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Grocery Stores and Local Recycling Centers Offer Solution to Plastic Bag Pollution

Emily Lanoue

September 25, 2019 |

Grady Newsource |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

Grocery stores across the nation have explored creative solutions to recycle plastic bags, including melting them into new bags and even using the material to build compact lumber and playground equipment. In Athens, Georgia, residents can bring their recyclables to the local Publix to be delivered to one of these specialty recycling centers.

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Are bioplastics better for the environment than conventional plastics?

Anja Krieger

July 16, 2019 |

Ensia |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Berlin

As people around the world become increasingly aware of the harmful nature of plastic use, bioplastics have risen in popularity. But the term “bioplastic” actually means different things and the type of bioplastics out there may or may not be as environmentally-friendly as they purport. While scientists continue to experiment in the design of a truly biodegradable plastic, many say that simple reduce and reuse is the way forward.

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The rise of urban food forests

Katie Pyzyk

July 02, 2019 |

Smart Cities Dive |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

Creating and supporting local food systems requires public-private partnerships in urban planning. Across the United States, nonprofit organizations such as Trees Atlanta in Georgia successfully work with cities to operate and maintain community orchards, or "food forests", on public lands. Planting food forests with several layers of fruit-bearing vegetation reduces the prevalence of food deserts, adding both green space and nutritional value to communities.

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Think Globally, Sustain Locally

Donna Liu

June 26, 2019 |

CivicStory |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Holmdel, New Jersey

A New Jersey nonprofit, Sustainable Jersey, is taking a collaborative approach to environmental health, action, and sustainability. The organization is primarily a certification program, giving New Jersey towns guidelines to follow when it comes to energy use, waste, water, and health, and spotlighting those that are doing it well. At its annual summit, it brought together organizations from across the state, calling upon them and others to take more drastic actions, especially when it comes to waste reduction.

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Termite and ventilation system

Patrick Aryee

May 20, 2019 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Zimbabwe, Harare

Buildings with permeable surfaces increase energy efficiency, mimicking natural structures. In Harare, Zimbabwe, the Eastgate Centre employs methods borrowed from termite mound construction to efficiently regulate the building's temperature. By employing insights that scientists had gained by studying the airflow in termite mounds, the Centre’s architects used materials with a high thermal mass, increased surface area, and maximized ventilation.

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Coastal Recovery: Bringing a Damaged Wetland Back to Life

Jim Morrison

May 09, 2019 |

Yale Environment 360 |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Milton, Delaware

A coastal recovery project in Delaware Bay is using a technique that they call "engineering with nature" to bring back the 4,000 acres of wetlands from the disastrous effects of human interference and climate change. They use a multitude of strategies, such as stabilizing the dunes and replanting native grasses, and although they approach the project as a research study without progress yet, they have already begun to see a return of wildlife including birds, eels, and crabs. Similar efforts to restore wetlands are also taking off across the globe.

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Probiotics help humans stay healthy. Can they benefit other animals, too?

Hannah Thomasy

May 02, 2019 |

Ensia |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boulder, Colorado

Across the world, research is being done to figure out if probiotics – live bacteria that hold numerous health benefits – can help animals other than humans. Thus far, such treatments have yielded success in labs working with amphibians, brown bats, and coral, demonstrating that humans can help treat wildlife diseases. While the research continues to show success, many are now figuring out how to give this sort of treatment in nature and on much larger scales.

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A southwest Florida fishing apparel business plants a mangrove for every product sold

Alex Figares

April 24, 2019 |

Changing Florida |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, West Palm Beach, Florida

A Florida Gulf Coast University graduate and his brother started a fishing apparel company where they plant a mangrove tree for every item sold. Mangroves are a key species to combatting climate change, providing a habitat for wildlife species, and filtering water. The company has planted about 30,000 mangroves in Florida, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Honduras.

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To save the monarch butterfly, Mexican scientists are moving a forest 1,000 feet up a mountain

Kate Linthicum

April 09, 2019 |

Los Angeles Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Ejido La Mesa

The monarch butterfly is a migratory species that winters in central Mexico. However, warming temperatures have threatened the forests that house the butterflies. Scientists have responded by creating a greenhouse to grow trees that would shift the monarch’s habitat to a higher altitude, where temperatures are more favorable to helping the butterflies survive.

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The Living Machine: Collier's 24-year water filtration experiment is a success

James Williams

April 03, 2019 |

Changing Florida |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Florida

An experimental water treatment plant in Florida has been performing as efficiently as other conventional treatment plants for the last 24 years. Known as the Living Machine of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, it filters 6,000 gallons of wastewater per day and is inspired by how natural wetlands and marshlands filter water. While government officials were skeptical at first, the Living Machine continues to pass monthly inspections, is less costly, and is not as noisy so visitors can enjoy the wildlife in the sanctuary.

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