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Chicago Youth Help Decide Where Public Funds Go

Martín Xavi Macías

May 30, 2017 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is asking its citizens, including youth, to help determine how to spend public money. Participatory budgeting involves communities identifying their greatest needs and guiding spending towards solutions.

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Rats are the world's best land mine hunters

Danika Fears

May 30, 2017 |

New York Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Cambodia, Phnom Penh

In countries like Cambodia, Angola, and Mozambique, rats are saving lives by detecting untriggered land mines. An international nonprofit, Apopo, provides funding a training and works with local organizations to operate at the local level. The rats are light enough that they don’t trigger the explosives and can cover up to 2,000 square feet in just 20 minutes – something that would take a human up to four days to complete.

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Lessons from India in building urban resilience

Patralekha Chatterjee

May 29, 2017 |

Citiscope |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Surat, Gujarat

TARU, an Indian thinktank, has found that Indians cities have combined decentralized action and "multi-stakeholder engagement" in public policy to respond to problems of scarcity in water and power as well as climate change-related natural disasters. Municipalities are putting responsibility for improving local lives at the grassroots level; integrating disruptive technologies from the private sector; and fostering collaboration between government and citizens.

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How New York Is Building the Power Grid of the Future

Leslie Kaufman

May 25, 2017 |

Inside Climate News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

New York is determined to become a national leader in the renewable energy sector, and they are leveraging numerous approaches to help integrate better and more environmentally conscious technologies into the grid. The multi-faceted approach includes updating laws and regulations to be more renewables-friendly, hosting competitions to foster entrepreneurship and creative solutions in the field, piloting new technologies, and creating better incentives for utility companies.

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Turning CO2 into stone in Iceland

Russell Beard

May 25, 2017 |

Al Jazeera |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Iceland, Hellisheiðarvirkjun, Southern Region

Iceland, hit by the oil crises of the 1970s, turned to geothermal energy - and they haven't turned back. The island is now powered by 100% renewable energy, and they are taking it one step more, looking to further cut emissions using a unique carbon capture system called CarbFix. It is being pioneered at the Hellsheidi geothermal power plant in western Iceland.

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How Cities Fought the White House, and Won, in the 1980s

Brentin Mock

May 24, 2017 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

In 1986, the city of Baltimore battled the Reagan administration over its local anti-apartheid ordinances—and won. How they prevailed may have important lessons for cities trying to resist Trump today; from his policies regarding immigration to climate change.

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Oklahoma City-Based International Development NGO Focuses On Women

Jacob McCleland

May 23, 2017 |

WMOT |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: India, Madhubani, Bihar

In many rural villages in Northern India and Nepal, long-standing cultural norms have relegated women to subordinate positions in marriage and minimal educational opportunities, stifling the social, agricultural and economic development of entire communities. But with the NGO World Neighbors' work to increase female literacy and help initiate locally-controlled savings and credit groups, these areas' female residents have become a more empowered component of local development and progressive change.

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Research Says ‘Voucher' Programs Can Help Students

Tammy Worth

May 23, 2017 |

Flatland |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kansas City, Kansas

The Catholic Education Foundation in Kansas City has provided nearly $600,000 in scholarships to approximately 300 low-income students to give them the choice to choose where they want to go to school. Because it is funded by businesses through tax-deductible contributions, it is a contentious issue by involving public money. The program has found over time that although the difference in test scores between private and public schools is modest, the real benefit of the program is helping families make informed choices about their education without access being an issue.

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Coffee grounds and poultry litter proving a viable biomass option in the UK

Matt Mace

May 19, 2017 |

Edie Newsroom |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Birmingham, West Midlands

The United Kingdom is finding creative ways to simultaneously address renewable energy needs and waste disposal. Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants are utilizing chicken manure from farms and coffee grounds to create electricity. The initiatives have the added benefit of improving standards for the treatment of poultry, as well as reducing the distribution of harmful toxins from the waste.

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The Detroit Success Story Visible From Space

Erick Trickey

May 18, 2017 |

Politico |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

In just three years, Detroit carried out an ambitious $185 million project to re-illuminate the city's 88,000 streetlights, half of which were dark, with new energy-efficient LED lights. Through its new Public Lighting Authority, the city used an innovative funding scheme to pay for the lights even in the midst of municipal bankruptcy. After the lights went up, residents felt safer, and businesses felt a noticeable bump.

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