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  • How new technology is helping to identify human rights abuses in the seafood industry

    February 25, 2021 |

    The Counter |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Ghana

    A growing number of governments, companies, and nonprofit organizations are working together with new technology and data to identify fishing vessels that are breaking laws and engaging in human rights violations. Using satellite imagery and tracking signals, for example, a philanthropic company and a nonprofit worked with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to help the Ghanian navy arrest four vessels for illegal fishing practices. Technology by itself won’t stop forced labor and unregulated ships, but it can be helpful for cash-strapped governments looking to increase oversight of their fisheries.

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  • It looks like the Batmobile, works on solar energy, and could be the future of cars

    February 25, 2021 |

    The Washington Post |

    Multi-Media |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

    Aptera Motors, a California-based startup, is poised to roll out the first mass-produced solar vehicle this year: for $25,900. The car is a three-wheel, aerodynamic electric vehicle covered in solar cells that can provide energy to drive about 40 miles. The model is not 100 percent efficient with some energy lost in its electrical current conversion and in its drive system, but the creators say it is four times more effect than an average electric vehicle. Still, when the company started taking preorders, they sold out of its first 330 vehicles in 24 hours.

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  • Ten years after Fukushima: could new fuels make nuclear power safer?

    February 23, 2021 |

    Physics World |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Urbana, Illinois

    After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, scientists are looking for ways to ensure the future of nuclear power is safer. One possibility is improving the protective barrier that surrounds the fuel pellets. They coated the fuel road with chromium and in tests, the new coatings performed well. However, modeling suggests that the chromium-coating might not provide enough time to stabilize a power plant during a meltdown. Still, these materials have started to appear in commercial nuclear reactors and could help reduce fuel waste and save money.

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  • If You Can't Get To Your Vaccine Appointment, These Cities Will Drive You

    February 17, 2021 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Austin, Texas

    Some cities across the U.S. are offering "free or cheap transportation to vaccine distribution sites" as a means of increasing access for those who don't have access to a vehicle, are unable to drive, or don't live near a vaccination site or public transportation network. In Austin, the city converted their already-existing bus and commuter rail system, which was experiencing a decline in use during the pandemic, to a curb-to-curb service.

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  • How some frustrated COVID-19 vaccine hunters are trying to fix a broken system

    February 17, 2021 |

    The Seattle Times |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Washington

    Retired software engineers in Washington have joined together and created a website that aggregates all available COVID vaccine appointments by using "screen scrapers." Although the site doesn't allow the visitor to book an appointment, it has routinely averaged "10,000 visits a day from anxious shot hunters."

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  • The Bakery That's Owned by an Idea

    February 16, 2021 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

    Firebrand Artisan Breads hires people with high barriers to employment, such as people experiencing homelessness or who were formerly incarcerated. The higher-than-minimum-wage starting salary, paid time off, and insurance benefits provide sustainable and secure employment to people whose life circumstances make it harder to get a job. In order to raise capital while maintaining their employment model, the owner worked with lawyers to become a perpetual purpose trust, an alternative ownership model that allows the company to sell shares to private investors while ensuring their principles remain in place.

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  • Boosting Voter Turnout: Seth Flaxman

    February 13, 2021 |

    How Do We Fix It? |

    Podcast |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States

    Democracy Works has a suite of programs that make it easier to vote. TurboVote helps its 7 million subscribers easily register to vote by taking them to their state's online registration site or by sending them the paperwork with envelopes pre-addressed to their county election office. The service also sends emails and texts to remind users to vote, as well as with other deadlines and their polling location. Their Voting Information Project provides data for all districts in the U.S. that groups, such as Google and Facebook, use to provide their users with their polling place location information.

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  • Treetop sensors help Indonesia eavesdrop on forests to cut logging

    February 11, 2021 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Indonesia, Solok, West Sumatra

    In Indonesia, there are 27 “Guardian” sensors eavesdropping on forests as a way to monitor them for cases of illegal logging. The organization Rainforest Connection uses artificial intelligence to analyze the audio from these sensors and if the system picks up the sound of a chainsaw, it sends a mobile alert to community patrols in the area. This technology can be scaled for other parts of the world and habitats. “We're basically building a nervous system for the natural world," says Topher White, founder of the nonprofit.

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  • Egypt's farmers tap new tech to save water and boost crops

    February 10, 2021 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Egypt, Samalout

    A new government pilot program in Egypt is allowing farmers to use technology to tell them when their soil is dry and how much water it needs, which can aid the country as it navigates its water crisis. Sensors buried in the soil measure the ground’s moisture levels and sends the data to the user through a mobile app. The government has given 200 devices away for free, but some experts question the cost and if farmers will be comfortable with the technology. Still, one farmer says that because of the new system, she has been using 20 percent less water and her labor costs have also decreased.

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  • How Sweden is taking back parking spaces to improve urban living

    February 08, 2021 |

    The Guardian |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Sweden, Gothenburg

    A pop-up public space was installed in Gothenburg, the latest in a Swedish experiment that’s looking at how to transform parking spaces on city streets into community areas. Previous installations of the experiment, known as the “one-minute city,” in Stockholm were received positively and other cities have expressed interest in the project.

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