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Stranded Aussies mapped in project aimed at removing the cap

Stephanie Capper

September 01, 2020 |

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Australia

Stranded overseas for more than half a year by border closings because of the pandemic, Australians flocked to a new mapping tool that tells the story of their plight. Remove the Cap website attracted more than 600 users in more than 30 countries in just its first week online, all of whom posted their photo and the story of their inability to return home. It’s too soon to tell if the site can succeed in easing the government’s cap on the number of returnees, but in the meantime it provides a platform for frustrated citizens who want their stories told.

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Bitcoin Miner Is Scoring 700% Profits Selling Energy to Grid

Chris Martin

September 01, 2020 |

Bloomberg |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

A cryptocurrency mining company in Texas called Layer1 can power down its data-processing centers and sell its unused electricity back to the power grid. Instead of passively consuming energy, they are able to utilize batteries, smart meters, and artificial intelligence software to use more renewable energy and, at the same time, make a profit. While scaling this response can be difficult due to restrictions from utility companies on how consumers get their energy, Layer1 estimates it will save up to $6.7 million annually by cutting production for 30 minutes during some of the hottest days in the summer.

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How Philadelphia Has Tried to Address Water Debt

Emily Nonko

September 01, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

An income-based payment structure has alleviated water debt in Philadelphia. Decreasing federal aid to municipal water utilities in conjunction with rising costs associated with climate change has increased the cost of water, making it unaffordable for many. Philadelphia created an income-based program, which caps water bills at three percent of income. The Tiered Assistance Program, or TAP, also provides debt elimination for those who make their minimum payments. Advocates have successfully pushed for similar reforms in Baltimore.

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Lawmakers want to revive FDR's Depression-era "tree army" to help boost rural economies

Jason Nark

August 31, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a New Deal program to build outdoor recreation facilities, creating thousands of jobs during the Great Depression and building iconic state parks. Delaware programs, like the Senior Corps that enlists the help of people over 55, encourage civic engagement modeled after the CCC. Pennsylvania's Outdoor Corps hires young people to restore public lands over the summer. Congress introduced bills to revive CCC-like initiatives that could support rural economies hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, but environmental funding is not a priority of the current administration.

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How Angela Merkel's great migrant gamble paid off

Philip Oltermann

August 30, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany

Five years after Germany sparked controversy with a welcoming message to the flood of refugees applying for asylum, more than half of those 1.7 million refugees have work and pay taxes, their youth show strong signs of belonging to their German communities, and more than 10,000 have mastered the language enough to enroll in German universities. Refuting anti-immigrant skeptics meant overcoming, or enduring, enormous social and economic challenges. Despite many bumps, the policy now appears to have avoided the nightmare scenarios foreseen by critics, such as inviting even more refugees.

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The Law Preventing Congress from Sending States the Coronavirus Bill

Alan Greenblatt

August 27, 2020 |

Governing |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) protects states from having to fund federal laws. Prior to its passage, Congress passed bills without worrying about how to fund them, leaving states, cities, and counties to pay for federal mandates. Though UMRA has not been foolproof, 185 unfunded mandates were passed in 1993 before the law was passed and only 15 laws that violate UMRA limits were enacted between 1996 and 2018. Congress is not required to fund the whole bill, which means localities can still be required to pay significant amounts for federally mandated laws.

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Grounded by the pandemic, community groups are working to save Cleveland's Census

Lee Chilcote Conor Morris

August 25, 2020 |

The Land |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

With 75 micro-grants totaling $200,000, community organizations in Cleveland encourage people to complete the census in innovative ways. The Cleveland Caravan, or La Caravana, is a collaborative effort where trucks play looped messages in English and Spanish over a loud speaker with information on how to fill out the Census, vote, and stay safe during the pandemic. Asian Services in Action and Us Together, a refugee and immigrant services group, conduct outreach and have helped 1,190 and 700 people complete the Census respectively. Despite these efforts, the city's response rate is comparatively low.

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Five years after arrival, Germany's refugees are integrating

The Economist

August 25, 2020 |

The Economist |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany

The 2015 influx of 1.2 million refugees was resettled all across Germany and has been somewhat successfully integrated five years later. Many local municipalities quickly adapted to the influx, providing language courses and housing services even without direction from the federal government. Rates of employment for refugees has been over 40 percent.

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Mexico Is Saving Its Coral Reef From Hurricanes With A One-Of-A-Kind Plan

Alexandra Kirkman

August 24, 2020 |

The Huffington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo

To protect the Mesoamerican Reef from the effects of climate change, key stakeholders in Mexico created the world’s first insurance policy to protect a natural asset. The policy provides an immediate infusion of cash in the event of a damaging storm, allowing hotel owners and local governments to quickly repair the reef and prevent further degradation. A volunteer corps of people called the Guardians of the Reef make those repairs. While the insurance policy doesn’t cover pollution or overfishing, this mechanism could work for reefs in other countries to restore and protect threatened ecosystems.

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‘It's like paradise for us': the Cree Nation's fight to save the Broadback Forest

Sarah Cox

August 22, 2020 |

The Narwhal |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Quebec

Canopy works to preserve the untouched Broadback Forest, which stores twice as much carbon as the Amazon and is central to the Cree Nation. The nonprofit works with 750 corporations, including fashion brands, commercial printers, and publishers to reduce the amount of packaging they use and eliminate sourcing from biodiverse, ancient, and endangered forests. They help source waste from grain and other food harvests for packaging, paper, and fabric production and enlist companies’ support of conservation initiatives. They also partner with other groups to lobby the government to protect the Broadback forest.

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