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Step by Powerful Step, Citizens Lead Puerto Rico into Its Solar Future

Melanie La Rosa

September 19, 2019 |

NACLA |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Puerto Rico

After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, knocking out power across the country, solar energy has stepped in to be a sustainable possibility. Such efforts have included lobbying local legislatures to incentivize communities to create their own solar project and training residents to install solar panels on their own. Many of the solar initiatives that have started have been community-led and hyper-local, meaning that what many deem a basic right – access to energy and electricity – are more accessible than ever.

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Storing energy in compressed air could finally become cheap enough for the big time

Akshat Rathi

September 19, 2019 |

Quartz |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Toronto, Ontario

To reduce carbon usage in electric grids, companies around the world have turned to new technologies that store wind energy that can be converted to electricity. One such company called Hydrostor, based in Ontario, Canada, traps compressed air in underground caverns to store energy without the use of fossil fuels.

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How Much Plastic Can You Eliminate From Your Life? Does It Make An Impact?

Kelley Griffin

September 16, 2019 |

Colorado Public Radio |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

At both the individual and corporate levels, action is being taken to eliminate the use of plastics. While many people have turned their attention to decreasing their own use of single-use plastics, many say that’s not enough. Instead, corporations bear the responsibility in creating and managing large-scale systems that eliminate the high use of non-reusable plastics.

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Život po uhlí. V čom sa môže horná Nitra inšpirovať príbehom belgického Genku

Michaela Barcíková Ria Gehrerová

September 12, 2019 |

Denník N |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Belgium, Genk

Belgický Genk je vynikajúcim príkladom toho, ako môže Slovensko prejsť k postindustriálnej a ekologickejšej budúcnosti. Mesto "vsadilo na inovácie a kreativitu", aby prinavrátilo pracovné miesta a presvedčilo mladých ľudí, aby zostali v tejto oblasti. Genk vybudoval centrum pre výskum zelenej energie, investoval do startupov v oblasti zelenej ekonomiky, podporoval umelecké inštalácie a zameral sa na poskytovanie kurzov a rekvalifikácie, aby pomohol baníkom zmeniť povolanie.

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A Greener Afterlife

Courtney Duchene

September 11, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia’s West Laurel Hill Cemetery has gone green. While the burial business may be notoriously filled with chemicals, this cemetery has introduced 50 different sustainability initiatives, including banning machinery use, only allowing biodegradable caskets – or no caskets at all – and keeping the grounds flourishing with native plants instead of manicured lawns. The efforts also include community engagement to bring residents into the environmental shift as part of a larger, cultural trend toward sustainability.

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The Fashion Executives Who Saved a Patagonian Paradise

Jason Mark

September 04, 2019 |

Sierra Club |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Chile, Patagonia National Park

After amassing a large amount of property in Chile, the Tompkins Conservation would donate millions of acres to the government to maintain as national parks for wildlife conservation and sustainable land use. This was the largest act of “wildlands philanthropy” in history. When the Tompkins started buying land, locals were at first distrustful, but now they’re concerned the government won’t be able to maintain the properties. Thanks to the Tompkins Conservation, wildlife, like the South Andean deer, are being reintroduced and forests have recovered.

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Gonzalo Muñoz - Triciclos, COP25, recycling, and climate change

Aleksandr Nechaev

September 02, 2019 |

Shake the World |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Chile, Santiago

This podcast is an interview with Gonzalo Muñoz, the founder of a successful recycling organization called Triciclos that started in Chile and has since reached 8 other countries. Triciclos was the first certified B corp in Latin America, and Muñoz is now also High-Level Climate Champion for COP25 by the government of Chile. Muñoz shares his insights on the Triciclos approach, waste as a design error, climate change, and more.

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Can tourists coexist with nature on Lebanon's Rabbit Island?

Olivia Cuthbert

August 30, 2019 |

Deutsche Welle (DW) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Lebanon, Palm Island

In a stark juxtaposition to Lebanon’s polluted beaches, just 150 off the coast lies Palm Island – more commonly known as Rabbit Island – seeking to remain pristine and pollution-free. Promapir, an EU-funded collaboration between Lebanon’s Environment Protection Committee and the Office d’Exploitation du Port de Tripoli, is charging visitors to help pay for rangers, trash disposal and maintenance of the plants and beaches. While a valiant effort, the real challenge will be changing the habits of those who visit to prevent them from leaving litter in the first place.

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How small businesses in Salt Lake City are helping to clear the air

Heather May

August 28, 2019 |

The Salt Lake Tribune |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Logan, Utah

VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, are a type of pollutant that can be found even in homes and small businesses, but across Utah, small businesses are finding creative ways to reduce their emissions. A mix of mandatory rules at the state level as well as supplementary grants to pay for the cost to switch to more environmentally-friendly machinery and materials has fueled this shift. Businesses including coffee shops, lawn care companies, and furniture stores are stepping up.

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Do plastic bag taxes or bans curb waste? 400 cities and states tried it out.

Matthew Zeitlin

August 27, 2019 |

Vox |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Across the world, countries are reckoning with its astounding single-use plastic bag waste by instituting legislation that taxes or all-out bans them. Research has shown that taxing the bags has been a more effective strategy with less unintended consequences, as banning often leads to a sharp increase in thicker plastics or paper bags. In places that have instituted the tax, they’ve seen a 40 percent decrease in usage, and arguably more importantly, a cultural shift away from single-use plastics.

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