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

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  • China gets tough on US recyclables. How one Maine town is fighting back.

    When China, the country that processes much of the United State's recyclables, became much more stringent about how much contaminated recycling it would accept, municipalities had to figure out how to avoid the fines that could come with recycling done wrong. In Sanford, Maine, they manages to cut their contamination rate from 15-20% to 0-3% by investing in more serious inspections and helping residents learn what is recyclable and what isn't.

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  • This old coal plant is now a solar farm, thanks to pressure from local activists

    Turning a coal plant carbon neutral requires a community effort. In Holyoke, Massachusetts, community organizers from the Toxics Action Center and Neighbor to Neighbor, a local Latinx organization, succeeded in getting the coal plant in their city shut down and transformed into a commercial solar farm. Today, Holyoke’s electric utility uses the solar energy as part of a carbon-neutral plan.

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  • How a Guatemalan Town Tackled Its Plastic Problem

    San Pedro La Laguna, a town in Guatemala, has banned single use plastics including plastic bags and straws after realizing that plastic pollution was ruining the ecosystem of Lake Atitlan and that a new waste facility would be unable to handle the amount of garbage created in the village. To ensure that people follow the new regulation, there are heavy fees - but the town also bought traditionally made biodegradable replacements; the change is being framed as a way to return to traditional, indigenous ways for the communities.

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  • How do you teach Estonian culture?

    Immersive engagement on a personal level promotes integration into new cultures. To help newcomers and foreign residents integrate into Estonian society, the Estonian Institute’s program, Culture Step, allows participants to experience and participate in Estonian customs and traditions. The program also helps newcomers build a social network in the increasingly multi-cultural society.

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  • Health departments are on climate change's front lines

    Climate change is proving to have a significant impact on more than just the weather. From an influx of diseases due to more natural disasters to extreme heat, climate change is taking a toll on the health of many worldwide. In response, public health departments are taking steps to implement programs to lessen the impact while also learning from one another about what works and what limitations exist.

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  • School makes counseling cool for kids with a pop-up wellness center

    In recent years, School 145 in New York City has significantly bolstered its mental health counseling services, with the help of the nonprofit Counseling in Schools, and test scores are starting to improve. "I have 52 students whose parents have given me letters saying 'in case I get deported, this is where my child is going.'" the principal explained, emphasizing the importance of providing mental health care resources at school. "And then we have to talk about college and career readiness."

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  • Finland's grand AI experiment

    The government of Finland is positioning its country as the leader in practical applications of Artificial Intelligence technology by providing its citizens with a free course. Recognizing the potential in AI technology, and the coming shifts in the global economy that will favor countries well versed in these technologies, the government has partnered with the University of Helsinki and a consulting agency named Reaktor to develop the free course. “We’ll never have so much money that we will be the leader of artificial intelligence. But how we use it — that’s something different," says one minister.

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  • This company converts food byproducts into new, healthy food

    Renewal Mill, a food company based in Oakland, is taking on food waste in a big way. The company produces goods from previously wasted byproducts, such as a fiber-rich, gluten-free flour that was once a wasted tofu byproduct. Partnering with other companies, such processes could use close to 100 percent of raw materials.

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  • How Rwanda's Catholic clinics struck a contraception compromise

    Cooperation between state public health and religious institutions expands access to family planning resources for women. In areas of Rwanda where the Catholic Church operates some of the only healthcare centers, the Rwandan government has circumvented the prohibitive cost of building new facilities by partnering with the Church. Although the Catholic institutions refuse to provide access to birth control, they have agreed to refer women to small governmental health clinic outposts that supplement the Church’s care by distributing birth control.

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  • How Tulsa's bold experiment is bringing families closer to stability

    In Tulsa, Oklahoma, philanthropist George Kaiser has invested heavily in Educare, a year-round early learning program, and wraparound services, such as prison-diversion and family-based programs, with the belief that early child development can break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and address the opportunity gap before it widens. The Christian Science Monitor is following three mothers with children enrolled in Educare to show how the experiment in philanthropy is playing out on the ground.

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