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A Thin Green Line With Global Impact

Robert McClure

January 18, 2021 |

InvestigateWest |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

For over a decade, environmentalists, Indigenous tribes, ranchers, politicians, scientists, and fishers in the Pacific Northwest have been able to defeat more than 20 proposals from coal and oil firms to ship fossil fuels from their ports. Through protests, public hearings, and petitions to government agencies, activists blacked almost every fossil fuel effort in the region between 2004 and 2017.

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How activists successfully shut down key pipeline projects in New York

Greta Moran

January 04, 2021 |

Grist |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

Landowners, residents, community leaders, and activist groups across New York state came together to halt several pipeline projects. By conducting research, holding public events, and building a multiracial coalition of people who would be the most impacted by a pipeline, they were able to pressure state officials to deny a water-quality permit for the Constitution pipeline that would carry fracked gas throughout the northeastern United States and Canada. While some pipeline projects are continuing in the Empire State, their successful model could be used in other states.

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Could Carbon Dioxide Be Turned Into Jet Fuel?

Eric Niiler

December 22, 2020 |

Wired |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Oxford, England

Scientists at Oxford University have come up with a process that could turn carbon dioxide into jet fuel. The greenhouse gas, which is a major contributor to climate change, is constantly emitted by the aviation industry and this method would allow for that gas to be recycled into a liquid fuel for flights. Scaling the experiment has its challenges, but the process could result in net-zero emissions from airplanes.

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Budget-strapped Wyo towns bypass state with climate efforts

Dustin Bleizeffer

December 08, 2020 |

WyoFile |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Laramie, Wyoming

Several counties in Wyoming are "breaking with state policy" in order to introduce initiatives and efforts aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Although the state controls financial allocations, city and county governments as well as community-driven efforts have still resulted in a reduction of electrical consumption and fossil fuel consumption.

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Chimney Sweeps Attack Deadly Pollution Crisis

Nansalmaa Oyunchimeg

December 06, 2020 |

Global Press Journal |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar

After banning the burning of raw coal as a way to reduce air pollution in Mongolia, residents of Ulaanbaatar switched to refined charcoal to heat their homes. However, that coal also wasn’t the cleanest and contributed to hundreds suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. To fix that, the government teamed up with a private company to hire more than 1,600 people to clean and inspect people’s chimneys and stoves. While critics say the program doesn’t solve the country’s pollution problem, the service has provided jobs to those who didn’t have steady work and helped those who aren't able to clean their stoves.

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How sunshine can make the railways greener

Richard Kenny

November 24, 2020 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Australia, Byron Bay, New South Wales

As a way to reduce the amount of diesel fuel that powers trains, governments and transit companies around the world are turning to solar panels as a way to utilize renewable energy. In Australia, a solar train launched in 2017 that uses lithium-ion batteries that are charged by solar panels on the roof of the carriages. And a rail line in the United Kingdom uses energy from a solar farm to keep the train running. Scaling solar panels for nation-wide transit systems can be challenging, but many countries are committed to eliminating the use of fossil fuels on their rail networks.

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In Slumping Energy States, Plugging Abandoned Wells Could Provide an Economic Boost

Erika Bolstad

September 23, 2020 |

Stateline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Watford City, North Dakota

North Dakota is using some of its COVID-19 pandemic relief funds to plug 239 abandoned oil wells and reclaim 2,000 acres of lands. Abandoned wells can contaminate groundwater and leak methane that is hazardous to human health and contributes to climate change. While not everyone agrees that the funds should be used to plug wells, state officials say the economic relief program is keeping about 600 oilfield workers employed.

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Coastal Louisiana tribes team up with biologist to protect sacred sites from rising seas

Ty Baniewicz

September 02, 2020 |

Southerly |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

Indigenous communities in Louisiana are working with scientists to restore wetland ecosystems and protect tribal mounds along the Gulf Coast through backfilling projects. Depleted oil wells and canals in the area are often abandoned, creating reservoirs of stagnant water that affects freshwater plants and animals. The group has started to identify priority canal sites to fill in and seek funding to kick off the project, which can be challenging to get.

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How Montana Is Cleaning Up Abandoned Oil Wells

Ray Levy Uyeda

August 13, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Montana

Abandoned oil wells in Montana leak thousands of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year, so the Well Done Foundation is working to plug up those wells. In about a year, the foundation plugged its first three wells and expanded their program to other states. The data on the state of abandoned wells and its emissions isn’t complete, which makes it difficult to know the full extent of the problem. But, “what’s exciting about this is that we can make an impact one well at a time,” says Curtis Shuck, founder of the foundation.

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Can direct air capture make a real impact on climate change?

Anna Kusmer

July 03, 2020 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Switzerland, Zurich

Climeworks is focusing on pulling carbon dioxide directly out of the air to store or reuse in some capacity as a way to lower global greenhouse gas emissions. The Swiss company has 16 plants around Europe, with their biggest one in Switzerland that removes 900 tons of carbon dioxide a year that is then sold to Coca-Cola Co. to put in soft drinks or to local industrial greenhouses for plant growth. Scaling the operations to capture more carbon is costly, but the startup recently raised $76 million from investors.

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