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Could 'invisible barcodes' revolutionise recycling?

Dougal Shaw

November 14, 2019 |

BBC |

Broadcast TV Programs |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: Germany, Andernach

A pilot recycling sorting method hosted in Germany has created an easier way for recyclable and non-recyclable products to be separated. Designers printed invisible digital codes - much like invisible barcodes that can be picked up by a grocery store scanner - onto a myriad of products for a sensor machine to be able to sort products by material; the sorting machine saw over 90% success in correct allocation. Now, some of the largest food companies in the world are working together to use this technology on a wider scale.

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Desertification Is Devouring India. But There's Hope in the Dunes

Rishika Pardikar

November 13, 2019 |

OZY |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: India, Laporiya, Rajasthan

The people of a small village on the edge of the Thar Desert have managed for decades to resist "desertification" -- degradation of arid land to the point that it is uninhabitable -- by storing monsoon waters for use later. The storage device, rectangular plots of land called chaukas, have worked well enough to be copied by dozens of other villages in the area. It is uncertain if this approach can reverse the loss of land, but it is at least holding off the rapid pace of desertification, which risks mass displacements of people as hundreds of millions of acreage is lost.

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In Borneo, healthy people equals healthy forests

Adam Wernick

November 12, 2019 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Borneo

Those who live on the island of Borneo understand that their well-being comes from the Gunung Palung National Park, but logging remained rampant because it was the only way to make money to pay for healthcare. Thus, an organization named "Health in Harmony" was borne through "radically listening" to locals to find out what they needed. This organization accepts creative forms of payment for healthcare and offers incentives to cease logging, including a chainsaw buyback program. As a result, ten years later they saw a 90% drop in logging households and a re-growth of 52,000 acres of forest.

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'The woods, they hide so much': Animal Cruelty out of sight out of mind?

Rebecca Lindstrom Lindsey Basye

November 12, 2019 |

WXIA-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Pennsylvania

To address animal cruelty in Pennsylvania, a team of law enforcement officers are receiving special training to better identify and prosecute the guilty. This effort gives limited enforcement powers to those trained and allows them to be hired by animal welfare groups to serve search warrants, charge and arrest those involved, and appear in court.

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Safer at sea: The unexpected benefit of traceability for small-scale fishers

Laura Villadiego

November 12, 2019 |

Mongabay |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Philippines, General Santos City

Efforts to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing also make fishermen safer at sea. Vessel Monitoring Mechanisms (VMM) and electronic catch documentation (eCDT) track the origin of fish headed to market, part of an international effort to ensure sustainable and equitable practices. Data transmission also makes fishermen safer, relaying their locations from hundreds of miles out at sea. In the Philippines, a partnership between Futuristic Aviation and Maritime Enterprise (FAME) and USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership helps cover subscription fees for FAME radio transmitter service.

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Galvanized by disaster

Beth Edwards

November 11, 2019 |

Indiana Environmental Reporter |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Goshen, Indiana

After devastating floods hit the town of Goshen, the small town in Indiana used the experience as an opportunity to work towards disaster preparedness. Focusing not just on what would work best against environmental change and the subsequent severe weather created by it but also what would move the city forward, the mayor has been able to implement a series of changes including partnerships to increase awareness as well as community youth involvement.

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Free the Floodplains!

Yen Duong

November 11, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

There is a unique, homegrown local flood buyout program in Charlotte, NC that helps homeowners on floodplains relocate safely and with financial security. This came as a result of the city and county of Charlotte forming a joint storm water utility in the 1990's, which generated money by fixing aging pipes and other storm water needs—funding the local “Quick Buy” program. This gets the aid to the homeowners much quicker than FEMA money does and has since relocated 650 families and saved $25 million in losses.

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On Virginia's Eastern Shore, wild horses are an asset, not a headache

Harrison Mantas

November 11, 2019 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chincoteague, Virginia

While Western towns struggle with the growth of wild horse populations in the area, a small town on the coast of Virginia has established a way to maintain population size and care for the horses. Volunteers manage a population of 150 horses, auction off newborn foals, and inject contraceptive into female horses to keep the population size at bay.

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Lake Erie's green monster: Climate change adds pressure to prevent toxic algal blooms

Brian Albrecht

November 10, 2019 |

Cleveland.com (The Plain Dealer) |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ohio

Toxic green algae has become a prominent threat in Lake Erie, but local farmers are trying to reduce their footprint by limiting agricultural nutrient runoff from manure and fertilizer that is spread on their farm fields. From increasing transparency around agriculture practices to altering how fertilizer is distributed, early signs are showing success with these measures despite there still being a long ways to go.

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Battle to restore Chesapeake Bay provides lessons for Great Lakes

Brian Albrecht

November 10, 2019 |

Cleveland.com (The Plain Dealer) |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Chesapeake, Ohio

The Great Lakes region is becoming overtaken by algal blooms, but reduction efforts from past projects are helping to create a guide for a way forward. The Chesapeake Bay Program – a multi-state and multi-agency effort – is proving to be one such model since reporting "reductions in algae growth, and an increasing percentage of water tributaries meeting clean water standards."

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