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A Florida Study Showed How to Save Energy at Home. Why Aren't More Cities and States Following Suit?

Chad Small

January 21, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Florida

A pilot energy retrofit project in Florida has shown that these upgrades for homeowners ultimately saves them money and energy, and can be made accessible to people from all types of socioeconomic backgrounds. This private-public partnership retrofitted 56 single-family homes, some with “shallow” retrofits like LED lightbulbs and smart plugs and some with “phased deep” retrofits like energy-efficient windows and air conditioners. The program showed that all participants saved energy and could be scaled to other states.

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How Solar Panels Could Help Save Struggling Farms

XiaoZhi Lim

January 18, 2021 |

The Huffington Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

As the amount of farmland decreases in the United States and climate change brings hotter and drier conditions, many farmers are turning to agrivoltaics — growing crops and installing solar panels on the same land — as a way to make ends meet. Research on a garden in Arizona showed that certain crops like tomatoes and chiltepin peppers were able to thrive under the shade of solar panels, while also improving the solar panels’ productivity. “It’s a very unique positive feedback,” said one of the researchers.

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The Island Where Everyone Owns the Wind

Andrew Wear

December 25, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Denmark, Samso Island

Denmark’s Samso Island has not only succeeded in generating 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy - which is the nation’s goal by 2030 - it is now carbon negative. Locals initially pushed back on the idea of loud and unsightly windmills but had a change of heart when part ownership of the turbines was offered. Samso Island’s success in addressing climate change so effectively was a result of civic participation and the opportunity for economic development.

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Breaking Buildings' Addiction to Fossil Fuels

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Alex Blumberg

December 10, 2020 |

Gimlet Media |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

BlocPower retrofits buildings with energy-efficient equipment in financially underserved communities by offering loans to building owners for no money down. The company has completed about 1,000 projects by bundling the financing for many projects and finding investors willing to provide capital for the larger sum, which reduces investor risk. The group also created technology to reduce the costs of building inspections and energy usage monitoring. The new equipment increases building values and reduces energy costs so that owners pay less in monthly loan repayments than they would with the old equipment.

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The Weight of the World

Amy Yee

December 10, 2020 |

Terrain.org |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Watamu

Local Ocean Conservation is in Watamu, Kenya has made approximately 21,000 turtle rescues and "treated more than 650 turtles in its rehabilitation center and clinic" since it's inception in 1997. The group responds to fishermen who have accidentally caught turtles in their nets and then remunerates the fishermen for their "time, effort, and phone calls." This incentive-based relationship combined with a ban on the international tortoiseshell trade has helped decrease the poaching of turles, and the group has now expanded their efforts to include more initiatives to protect the endangered species.

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A Desert City Tries to Save Itself With Rain

Chris Malloy

November 23, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

As Tucson works to combat the effects of climate change, the Arizona city has been implementing policies to conserve its limited water supply through initiatives like a city rebate program. By focusing efforts on water harvesting — both rainwater, which can be drinkable, and stormwater, which can be used for irrigation — the city can use that water to create more green spaces and lower water bills. The rebate program pays back residents as much as $2,000 for purchasing water harvesting systems. During one year, the program saved 52.1 million gallons of water, which is enough for 160 households.

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Why Las Vegas Is at the Heart of Western States' Water Conundrums

Frederick Clayton

November 15, 2020 |

Truthout |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Las Vegas, Nevada

After running out of water during a drought in 2002, the Southern Nevada Water Authority and Las Vegas Valley Water District took proactive steps to conserve the region’s water for future generations. Thanks to public service campaigns, outdoor water usage limits, and turf replacement programs, the region’s water usage per capita has dropped by 46 percent. However, many people still don’t fully comply with the city’s water regulations and the region continues to grow at an expanding rate. Yet, similar conservation efforts could be a model for other arid regions around the United States.

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Urban farmers in Richmond are helping in the fight against food insecurity

Cameron Nielsen

November 05, 2020 |

Richmond Confidential |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Richmond, California

Urban Tilth, an urban farm in California, is providing food directly to communities in need and upending the traditional food supply chain so they can help people access healthy and sustainably-grown food. They have been providing local organic food to 190 families financially impacted by COVID-19, almost six times more food they’ve distributed since the pandemic began.

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How Norway Built an Economy That Puts People First

Isabella Breda

November 03, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Norway

Despite a nationwide months-long coronavirus lockdown in Norway, the economy was able to remain stable due to a "decades-long effort to create an equitable economy" that helped the government to enact a package that provided businesses and self-employed individuals' tax relief and deferrals. Although Norwegians pay roughly the same amount of taxes that Americans do, their taxes largely pay for social welfare programs which include unemployment benefits, retirement pay, and health care coverage. This "national ethos of economic equity" is what helped the country to navigate the pandemic.

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This Addiction Treatment Works. Why Is It So Underused?

Abby Goodnough

October 27, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A substance abuse program known as contingency management offers incentives to those who to stay in treatment and remain abstinent from the use of drugs. Although not all agree with the merits of the program and question the underlying morals of the concept, anecdotal accounts from participants and studies have shown that it can be "highly effective" in helping to treat substance abuse.

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