Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 211 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

Flood control goes green: How Houston is using nature to combat flooding

Katie Watkins

August 16, 2022 |

Houston Public Media |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

Several areas in Texas are using public green spaces and nature preserves as ways to mitigate or reduce flooding. Exploration Green is one example of a project that reclaimed nature in an urban area by creating five ponds, each of which can hold up to 100 million gallons of floodwater while also supporting native plants, animals, and trails for hiking.

Read More
Go to Original Story
'Ventilation Corridors' Funnel Cool Mountain Air Into Steamy Stuttgart

Michaela Haas

August 12, 2022 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany, Stuttgart

Stuttgart is using a “nature-based response” to climate change by leveraging earth-cooling tools already available in the natural world. The city has created a vast network of ventilation channels – green parkways and corridors of water and trees – designed to funnel cooler breezes into the city at night and naturally lower air temperatures.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Sustainable housing via 3D printing, foam addresses housing crisis, climate change

Troy Hill, Jessica Herrera

August 11, 2022 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Phoenix, Arizona

Strata International Group is building homes out of foam and concrete. It's a practice that is gaining traction because when these materials are used, the homes are set to last for upwards of 300 years. It also requires a less energy-intensive construction process — creating big cost savings amid supply chain issues and inflation and also benefiting the environment.

Read More
Go to Original Story
'Let's Try Something New' Meets the National Housing Squeeze

Erika Bolstad

July 18, 2022 |

Stateline |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boise, Idaho

The Boise nonprofit, LEAP, builds affordable housing with innovative approaches, including using donated land held in trust and solar panels to keep utility costs low. The creative approach to land ownership and the use of alternative construction techniques and materials help more people afford homes in a fast-growing metro area.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Flip Your Strip gaining traction, leading to removal of water-guzzling turf

Tim Vandenack

July 16, 2022 |

Standard-Examiner |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington Terrace, Utah

In order to use less water in drought-ridden Utah, many residents are replacing their grassy park strips with vegetation and rocks that don’t need as much irrigation. As part of the “Flip Your Strip” initiative, the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District provides participants with money per square foot of grass removed. While the program is new, this idea has been tried and tested in California, where studies have shown that it is making an impact.

Read More
Go to Original Story
New England Program Helps Low-Income Communities Join the Green Energy Revolution

Hadassah Patterson

May 05, 2022 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

Revision Energy is bringing affordable solar energy to residents of New Hampshire. Nonprofits and investors have joined forces to bring environmentally-friendly energy to homes at a price that is cheaper than traditional energy. Investors are able to reap the solar tax credit.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Kenya embraces green building technology

Duncan Lukoye, David Owino, Juma Majanga

April 28, 2022 |

DIRAJ |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

As building developers in Kenya design new structures that are more environmentally friendly and sustainable, they can look to the Garden City Mall in Nairobi as a successful example. This mixed-use development with shopping, residential, and office spaces uses solar energy, which helps cut energy costs by over 30 million shillings each year. The mall also was the first in the region to receive an international green building certification.

Read More
Go to Original Story
What Is the Future of America's Greenest Town?

Anne Kniggendorf

April 19, 2022 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Greensburg, Kansas

After a tornado devastated Greensburg, Kansas, the town decided to use the disaster as an opportunity to become more environmentally sustainable. For example, they built a new school out of recycled wood and it was powered with geothermal heat. While the maintenance of these sustainable features can be tricky, this shift to a greener town can be a case study for others looking to make the transition.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Oregon Is Turning Sewage into an Endless Supply of Green Energy

Britany Robinson

March 17, 2022 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Clackamas county, Oregon

A wastewater treatment plant in Oregon not only cleans water that is released into the local river, but it also creates fertilizer that is sent to farmers to use on non-food crops and it produces renewable power from methane. The green energy created at the plant heats five buildings on the site and produces half of the energy the facility uses. This kind of co-generation system is growing in other places in the United States, China, Brazil, and Norway.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Could modular housing be a quick fix for the affordability crisis?

Josh Sherman

February 22, 2022 |

TVO |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Cambridge, Ontario

Ontario’s lack of housing supply has inspired the construction of modular housing: repurposed shipping containers that people now call home. Shipping containers can be converted into homes faster than traditional homes can be built. The approach is saving time and is meant to eventually bring down the soaring cost of housing.

Read More
Go to Original Story