Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Bringing the chill of the cosmos to a warming planet

    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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  • Cooperating over shared water in West Africa

    October 06, 2020 |

    Geneva Solutions |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Senegal

    There are over 250 rivers and lakes that are shared between countries, accounting for more than half of world's freshwater. This means that countries have to cooperate to share resources. In 1972, Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania did just that. They formed the Senegal River Basin Development Authority, or the OMVS (for its French initials). In 2005, Guinea joined. The organization is an example of how countries can join forces to share water resources cooperatively.

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

    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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  • Europe's New Trick Against Wildfires: Let It Burn

    September 29, 2020 |

    Bloomberg |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Portugal

    Led by Portugal and Spain, European nations have shifted their responses to wildfires from a heavy emphasis on suppression to a more prevention-based approach. Climate change has increased fire risk greatly. By letting smaller fires burn, to reduce the fuel available to future megafires, and with other forest-management methods, Mediterranean countries have had no large blazes so far in 2020. Portugal, three years after a massive fire killed at least 120, registered its lowest number of fires in a decade. In Spain, prevention includes Fire Flocks, herds of sheep and goats whose grazing cleans up forests.

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  • 'Money is worth nothing now': how Lebanon is finding a future in farming

    September 25, 2020 |

    The Guardian |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Lebanon

    Lebanon is going through an economic crisis. According to the UN, more than half of the population is experiencing poverty. Some people are finding that the solution to their economic problems is farming. Multiple initiatives to that would allow ordinary people to farm have surfaced; food banks offering seedlings, volunteers teaching sustainable farming, and even gardens in rooftops.

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  • The daring plan to save the Arctic ice with glass Audio icon

    September 23, 2020 |

    BBC |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Minnesota

    The nonprofit Arctic Ice Project is testing an unusual approach to combat climate change: by scattering a thin layer of reflective glass powder over parts of the Arctic. By putting this material on top of the ice, they’re studying if the powder can protect the ice during the summer months and rebuild it over time. In one pond in Minnesota, just a few layers of the material made young ice 20 percent more reflective and delayed the melting of the ice. Other scientists question the impact the material can have on the Arctic ecosystem, but the approach could be a way to counteract the effects of global warming.

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  • In Slumping Energy States, Plugging Abandoned Wells Could Provide an Economic Boost

    September 23, 2020 |

    Stateline |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Watford City, North Dakota

    North Dakota is using some of its COVID-19 pandemic relief funds to plug 239 abandoned oil wells and reclaim 2,000 acres of lands. Abandoned wells can contaminate groundwater and leak methane that is hazardous to human health and contributes to climate change. While not everyone agrees that the funds should be used to plug wells, state officials say the economic relief program is keeping about 600 oilfield workers employed.

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

    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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  • The art of fire: reviving the Indigenous craft of cultural burning

    September 20, 2020 |

    The Narwhal |

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    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: Tsilhqot'in Nation, Canada

    A 3-year pilot is developing a traditional fire management program for First Nation communities using cultural burns, a practice banned for over a century. Cultural burns are used to reinvigorate the landscape so that seeds and berries grow and animals return. The low intensity, slow burns also reduce wildfire risks and other issues linked to climate change, such as infestations. Stories about cultural burns are being recorded from tribal elders to preserve the rich cultural knowledge about traditional fire management techniques. First Nations hope to be able to use cultural burns on their tribal lands.

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  • University of Arizona researchers unveil new model for desert farming in warming world

    September 20, 2020 |

    Arizona Daily Star |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

    In an experimental garden in Arizona, scientists are seeing how to produce sustainable and local food in a desert environment. They’re growing plants under a photovoltaic “canopy” of solar panels that provide necessary shade for the crops and, at the same time, generate cheap, renewable energy for irrigation systems and farm equipment. So far, they’ve been able to grow basil, Anasazi red beans, and a special bell pepper. While not all crops will work in this system and scaling the garden has its challenges, learning how to grow food in the desert is necessary to adapt to a future with climate change.

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