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  • Waiting for a New Deal job program? These US parks are already hiring

    With many people out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some cities and nonprofits are creating outdoorsy job programs to relieve unemployment. Inspired by the conservation corps programs created during the Great Depression, North Carolina, Alaska, and Texas have these initiatives. The reliance on fundraising to pay workers can be a challenge, but these programs are providing jobs for nearly 250 people and are making some conservation progress. For example, the Carolina Climbers Coalition crew has already completed projects at state parks in the Southeast.

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  • How the World's Largest Garbage Dump Evolved Into a Green Oasis

    The former Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island is turning into a public park that will accept visitors in 2021. By capping the trash site with plastic, covering it with soil, and planting native grasses, city officials are restoring the area’s former tidal wetlands and scrublands; nearly 314 plant and animal species have already been sighted. While the successful closing of the dump nearly 20 years ago means that the trash is being sent to other neighborhoods in the United States where people dealing with economic hardship live, the project could be a model for sustainability and urban renewal.

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  • Just What the Doctor Ordered: Produce Prescriptions are More Important—and Popular—Than Ever. Audio icon

    Produce prescription programs across the United States are seeing a resurgence in activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These programs provide healthy foods at a subsidized price to patients with chronic health issues. For example, the VeggieRx program in Chicago used to give out up to 70 boxes of fruits and veggies a week, but now they’re up to 160 boxes a week. While studies have shown that these programs can have a positive impact on patients' health, insurance companies usually only pay for patients to participate in them for a short period of time, so the health benefits might be limited.

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  • Why most top Foreign Office posts are held by women

    More women are serving in top positions of the United Kingdom’s diplomatic corps with a female ambassador to the United States for the first time since the position was created in 1791. Women now hold about a third of Britain’s ambassadorships and the increase can be traced to several changes, including a public pledge to increase women in leadership positions. A reliable pipeline of women to fill the top spots was also nurtured, with nearly 60% of new foreign service employees now female. Grouping interviews forces management to see the big picture and diplomatic life has become more flexible for families.

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  • How Montana Is Cleaning Up Abandoned Oil Wells

    Abandoned oil wells in Montana leak thousands of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year, so the Well Done Foundation is working to plug up those wells. In about a year, the foundation plugged its first three wells and expanded their program to other states. The data on the state of abandoned wells and its emissions isn’t complete, which makes it difficult to know the full extent of the problem. But, “what’s exciting about this is that we can make an impact one well at a time,” says Curtis Shuck, founder of the foundation.

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  • Zion National Park's shuttles are falling apart, but there is no funding to replace them. Why?

    As part of a collaboration between Zion National Park and the nearby town of Springdale, shuttle buses were introduced to limit the amount of noise in the canyon and deal with issues of over parking. However, those shuttles have now reached the end of their lifespan and threaten to disrupt the flow of tourists into the park. Efforts to replace the buses with an electric fleet, that could also reduce carbon emissions, have hit roadblocks as they’ve been denied federal funding.

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  • Short on Money, Cities Around the World Try Making Their Own

    Complementary currencies are local alternatives to national currencies that help local economies when budgets are tight. Tenino prints “wooden dollars” and residents in need get up to $300/month to spend at local businesses from grocery stores to day cares. Cities across the US have reached out for advice on starting their own local currencies, which can take many forms including digital-only. There are 3,500-4,500 local currencies in 50 countries, including Brazil’s Maricá where it helped the under-resourced city build schools and hospitals. These currencies have no value outside of the local economy.

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  • The old-school organizers who got it done on Zoom

    The Industrial Areas Foundation, the country’s oldest community organizing group, adapted to coronavirus restrictions by using technology to win relief for immigrants without legal documentation in California. Organizing a diverse coalition over zoom had many challenges, but they successfully won the expansion of the California Earned Income Tax Credit to include people who file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, rather than a Social Security number. This applies to about one-tenth of California’s workforce who mainly work in hard-hit service and agriculture industries.

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  • How Reedsburg Got Broadband

    Along with electricity, water, and phone, the Reedsburg Utility Commission provides internet access in rural Wisconsin. The fiber network was built almost two decades ago and provides affordable internet access at high speeds. The project started for internal needs and grew to accommodate the school and then eventually the whole region. Current municipal legislation inhibits the type of private-public partnerships that allowed Reedsburg Utility to once build what is now considered an essential service.

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  • 19th Amendment: The six-week 'brawl' that won women the vote

    Three generations of activists marched, protested, lobbied, and campaigned for more than seven decades to win the right to vote for American women. In 1920, national and local activists worked to convince Tennessee legislators to support the 19th amendment and become the 36th and final state needed to ratify it. Local suffragists were the most visible forces, lobbying their representatives to support the amendment, while national activists built alliances, identified legislators known to take bribes, and exerted political pressure at all levels of government, including among presidential candidates.

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