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America's ring of fire

Ike Sriskandarajah

June 17, 2017 |

Reveal |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Flagstaff, Arizona

After a wildfire in 2010 burned 15,000 acres outside Flagstaff, triggering evacuations and a fatal landslide, voters approved a $10 million bond issue to transform the local fire department and fire-prevention practices. Part 4 of a package of stories on rampant homebuilding in wildfire-prone forests (starts at 35:25) tells how firefighters spend most of their time cutting trees to thin the forest to mimic its pre-settlement form, when periodic fires were a normal and small-scale threat. Suppressing all fires, letting forests thicken, and building homes in them calls for a new prevention ethos.

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The Dutch Have Solutions to Rising Seas. The World Is Watching.

Michael Kimmelman

June 15, 2017 |

The New York Times |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Rotterdam

Rotterdam is increasingly threatened by climate change and the rising water levels that accompany it. Yet instead of building barriers, city officials are choosing to work with the water to help it flow through the city, via the nationwide 'Room for the River' project. This innovation, among others, such as the construction of parking lots that double as emergency reservoirs, embodies Rotterdam’s larger commitment to connect “water management with social welfare and neighborhood improvements.”

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Burning to save Australia's Western Desert

Rachael Hocking

June 14, 2017 |

Al Jazeera |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Australia

After once again being granted rights to their native land, the Martu people are bringing back the bioregenerative technique of small-scale land burning. In the past century, wildfires have ravaged the areas these people call home and has lead to the loss of over 18 species of animal. They hope that imparting this traditional method of ecological maintenance will decrease the number of wildfires and in many cases, the resulting extinction of other animal species.

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After the Nepal Earthquake, Weaving Brings Wealth

Liza Ramrayka

June 02, 2017 |

News Deeply |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nepal, Kapilakot, Sindhuli

After Nepal's 2015 earthquake, many village women were left in financial devastation and struggled to support their families. The earthquake destroyed up to 90% of small enterprises and markets, so the United Nations Development Programme trained women how to weave. As a mode of recovery, the weaving industry has helped rebuild the economic and social structures through the Panchakanya group.

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Rats are the world's best land mine hunters

Danika Fears

May 30, 2017 |

New York Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Cambodia, Phnom Penh

In countries like Cambodia, Angola, and Mozambique, rats are saving lives by detecting untriggered land mines. An international nonprofit, Apopo, provides funding a training and works with local organizations to operate at the local level. The rats are light enough that they don’t trigger the explosives and can cover up to 2,000 square feet in just 20 minutes – something that would take a human up to four days to complete.

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Could we better handle catastrophes if we knew they were coming?

Larry Mantle

May 24, 2017 |

Southern California Public Radio (KPCC) |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

Experts warn us about disasters. Climate change, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the rise of ISIS were all predicted ahead of time. Listening to these warnings requires pushing past the desire to shut down when contemplating big catastrophes, looking critically at available data, and being willing to entertain the possibility that an event can happen that has never happened before.

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Communities band together to protect El Salvador's last mangroves

Martha Pskowski

May 23, 2017 |

Mongabay |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: El Salvador

Hurricane Mitch, deforestation, and flooding, were all factors that led to the decline of mangrove trees in El Salvador. The Mangrove Association, a coalition of 80 communities, is bringing the mangrove population back up.

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Jordan's Water Wise Women

Amani Zain

May 17, 2017 |

Al Jazeera |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Jordan, Mafraq, Mafraq Governorate

The country of Jordan has one of the scarcest water supplies of any country on earth - one that can barely sustain its population, especially with Syrian refugees pouring in and further straining limited resources. Poor piping infrastructure and leaks greatly contribute to the shortage. An organization called Water Wise Women is training women in plumbing skills, empowering them to repair leakages in their homes and communities to help save precious water.

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Ladakh's Ice Stupas

Russell Beard

May 17, 2017 |

Al Jazeera |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: India, Leh, Kashmir

Nearly a billion people living in the arid regions of the Himalayas depend on glaciers for their water supply. But with climate change, glaciers have been retreating drastically every year, threatening the life source of villagers like those in the Ladakh region of Kashmir. One engineer, Sonam Wangchuck, has come up with an ingenious feat of engineering to help the villages store glacier water by constructing stupas - or towers - using thorn branches that retain ice in tall structures, which melts and provides clean water for drinking and agriculture during the dry season.

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Getting Help in Emergencies in Super-Quick Time

Gemma Newby Sahar Zand

May 09, 2017 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Dominican Republic, Guayubín, Monte Cristi

Jason Friesen, an American paramedic who had served in Haiti after the earthquake, realized that many poor communities in the Caribbean were lacking the equivalent of the United States’ 911 emergency medical services, and were facing increased death tolls as a consequence. Friesen realized he could help such communities set up emergency response systems through the use of volunteers and a simple text message exchange. Now, his organization Trek Medics simplifies and democratizes the emergency dispatch system, and, as a result, saves lives in rural communities.

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