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‘Energy Aggregation' Has the Potential to Transform How We Get Power, But Hurdles Remain

Chad Small

October 14, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

California communities are turning to “community choice aggregators,” which allows them to buy electricity from green providers and have more control over the energy grid. However, the financial pressure for these programs to offer competitive rates as public utilities can mean that the programs might increase their dependence on cheaper, less green energy sources. So far, 21 of these community-choice programs are in the Golden State, serving 10 million customers.

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Bringing the chill of the cosmos to a warming planet

Sarah Kaplan

October 07, 2020 |

The Washington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Stockton, California

SkyCool Systems manufactures panels that can be incorporated into existing cooling systems to reduce the amount of electricity needed to turn hot air into cold air. The technology is based on radiative cooling and utilizes a thin, mirror-like film engineered using nanotechnology to send heat into space while absorbing almost no radiation. It lowers the temperature of objects by more than 10 degrees and doesn’t require electricity or special fuels, so it does not produce greenhouse gases. While piloting the panels, a grocery outlet saved over $3,000 in electricity costs over the course of just one summer.

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Of hemp's many uses, one of the most promising could be in construction

Nate Berg

October 06, 2020 |

Ensia |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Hempcrete is made from the dried core of hemp stalks and a lime-based binder and can be cast into blocks and panels just like concrete. But unlike concrete, which emits CO2, hempcrete actually absorbs it while also reducing construction waste. Though not strong enough to be load bearing, it has outperformed other materials in terms of insulation, and is therefore an ecofriendly option for covering walls. Reducing the need for air conditioners in warm climates limits CO2 emissions even more. Hempcrete has been used to build new structures and retrofit existing ones in Europe and Australia.

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Jumpstart trains developers to fight gentrification in Philly neighborhoods

Courtney Duchene

September 29, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jumpstart Germantown and five spinoff programs trained about 1,000 people in the art of locally controlled neighborhood rehabilitation. The Jumpstart programs target particular neighborhoods, mainly mid-range housing stock with vacant and deteriorating conditions, and lend money to newly minted developers to fix and resell the properties. Housing rehabs maintain the character of neighborhoods, rather than gentrifying them or making wholesale redevelopment changes. Beyond the community improvement benefits, the program helps diversify the real estate business and provides employment opportunities.

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Drag Queens and Restaurateurs: An Unlikely Partnership Amid the Pandemic

Eli Rallo

September 25, 2020 |

NYC Reopens |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

In New York, restaurateurs who have struggled to stay open amid the coronavirus pandemic are partnering with drag performers who have lost work due to the pandemic to offer patrons a new dining experience while also trying to increase business. The dining performances are offered outdoors and some restaurant owners are hoping to continue the partnership even after COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.

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The Sudbury model: How one of the world's major polluters went green

Sara Miller Llana

September 24, 2020 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Sudbury, Ontario

After being known as a polluted mining town, politicians, scientists, industry officials, and residents of Sudbury, Ontario, were able to come together to restore its land. After 40 years and $33.5 million, they are about halfway through recovering about 200,000 acres of land. So far, they’ve been successful at restoring air quality, neutralizing soil to allow for replanting, and restocking lakes with fish. While some locals think the mining companies should have done more, the collaborative spirit could be a model for other communities looking to improve the environment.

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Would You Eat Food Waste To Help Tackle The Climate Crisis? These Companies Are Betting On It.

Kyla Mandel

September 23, 2020 |

The Huffington Post |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Companies around the world are investing in “food upcycling,” which involves turning food waste that would usually end up in a landfill into new edible products. In 2019, member companies of the Upcycled Food Association — which includes pet food, juice, and snack brands — helped prevent 8 million pounds of food waste. Though scaling these operations can be difficult, the food upcycling sector was worth $46.7 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow.

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As Concerns Over Climate Change Rise, More Developers Turn to Wood

Keith Schneider

September 22, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Spokane, Washington

Eastern Washington University recently built the first tall wood office building in the state joining hundreds of other large “mass-timber” projects in the United States. This growing industry constructs panels, beams, and columns from trees that need to be thinned to curb wildfires in forests. While wood buildings can be more expensive to build than ones constructed from concrete and steel, environmentalists are on board because wood can store carbon, which can help offset greenhouse gas emissions.

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Could 80,000 family woodlot owners be the key to saving the Acadian forest?

Lindsay Jones

September 19, 2020 |

The Narwhal |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, New Brunswick

Community Forests International created a carbon project to preserve Acadian forest. They measured and quantified carbon storage on small family-owned forest land, certified it by third-party standards, and sold the carbon offsets to an architecture and engineering firm. A conservation easement was also put on the land to ensure the forest’s longevity. The organization has stored enough carbon dioxide to equal the greenhouse gas emissions of 8,229 passenger vehicles driven for a year in three Wabanaki-Acadian forest preserves. The money raised helped buy some of the land to practice sustainable agriculture.

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Cleveland startup makes masks a new way

Grant Segall

September 09, 2020 |

The Land |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Two newly-formed companies in Ohio are the nation's first businesses to create a "fully automated production of woven, washable masks." The project became a reality thanks to partnerships and funding support between state agencies, the Ohio Hospital Association, and a nonprofit consulting group. While the masks aren't medical grade, they are "washable, snug, and easy to take on and off without touching the contaminated part."

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