Utah looks to expand cloud seeding to help with drought, Great Salt Lake

In Arizona, the use of drones as farming technology is gaining traction. While still in the early stages, drones have shown to help with field mapping and data collection on things like crop conditions, water quality, and infestations. In an area that has been experiencing a 2-decade drought, these drones are able to help identify more precisely the water needed for soil.

The Women’s Collective is a nonprofit that works with more than 10,000 subsistence farmers in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu to promote food security using millets, a crop resilient to drought and climate change. For Pavitra, one of those farmers, she began cultivating the ancient grains in 2015 and now has more than enough food to feed her family year-round. However, there’s a lack of public investment in millet production and machinery. And there’s no unified effort to create demand for millets: Some state governments lead the charge and in other states, it’s led by grassroots organizations.

After years of drought and land-clearing that left Niger with few trees left, the country now boasts about 200 million trees, which have mostly been reestablished naturally. While the effects of climate change could threaten the future of these trees, this method has also increased crop yields in villages. This model of letting trees grow back with little human influence could be implemented in other countries.

A startup is making buildings more eco-friendly by converting their energy needs from oil and gas to electric heat pumps. BlocPower is a Black-owned clean tech startup that provides a no money down lease option, making it financially accessible.

The nonprofit Mahila Housing Trust provides women in India who are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat and heat-related illness with white solar reflective paint for the roofs of their homes. Painting the roofs white cools the inside of the homes by several degrees.

New Jersey schools are working to make climate education widespread by implementing general education standards that include climate change education in every grade and subject. These new education standards have been inspiring students to brainstorm solutions to climate-related issues like reducing food waste and increasing coastal resiliency. The state has also earmarked $5 million to help local teachers attend professional development sessions to teach them how to create new climate change-focused lesson plans.

Two nonprofits came together to manage Hawai'i's Kaua‘i’s Hā‘ena State Park in a community-led way, creating a more equitable relationship between the tourism industry and the local community. Native Hawaiians work at the park, lead restoration projects and run educational programs. And to prevent overtourism, tourists must make reservations and pay to enter.

To counteract the urban heat island effect as the climate changes, cities are coating their sidewalks with “cool pavement,” a type of sealant that makes pavement more reflective so that it retains less heat. In San Antonio, applying one type of cool pavement lowered surface temperatures by 3.58 degrees on average, and in Dallas, recent measurements showed treated sidewalks were 10 degrees cooler than nearby concrete that was not treated.

Amidst water scarcity and increased waterborne diseases, community members are using sand dams, an innovative water management system, to conserve rainwater for daily use. Sand dams offer extended water storage capabilities, lasting up to a year, ensuring community members have consistent access to clean water for farming, cooking and general hygiene. There are currently six sand dams in the community serving 600 households.

In 2020, Nigeria's Centre for Community Empowerment and Poverty Eradication (CCEPE) and Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON) began to train women farmers on the use of dung and plant wastes as organic fertiliser and pesticides; to date, CCEPE has trained 40 women farmers in Asa and 20 women farmers in Kaima, resulting in more bountiful harvests and economic savings.