaigns. Every city resident receives four 25$ vouchers that they can sign over to the candidate of their choice and mail back in a pre-stamped envelope. Even though only 3% of vouchers were actually used, the number of people contributing to campaigns tripled and several non-establishment candidates were able to run campaigns and get elected.

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This smart outlet uses AI to help you lower your electric bill

Adele Peters

November 01, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Palo Alto, California

Households across the United States are using (and paying) for energy that they're not actively consuming. A new invention that connects to an app helps identify the how much energy is being expended by various appliances so people can actively cut down on their electric utilities.

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Women in tech are mobilizing to improve access to abortion providers

Rina Raphael

November 01, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Davis, California

A collaboration between pro-choice activists and tech workers is—in the face of increasing restrictive policy—creating access to services and information. Events like the Abortion Access Hackathon provide a means for collective action to create websites detailing the location of clinics and each state’s law regarding abortion.

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