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PA cities have a sewer-system problem. Green infrastructure can help — but comes with its own risks

Madison Goldberg

August 05, 2021 |

StateImpact Pennsylvania |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

In many cities, rainwater is drained through "grey infrastructure" things like pipes, streets, etc. In some cities, this system is combined with the sewage system. Rainwater drains into the sewage system, is then cleaned, then emptied into the river. However, with strong storms some sewage systems overflow. A problem that will worsen with climate change. In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, rain gardens are one solution to overflowing sewage systems. Cities like Harrisburg are turning to green infrastructure, things like rain gardens, roofs with gardens, and parks, to ease the burden on gray infrastructure.

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California's Yurok Tribe grows solutions in soil of crises

Mackenzie Wilkes

August 04, 2021 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

The Yurok Tribe, located in Northern California, depends on fishing to sustain a living. However, a severe drought, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a crumbling highway severely affected the tribe. So, leaders are turning towards new ways of making an income: a community garden.

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Giving Mother Nature a Hand

Zdenka Kovarikova

August 03, 2021 |

Transitions Online |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Czech Republic

Cervene Pecky and Dolany, two small towns in Prague, were able to fix their flooding problems through a process known as land consolidation. Prior to the land consolidation, the towns would get flooded by rainwater. Through land consolidation, property owners are able to redraw property lines. Thanks to the consolidation, the field that emptied into Dolany is now covered in grass, trees, and ditches.

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Beirut Is Greening the Aftermath of Disaster

Laure Delacloche

August 03, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Lebanon, Beirut

In 2020, a devastating explosion in Beirut that came from a warehouse released 800,000 and one million tons of construction and demolition waste and 20,000 tons of shattered glass into the city. The waste was being thrown into landfills. However, landfills are notoriously bad for the environment. Out of that rubble an idea was created; disposing waste sustainably. Rubble Mountains was created specifically to do this. They've been able to restore four quarries, use materials to create public amenities, and diverting up to 50 tons of demolition waste from landfills.

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This German startup offers a simpler way to recycle your coffee cup

Marianne Dhenin

August 03, 2021 |

Grist |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany

About 16 billion paper cups are used every day for coffee consumption. In small towns in England, and in the countries like New Zealand and Germany, a deposit-based reusable cup system is being used to create less waste. Under this program consumers pay a small fee to use a reusable cap and get their cashback once they return it. One such program in Germany called "RECUP" estimates its saved 43,000 trees every year.

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In Conversation With The Black-Owned Startup Turning Buildings Into Teslas

Phil Roberts

July 30, 2021 |

Next City |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

BlocPower is retrofitting old city buildings and making them environmentally friendly. The startup offers leasing options, making it financially accessible.

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The Black-Owned Startup “Turning NYC Buildings Into Teslas”

Phil Roberts

July 30, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

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.

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Many mangrove restorations fail. Is there a better way?

Katarina Zimmer

July 22, 2021 |

Knowable Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Guinea-Bissau

Mangrove forests are known to be excellent storers of carbon and hosts of biodiversity, but they are also able to protect communities on coastlines from storm surge. However, many of the projects to restore these forests fail because they are rushed or planted in the wrong places. Scientists argue that organizers should focus on natural regrowth or “ecological mangrove restoration,” a science-based approach, which has been used in Indonesia and Guinea-Bissau.

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Next stop, the sea: Sri Lanka's old buses are a new home for marine life

Malaka Rodrigo

July 21, 2021 |

Mongabay |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, instead of letting old buses corrode in a junkyard they are being sunk in the ocean to serve as fish-breeding sites. Over 60 buses have been dumped in the ocean across three different sites. Scientists looked at factors like depth and wave patters to determine where to sink the buses.

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On the Mesoamerican Reef, a model for insuring nature's future

Oliver Gordon

July 21, 2021 |

Struggles from Below Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo

In Puerto Morelos, the 100-mile stretch of the Mesoamerican Reef is insured. The model was born out of a collaboration between the local government, hotel owners, an international NGO, and an insurance behemoth, who got together to create a trust. The trust was funded by the local government which used hotel taxes to pay for the reef's maintenance. 80 percent of the coral in the reef has been lost or degraded since the 1980s, but insuring a natural asset might provide a conservation model for other cities.

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