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

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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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  • A taste of honey: how bees mend fences between farmers and elephants Audio icon

    As the habitats of wild elephants shrink, conservationists in India are developing safer ways to reduce the number of conflicts between humans and the animal. The Wildlife Research and Conservation Society uses chili smoke and beehive fences as natural ways to divert elephants away from farmers’ crops. Since they started, there have been no casualties related to human-elephant conflict. The nonprofit Wildlife SOS uses radio collars to track the herd’s movement and alerts local villagers via WhatsApp of any potential conflicts. However, the success of some methods vary depending on the time of year.

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  • 'No one should go hungry': street fridges of free food help Americans survive Covid pandemic Audio icon

    Community refrigerators full of free food for anyone in need have popped up in the New York metro area. "Fridge keepers" help keep the fridges stocked either personally or through the help of locals and restaurants who want to help their neighbors. With federal aid ending for those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, some locals have relied on the stocked fridges for their next meal.

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  • 'An awakening': the George Floyd protests spur surge in Black voter registration

    Advocacy organizations conducted voter outreach and registered new voters at Black Lives Matters protests on a scale not seen since the civil rights era. HeadCount, a voter-registration organization, created QR codes that anyone with a printer could put on protest signs. Other attendees could scan the codes with their smartphones to immediately register to vote. The group registered 14,898 new voters in June 2020, compared with 1,204 in June 2016. Political organizing at the summer’s protest events contributed to higher turnout in local and national elections, particularly among Black and Latino voters.

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  • Use of plastic bags in England drops by 59% in a year

    The sales of single-use plastic bags has dropped by more than 95 percent in England’s supermarkets since 2015 when a monetary fee was introduced to encourage shoppers to reduce their plastic waste. Despite this reduction, research suggests that the amount of plastic waste in the world’s oceans was still likely to triple in volume in the next 20 years.

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  • ‘I just need a connection': the refugees teaching languages across borders

    NaTakallam offers classes in Arabic, Spanish, Persian and French that are taught by refugees. The 64 teachers conduct classes with 770 students entirely online, allowing people from all over the world to learn from native speakers. It also circumvents work restrictions for refugees in their new homes, which means they can earn money. The group’s teachers also speak in university classes, offer translation services, and some now work on New York University’s Arabic-language program. Deep friendships that help combat the isolation experienced by many refugees have also emerged from the online classes.

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  • India's first 'green' village adapts to life without tourists

    Despite the lockdown and loss of tourism income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the village of Kohonoma in India has been able to maintain a high level of food security for its people. Because of previous legal changes and grant money, villagers were able to change their lifestyle to support the community’s tourism industry and preserve its sustainable agriculture practices. Village leaders are hopeful that their conservation and sustainable development efforts will continue post-pandemic and will encourage other communities to do the same.

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  • 'I might have died if they hadn't rescued me': life inside the new hotels for the homeless

    Across England and Wales, over 5,000 individuals experiencing homelessness have found temporary accommodations in hotels. Paid for by the government as part of it’s COVID-19 relief efforts, hotels are working with social services to help provide housing, food, and other basic necessities to those going through housing insecurity. Not without challenges, the initiative has seen zero deaths from the pandemic but those working to help this initiative worry about the long-term.

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  • Finnish basic income pilot improved wellbeing, study finds

    The Finnish government's experiment with basic income revealed the mental and emotional benefits associated with receiving a small monthly income. The 560-euro amount is not enough to live on but provides a financial security net for those who have experienced long-term unemployment. Basic income allowed participants to consider low-paying jobs that would normally cost them their benefits. The notion of basic income has gained traction across Europe, especially during the pandemic and in the face of general job losses due to automation.

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  • Aggressive testing and pop songs: how Vietnam contained the coronavirus

    Although Vietnam had a limited ability to treat coronavirus patients due to lack of treatment infrastructures, the country has been able to keep their case count low by implementing aggressive testing, contact tracing and information management. The citizens have been receptive to the arguably intrusive measures taken and have also expressed appreciation for the creative approaches used, such as employing pop singers to create educational songs and artists to design influential posters.

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