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Energy efficient homes mean less air pollution. But are they affordable?

Heather May

March 09, 2020 |

The Salt Lake Tribune |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kearns, Utah

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change and air pollution, Habitat for Humanity Salt Lake Valley is building airtight homes that will also reduce energy costs and be affordable for people experiencing economic hardship. The home are largely being built by volunteers, so the process has been slow and there have been mistakes in building the homes. However, the homes are estimated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4.9 tons a year.

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How women in Iowa are leading farmland conservation efforts

Mark Bittman Melanie Saltzman

March 07, 2020 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV Programs |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Iowa

A group of women called The Women, Food and Agriculture Network was founded in 1998 in Iowa to educate female landowners about land conservation and implementing sustainable practices on their farms. The group has held more than 250 meetings since 2009, reaching more than 3,800 women landowners—and their surveys find that after a one-day session, 50-70% of the women go on to take an action to improve conservation on their property. Longterm, this group empowers women to play a bigger role in the future of agriculture in the state.

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Bringing freshwater turtles out of their shells and into the spotlight

Aditi Tandon

March 06, 2020 |

Mongabay |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Assam

Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises of India (FTTI) is a research and conservation group protecting the 29 species of turtles and tortoises in the country. For founders Anuja Mital and Sneha Dharwadkar, the project is extra important as many of these species are endangered, and they play a crucial role in maintaining balance in river and lake ecosystems. The project has also allowed them to serve as role models for the importance of female researchers feeling comfortable doing important fieldwork.

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The Dutch have mastered water for a millennium. Could their new approach save New Orleans?

Tristan Baurick

March 06, 2020 |

The Times-Picayune |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Hoek Van Holland

As New Orleans and the Louisiana coast become increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels, the city is looking to the example of the Netherlands in using nature as a tool in coastal preservation. In the Netherlands, the Maeslant storm surge barrier was built 23 years ago with the ability to block out waters to prevent flooding. In recent years, however, the Dutch have adapted: using green roofs, adding trees as an extra defense in front of levees, and looking to nature more and more to protect cities in the age of climate change.

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How the Dutch Are Building Coastal Protection for Less — With Nature's Help

Tristan Baurick Tegan Wendland

March 06, 2020 |

The Times-Picayune |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Ter Heidje

As climate change threatens many countries’ coasts, the Netherlands embarked on an experiment to improve their storm and flood defenses. Called the Zandmotor, this beach project is a nature-based solution to protect the coastline from rising seas and more intense storms. This idea in water protection and coastal management could be helpful in Louisiana where they face similar threats from climate change, but finances and federal laws have proved a challenge.

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Stemming the tide

Jessianne Castle

March 04, 2020 |

Explore Big Sky |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Montana

As a neurological disorder known as chronic wasting disease spreads among wildlife herds like deer and elk in Montana, the state is trying to increase testing of the fatal disease and understand if it can be transmitted to humans. By learning from the failures in Wyoming, a state agency offered free statewide testing to hunters resulting in new positives in areas that they might have missed, which will help them track how the disease spreads across the landscape.

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Madhya Pradesh's ‘fluoride warriors' unleash citizen science to empower community

Sahana Ghosh

March 02, 2020 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

As part of a social work graduate program through Alirajpur Post Graduate College, a group of students are using “citizen science” to share their research that water with elevated levels of fluoride can be dangerous to drink. This has especially been an opportunity for female students to develop public speaking skills while connecting with women whose role it is to manage water for their households and encourage them to use wells with the appropriate fluoride levels, based on their data and research.

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Plan B: reboiser sans planter d'arbres, c'est possible

Laureline Savoye

March 02, 2020 |

Le Monde |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Senegal

Alors que le projet de Grande Muraille verte destinée à contenir les sécheresses dues au changement climatique n'atteint pas ses objectifs, quelles solutions imaginer pour reverdir le Sahel ? Au Sénégal, des projets de régénération naturelle assistée permettent de reboiser sans planter la moindre graine. Une technique déjà appliquée au Niger qui, en 37 ans, a permis de restaurer 6 millions d’hectares, soit 240 millions d’arbres, sans qu’un seul n’ait été planté.

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The Beautiful Place that Stopped Big Bottled Water

Hannah Wallace

March 02, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cascade Lockes, Oregon

Washington State could pass one of the toughest restrictions on water bottling operations in the United States, thanks to activists who raised environmental concerns over a bottling facility that wanted to open in a town. Their advocacy is modeled after a similar legal fight in Oregon, where environmentalists, Native American tribes, and labor unions came together behind the campaign. Their success could provide a plan for similar efforts in other communities.

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Meet the Detectives Solving Crimes Against Trees

Klaus Sieg

February 28, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany, Hamburg

The Center of Competence on the Origin of Timber in Germany is using innovative methods to help determine timber products’ origins in order to stop illegal wood trading. Scientists can identify wood’s anatomical features and compare them with microscopic samples in the center’s digital database to determine where a piece of wood originally grew. While the process can sometimes take a while, the center has had some successes in detecting illegal logging from some manufacturers.

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