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The urine revolution: how recycling pee could help to save the world

Chelsea Wald

February 09, 2022 |

Nature |

Photojournalism |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sweden, Gotland

Companies and research initiatives around the world are developing and testing new toilets that can collect human urine and turn it into fertilizer. These urine diversion toilets have been implemented in places like South Africa with mixed results. However, researchers in Sweden are using portable toilets to gather the urine, dry it into fertilizer pellets that are then used to grow barley for beer. This work could show how to implement these kinds of toilets on a large scale.

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'It's our stuff': consumers wage right-to-repair revolution

Carey L. Biron Umberto Bacchi

October 14, 2021 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

In the recent years, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission voted to restore consumers' "right to repair" their products and 27 states have introduced repair bills. This policy push has encouraged a growing number of independent repair shops and workshops that enable consumers to fix their products safely and effectively. Together, they're leading to a reduction in both electronic waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

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Building a Just Energy Future in Michigan

Nina Misuraca Ignaczak

July 30, 2021 |

Belt Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

After the 2008 economic recession hit, Carla Walker-Miller shifted her energy services business model to not only supply electrical equipment but also implement energy efficiency programs for communities of color in Detroit. She has been able to service 75 households, which has resulted in energy bill savings up to $600 a year for families. The company also has a robust recruitment and training program for young people and those experiencing economic hardship.

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Co-ops are democratizing the food chain

Jaisal Noor

June 10, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

The food-supply business is known for exploitative pay and poor working conditions. But Brooklyn Packers, a Black-owned cooperative launched in 2016, pays its owner-workers and vendors fair wages and is founded on traditions in the Black community of food sovereignty and mutual aid. Those values paid off at the start of the pandemic, when demand for fresh produce deliveries exploded. Brooklyn Packers retooled its business model to meet the demand, showing that a non-hierarchical business can move quickly.

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Sew it goes: The Sewing Machine Project stitches lives back together

Richard Mertens

June 03, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Madison, Wisconsin

The Sewing Machine Project has helped thousands of people who rely on sewing as a livelihood. The organization refurbishes used sewing machines and sends them across the world. For some recipients, access to their own sewing machine can result in economic mobility and an improved quality of life.

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This South L.A. startup will turn your front lawn into a farm

Adele Peters

May 25, 2021 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

A startup in California called Crop Swap LA is converting unused front yards into community gardens that can grow crops like kale, rainbow chard, and tomatoes as a way to feed neighbors. Community members can pay for subscriptions for up to $43 a month to receive a bundle of greens and vegetables from the microfarms and homeowners get a share of the profits. Each garden needs to have the proper maintenance, which can make it difficult to scale, but these gardens can help provide access to food to those who don’t have a grocery store in their area.

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Food waste is heating up the planet. Is dumpster-diving by app a solution?

Katie Yoder

May 25, 2021 |

Grist |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

The app Too Good to Go helps restaurants and other shops prevent food waste by selling their extra food to people for a cheaper price. So far, more than 700,000 people in the United States have downloaded the app and the company estimates that, on average, each meal sold halts 2.2 pounds of food from ending up in the garbage, which ends up reducing carbon emissions. There are challenges to widespread implementation, but the app has launched in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle.

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What to Do With Piles of Plastic Waste?

Breanna Draxler Tonderayi Mukeredzi Madalitso Wills Kateta Natasha Chassagne

May 10, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Malawi, Lilongwe

From collecting plastic to transforming it into infrastructure, communities all over the world are implementing solutions to tackle the growing amount of plastic waste. In Malawi, women are separating garbage from plastic and creating new products like fire briquettes, doormats, and organic compost that they can sell to others. A town in Tasmania turned their plastic waste into a road made of recycled asphalt that is expected to last 15 percent longer than regular asphalt. And Zimbabwe is employing youth to recycle plastic into eco-friendly construction materials.

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Taharka Bros: Ice cream with a side of worker ownership

Jaisal Noor

May 06, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore ice cream maker Taharka Brothers is six Black men, worker-owners, who lost most of their business accounts at the start of the pandemic. They saved their business, and their jobs, by starting home delivery and tapping into collectives that help worker-owned cooperatives with financing and business advice. Gratitude for a decent job, good working conditions, and pride of ownership help sustain such a business through tumultuous times.

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The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats

Ashifa Kassam

April 09, 2021 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Spain, El Puerto de Santa María

A Spanish chef piloted a project to start a “marine garden” — cultivating eelgrass and obtaining grains it produces to be used in different recipes. The grain has healthy benefits, including 50 percent more protein than rice, and growing the seagrass can transform salt marshes into biodiverse ecosystems that can also capture carbon emissions. They are working to scale the project to understand the ideal conditions to grow the plants.

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