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The Feat in Hojancha, the Town that Lost its Forest

Noelia Esquivel

January 21, 2019 |

La Voz de Guanacaste |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Costa Rica, Hojancha, Guanacaste

In 1976, the Costa Rican city Hojancha preserved only 2% of its land as forest, and as a result their water supply (the Río Nosara river basin) dried up from the lack of vegetation. Sixteen years into the crisis, two friends conceived and ran an initiative to reforest the land by asking every family in the city to donate ¢1,000 a month until they could buy back the land in full from the ranchers who owned it. Now, the land is thriving again, though the project of regrowing the forest continues still today.

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Our drinking water systems are a disaster. What can we do?

Erica Gies

April 11, 2016 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The water system in the United States is beginning to be in need of replacement. In order to facilitate this infrastructure project and prevent it from becoming overwhelming, technology such as water sensors and software are being used to monitor water usage and replace the pipes that are most dire as they degrade.

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How a Small Town Is Standing Up to Fracking

Justin Nobel

May 22, 2017 |

Rolling Stone |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Grant Township, Pennsylvania

While the U.S. economy enjoys the cheap fuel prices afforded by fracking, the consequences on the environment and communities like Grant Township in Pennsylvania reveal the ugly underbelly of the oil and gas industry and the broken regulatory infrastructure of state and federal government. But Grant wasn't willing to roll over and just let their woodlands and water sources be polluted, so they worked together and took a creative defense against the installation of a toxic injection well in their town: by granting the trees, animals, and streams rights to protection and battling it out in court.

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This country gave all its rivers their own legal rights

Sigal Samuel

August 18, 2019 |

Vox |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh

As countries look to new ways to best conserve rivers, several are testing out a methodology of giving human rights to the bodies of water. Although not without challenges, this solution offers a way for those harming rivers to be held accountable to any damage they caused, same as if they were harming another human being.

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What Can We Do About Our Water?

Jennifer Reed

July 01, 2019 |

Gulfshore Life |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Sanibel, Florida

On Sanibel Island, Florida, residents know all too well the intensive steps necessary to clean up polluted water. Like many other bodies of water in Florida and across the country, the city has suffered from "nutrition pollution" that has threatened their environment, but comprehensive measures enacted over the past decades - including land use plans that severely restrict development and efforts to educate homeowners on pond management - are helping the area turn around and providing a playbook for other cities.

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Beating the coronavirus with knives, forks, and moving tables

Mary Ann Sorrentino

August 13, 2020 |

The Boston Globe |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Providence, Rhode Island

Restaurants in Providence, Rhode Island are "repurposing parking lots, waterfronts, and any adjacent land where an al fresco meal can be savored, public health preserved, and restaurant profits protected" during the coronavirus pandemic. Collaborative efforts by various elected officials, health officials, and emergency responders are making the idea to repurpose outdoor areas feasible, and some restaurants have already projected a significant success in profits.

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In India, Products Made From Crop Waste May Curb a Tide of Plastic

Priti Salian

April 24, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Bengaluru

India has been a longtime contributor to water and air pollution, largely due in part to the amount of plastic the country generates. To address both kinds of pollution, one company is creating biodegradable packaging made from plant fibers.

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How a small Colorado town fought the Japanese beetle and won

Tamara Chuang

July 29, 2019 |

The Colorado Sun |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Palisade, Colorado

Eradicating invasive species requires enrolling a community effort. Although quarantines and chemical treatments have not proven effective in preventing the spread of Popilia japonica, or the Japanese beetle, to farms on the US’s Front Range, the Colorado community of Palisade succeeded in eradicating the species through collective action. By combining pest control methods with a community program of reducing water use, Palisade farmers were able to push the beetles out of their farmland over the course of several years in the early 2000s.

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Bangkok fights air pollution with water-spraying drones

Johnny Simon

January 23, 2019 |

Quartz |

Photojournalism |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Thailand, Bangkok

Official in Bangkok, Thailand unleashed a small fleet of drones to deal with the hazardous levels of air pollution plaguing the city. The drones were outfitted with canisters capable of spraying water and a "non-hazardous chemical spray." The pilot project successfully reduced air pollution by small amounts.

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Nepalese Rice Farmers Boost Yields By Sowing Fewer Plants And Cutting Water

Danielle Preiss

January 30, 2019 |

NPR |

Multi-Media |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: Nepal

Using a somewhat counter-intuitive process, rice farmers in Nepal are seeing higher yields practicing the system of rice intensification (SRI), a method which calls for planting fewer seedlings, planting them younger and using less water. Some farmers have reported a 100% increase in crop yields, which can triple incomes with an added environmental benefit.

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