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Poop may tell us when the coronavirus lockdown will end

Rosanna Xia

April 29, 2020 |

Los Angeles Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: France, Paris

Researchers and public health experts across the world are turning to "wastewater-based-epidemiology" as a practice that could help trace and track the spread of COVID-19. This methodology has already proved successful in helping mitigate diseases such as polio in Israel and track the usage of illicit drugs in Australia. Most recently, in both France and the Netherlands, early sewage samples have revealed useful data about the coronavirus outbreak.

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Balancing out the doom and gloom: Why we're producing more journalism with a glass-half-full outlook

Angela Ross

June 11, 2020 |

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Australia

ABC News in Australia is using a solutions-focused, or constructive, approach to reporting on social problems. Focusing in particular on three areas, affordable housing, stormwater, and obesity, the Hobart newsroom is combating widespread hopelessness and mistrust of the media by highlighting what individuals and communities are already doing to address problems. The approach is used around the world and supported by organizations such as Solutions Journalism Network and the Constructive Institute. While change can be slow, these groups offer newsroom training to help shift reporting perspectives.

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In Mathare, clean water is music, as Billian shields the Kenyan slum against COVID-19

Christabel Ligami

July 07, 2020 |

Nigeria Health Watch |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Mathare

In Kenya's rural communities and densely populated areas, accessing sanitation and hygiene methods can be difficult, but in one slum, a nonprofit organization has teamed up with a group of young men in the community to help increase access during the Covid-19 pandemic. Together, they are providing free water and food vouchers to families and setting up hand washing stations throughoutut the area.

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India's tribal farmers tap solar irrigation to cut migration

Soumya Sarkar

July 27, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Jharkhand

New solar-powered irrigation systems in the Chotanagpur Plateau region in India are giving farmers more dependable water and allowing them to diversify their crops, allowing them to also grow their income. Many farmers from a local village used to migrate to other places to search for work, but a new irrigation system has allowed them to grow cauliflower for a competitive price. While the cost of buying and installing a solar-powered irrigation system can be high, this form of irrigation could be more climate-friendly and help stabilize crop production.

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Emergency Preparedness for Prisons Isn't Just Sandbags and Non-perishables

Emma Coleman

November 02, 2018 |

New America Weekly |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005 stranded people incarcerated in the New Orleans jail without food or water, the city used the experience not to question its disaster preparedness but instead to rethink who needs to be incarcerated in the first place. By easing policies in cash bail and arrests for petty offenses, the city cut its jail population by two-thirds and replaced its flooded jail with one less than one-quarter the original size. The new policies helped inspire Louisiana to revise its sentencing standards in an effort to end its distinction for having the world's highest incarceration rate.

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Sent to prison young, they found healing at northern Michigan camp

Angie Jackson

August 15, 2020 |

Detroit Free Press |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ypsilanti, Michigan

The Youth Justice Fund sends formerly incarcerated men and women to a lakeside summer camp as therapy for the trauma they suffered growing up and during long prison sentences that started when they were teenagers and extended decades into adulthood. By enjoying water sports on Lake Michigan and taking classes in art and music on a 300-acre forested campground, the recently released people find a safe place to talk about their trauma and the challenges of reentering society. For some, these days represent the first real freedom and joy they have experienced as adults.

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Metro Detroit's environmental organizations are largely white. Some are working to change that.

Anna Clark

August 13, 2020 |

Planet Detroit |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Several environmental groups in the Detroit area are coming to terms with the lack of racial diversity in their organizations. Huron-Clinton Metroparks released a plan to make their parks more welcoming and accessible to everyone, regardless of race and ethnicity. The Friends of the Rouge watershed organization has partnered with other nonprofits to explore race and organizational culture within their own groups. While many of these initiatives have just launched, many groups are taking crucial steps to address environmental injustice within their ranks and how it trickles down to the people they serve.

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In Slumping Energy States, Plugging Abandoned Wells Could Provide an Economic Boost

Erika Bolstad

September 23, 2020 |

Stateline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Watford City, North Dakota

North Dakota is using some of its COVID-19 pandemic relief funds to plug 239 abandoned oil wells and reclaim 2,000 acres of lands. Abandoned wells can contaminate groundwater and leak methane that is hazardous to human health and contributes to climate change. While not everyone agrees that the funds should be used to plug wells, state officials say the economic relief program is keeping about 600 oilfield workers employed.

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How Fishers Became Data Scientists to Strengthen Their Marine Protected Area

Nick Dall

October 08, 2020 |

Hakai Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Kleinmond

A research project in a marine protected area (MPA) off the coast of South Africa brought fishers and scientists together to understand the abundance of fish and rock lobster in the waters. The project paid fishers to lower baited remote underwater video stations and got youth involved to review the video footage. By bringing fishers into the project and building trust with the community, they were able to demonstrate the importance of a MPA and empower them to be part of the decision-making process.

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Cold Hard Cash for Your Greenhouse Gas

Sarah Gonzalez Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Alex Blumberg

October 22, 2020 |

Gimlet Media |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Illinois

Refrigerants being used in old air conditioners or grocery story cooling systems leak into the atmosphere contributing to global warming. Tradewater, a company in Illinois, picks up these containers, destroys the refrigerants, gives them cash, and then sells them as carbon offset credits. They collect up to 250,000 pounds of refrigerants per year, but there is still more out there. Supermarkets in the United States could switch to more natural refrigerants, but barely 1 percent are known to have done that. Getting rid of these refrigerants can be an important solution to combating climate change.

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