Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 99 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

How Do I Protect My Students from Gun Violence?

Robyn Jordan

November 21, 2017 |

Bright Magazine |

Illustrations |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

Preventing school shootings is difficult, but there are basic strategies that can curtail them and lessen loss of life. Those include limiting school access and making all visitors check in, ensuring intercoms and other technology work, but also working to prevent suicide so someone doesn't engage in a shooting to get themselves killed. Schools also need procedures in place for any crisis to ensure everyone is communicating and coordinating and children are reunited with approved family members.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Smoke and Mirrors: Inside Malawi's untold health crisis

Ingrid Gercama Nathalie Bertrams

October 26, 2017 |

New Internationalist |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Malawi, Pitala, Nkhata Bay District

'Unclean' cooking - rudimentary, open-fire cooking practiced by millions of people around the world - is one of the leading causes of respiratory disease and death, especially for women, in developing countries; it is also a serious contributor to deforestation, air pollution, and continued poverty (due to the cost of fuel). But a solution has been gaining momentum in Malawi with help from the UN, in the form of clean, more efficient cookstoves that not only emit less smoke, but use less fuel and reduce the risk of burns to family members.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Three Underrated Ideas for Preventing Wildfire Devastation

Francie Diep

October 25, 2017 |

Pacific Standard |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

As wildfires grow more intense and deadly in California, some experts say previous strategies to save lives and property need to be revamped and they're pushing for changes in policies. Agencies are studying the deadly Tubbs Fire to redraw fire risk maps that take into account the safety of older homes that weren't previously included and pushing for more restrictions on where people can build. Some are also calling for rethinking brush clearance of native plants like chaparral.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The Case for the Flood-Proof Lawn

Aviva Shen

October 07, 2017 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

Below sea level and prone to floods, residents in New Orleans have been battling water for years. Urban Conservancy and other initiatives help residents to 'own' their water and install permeable concrete and water-loving plants in order to help absorb the water instead of pushing it somewhere else.

Read More
Go to Original Story
In flood-prone South Asia, early warning systems buy precious time

Irwin Loy

September 05, 2017 |

The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nepal

South Asia is prone to flooding during monsoon season, this can lead to deaths and building damage. SMS warning systems have recently been implemented in order to warn residents when they are in danger, the system has a lot of room to grow but it has proven to be helpful in reducing deaths.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Keeping an Eye on What the Arctic Throws Down Iceberg Alley

Gloria Dickie

July 21, 2017 |

News Deeply |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador

Although many know the name of the Titanic, not many are necessarily aware of what happened in the aftermath of the devastating crash. To mitigate against another ship hitting an iceberg, the International Ice Patrol under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea was created. This group monitors icebergs that obstruct the traffic in the trans-Atlantic shipping lanes via flyovers by airplanes conducting ice reconnaissance flights. Due to climate change, however, there has been a recent push for enhanced satellite coverage.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The Poisoning of Bangladesh: How Arsenic Is Ravaging a Nation

Sam Loewenberg

July 16, 2017 |

Undark |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh

Bangladesh's water is poisoning its residents with arsenic, and several plans to address this problem have stalled. Unicef has installed water facilities with a central filtration plant in some communities in order to provide safe water to its residents, however, much more areas need to be addressed and maintenance plans will be reliant on each community.

Read More
Go to Original Story
America's ring of fire

Ike Sriskandarajah

June 17, 2017 |

Reveal |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Flagstaff, Arizona

After a wildfire in 2010 burned 15,000 acres outside Flagstaff, triggering evacuations and a fatal landslide, voters approved a $10 million bond issue to transform the local fire department and fire-prevention practices. Part 4 of a package of stories on rampant homebuilding in wildfire-prone forests (starts at 35:25) tells how firefighters spend most of their time cutting trees to thin the forest to mimic its pre-settlement form, when periodic fires were a normal and small-scale threat. Suppressing all fires, letting forests thicken, and building homes in them calls for a new prevention ethos.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Getting Help in Emergencies in Super-Quick Time

Gemma Newby Sahar Zand

May 09, 2017 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Dominican Republic, Guayubín, Monte Cristi

Jason Friesen, an American paramedic who had served in Haiti after the earthquake, realized that many poor communities in the Caribbean were lacking the equivalent of the United States’ 911 emergency medical services, and were facing increased death tolls as a consequence. But in noting these communities’ possession [and use] of mobile phones, Friesen realized he could help such communities set up emergency response systems through the use of volunteers and a simple text message exchange. Now, his organization—Trek Medics—simplifies and democratizes the emergency dispatch system, and, as a result, saves numerous lives in rural communities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How one program is training mothers, aunts and grandmothers in the ABCs of child care

Ann Schimke

October 20, 2016 |

Chalkbeat |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

In Colorado, more than half of young children rely on extended family members and neighbors for child care. In an effort to recognize this invisible labor force, which often includes undocumented immigrants, Providers Advancing Student Outcomes offers grant-funded courses to caregivers, legitimizing and enhancing their credibility and improving student outcomes in the process.

Read More
Go to Original Story