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  • Colombia's sustainable forestry drive boosts biodiversity and business

    December 30, 2020 |

    Mongabay |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Colombia, Tarapacá

    The Colombian government has been working with regional regulatory agencies, the World Wildlife Fund, and local forest communities to encourage sustainable timber production and the implementation of forest management plans. They launched the Legal Wood Pact — a commitment with 69 entities to exclusively use wood from legal sources. While it can be difficult to convince people to purchase sustainable timber that’s more expensive, the sales of legal timber in the country increased from $500,000 in 2011 to $13 million in 2018.

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  • Cold Hard Cash for Your Greenhouse Gas

    October 22, 2020 |

    Gimlet Media |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Illinois

    Refrigerants being used in old air conditioners or grocery story cooling systems leak into the atmosphere contributing to global warming. Tradewater, a company in Illinois, picks up these containers, destroys the refrigerants, gives them cash, and then sells them as carbon offset credits. They collect up to 250,000 pounds of refrigerants per year, but there is still more out there. Supermarkets in the United States could switch to more natural refrigerants, but barely 1 percent are known to have done that. Getting rid of these refrigerants can be an important solution to combating climate change.

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  • Truck Convoy Brings Boon to Town Plagued by Violence

    September 20, 2020 |

    Global Press Journal |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kanyabayonga

    Truck convoys ensure safer journeys for drivers and their goods around Kanyabayonga, an area that experiences intermittent instability and violence between armed groups. Up to 100 trucks carrying goods like charcoal, bananas, or lumber line up most days and wait for permission to continue their journey. The local economy has benefited, with restaurants and stores popping up to accommodate the influx of people. A ban on night time driving to prevent threats from armed groups has also supported the growth of a hotel industry, with 15 informal hotels now in operation.

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  • Could carbon-removal tech make travel more sustainable?

    July 27, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Iceland

    Climeworks, a Swiss start-up, is using technology to suck carbon out of the air and turning it into stone, essentially cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere permanently. Their plant in Iceland is able to turn 50 tonnes of carbon to stone per year. While that amount of carbon won’t solve the climate crisis, they are expanding their work to other countries and are launching a personal carbon removal subscription service as a way for the travel industry to help offset the carbon that they emit each year.

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  • The revolutionary boat powered by the ocean

    July 15, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Philippines

    Since the Philippines relies on boats to transport people and goods across the island nation, a shipbuilding company is designing a new low-carbon alternative of the bangka — a traditional Filipino boat — that uses the waves of the ocean to power it instead of fossil fuels. The ship, known as the trimaran, uses wave energy that converts into electricity for the ship. However, a typhoon and the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the project, and there are also cost and design challenges. But the trimaran’s use of wave energy could be a step toward reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

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  • Fishermen sell their products at farmers' markets for the first time in Guanacaste

    July 03, 2020 |

    La Voz de Guanacaste |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Costa Rica

    In Costa Rica, the Guanacaste Chamber of Fishermen, known as CPG launched an initiative to help local fisherman making a living during the pandemic. Most of them sold their product to hotels, but due to the pandemic, 140 hotels closed. The initiative, known as Arroz y Frijoles has helped. CPG buys fish from the fishers, then sell it at the farmers’ markets. ““Fortunately, sales have been constant, we’re getting out a few fishes, around 30 to 100 kilos per night.”

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  • The ancient technology getting a second wind

    May 26, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: Costa Rica

    Old ships, powered by the wind, are being refurbished to sail small amounts of cargo around the world. While there are only a few hundred still in use, newer ships and sails are being designed and built with new technology to make the vessels more fuel efficient and produce zero emissions. While many of them are in the prototype phase, some of these ships are able to go into smaller ports and harbors that larger vessels can’t reach.

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  • The man feeding a remote Alaska town with a Costco card and a ship

    May 03, 2020 |

    The Hustle |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Gustavus, Alaska

    To better meet the demands created by the coronavirus pandemic, a local grocer in a remote town in Alaska is redefiing and reforming how the local supply chain operates. A series of preemptive moves – such as creating partnerships with suppliers and purchasing their own barge – gave the father-and-son grocer team more control over operations and has allowed the store to offer supplies that have been in high demand nationwide.

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  • The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Changing How People Buy Books

    April 27, 2020 |

    Wired |

    Multi-Media |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Bookshop is a startup that launched to give indie book stores around the country a fighting chance while Amazon continues to dominate the book market. The startup offers book buyers a portal to a wide variety of shops, and in turn, exposes those same shops a chance to tap into a larger market.

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  • The Bitter Side of Cocoa Production

    February 13, 2020 |

    Sapiens |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: Dominican Republic

    Carla Martin is an anthropologist at Harvard University, who also founded the Nine Cacao and Chocolate Institute — a nonprofit that brings together industry professionals, academics, and producers to share insights and discuss the challenges of producing chocolate. Cocoa production historically has participated in questionable labor practices, unfair wages, and tropical deforestation, so through her workshops, Martin aims to empower the workers along the supply chain to ensure their voices are heard through the process.

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