Why Is Wyoming Safer?

The burning of coal for fuel is one of the world's largest contributors to CO2 emissions, and continues to worsen the detrimental effects of planetary warming. But while many feel hopeless in light of an administration that denies climate change and the billion-dollar companies that continue full steam ahead with mining and burning coal, a few clever individuals present a simple and straightforward solution: buy up the coal while it's still in the ground, and pay the government to keep it there.

Acknowledging that most coal plants world wide are likely to continue to operate for decades as the world's demand for energy only increases, solutions to climate change become ever more pressing. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is one of the few approaches that can receive bipartisan support in shaping energy policy and - despite a few early experimental failures - the method making a comeback as a viable way to combat the release of C02 into the atmosphere. The Petra Nova plant in Texas may serve as a model for moving CCS forward.

Air pollution is a huge problem for China, but surprisingly, the Air Quality Index in several cities is improving because of a variety of experimental projects that are being rolled out and a number of clever pollution solutions from around the country.

The turkey and chicken industries have struggled with salmonella outbreaks that are more virulent and less responsive to antibiotics. The turkey industry responded immediately, forming a task force to study and fight the strain, vaccinating breeding flocks, setting up better barn sanitation, and making changes in processing plants to reduce cross-contamination. The chicken industry’s response has been slow and not transparent, and as a result it continues to spread and make people sick. On the other hand, 73% fewer turkeys are found to have the bacteria and reports of people getting sick have fallen by 65%.

The State Early Learning Alliance is a membership organization of about 30 independent child care centers that pools resources to save money on essential services and free up time to focus on providing high-quality care. The group harnesses shared purchasing power to negotiate better deals for a wide range of necessary goods and services, including building maintenance, insurance, payroll and administration, food, and classroom supplies. Providers save thousands of dollars a year, which can help with skyrocketing child care costs and staff shortages due to low pay.

As oil rigs stop producing fossil fuels and become decommissioned, many are being repurposed into artificial reefs that support populations of marine wildlife with food and shelter. In the United States, more than 500 oil and gas rigs have been converted into artificial reefs. The California-based company Blue Latitudes has worked to raise awareness about this solution throughout the world, though has struggled to make traction with the Golden State’s oil platforms. Yet, reefing a platform is less expensive than completely removing it.

For over a decade, environmentalists, Indigenous tribes, ranchers, politicians, scientists, and fishers in the Pacific Northwest have been able to defeat more than 20 proposals from coal and oil firms to ship fossil fuels from their ports. Through protests, public hearings, and petitions to government agencies, activists blacked almost every fossil fuel effort in the region between 2004 and 2017.

Solar development can reduce or significantly alter local biodiversity, and this should be considered when planning sustainability projects in the desert, argues a new study. Scientists measured the impact of a solar plant built in California and found that while some grasses and native shrubs grew back, cacti and yucca didn’t fare well. They recommend building solar projects on places that have already been developed or have low environmental impact. Groups like the Nature Conservancy are using that advice to pilot a project demonstrating that old mine sites in Nevada can be used for clean energy.

After an abandoned copper mine destroyed the Tsolum River in Canada, it took decades and cross-sector collaboration to reduce acid runoff and bring back fish populations. The government, a restoration society, and even the mining industry worked together to come up with solutions to save the river. Their latest attempt — capping the mine waste with glacial sediment and an asphalt covering — in 2009 succeeded. In 2015, 129,000 pink salmon came back to the river — a record return since fish counts began in 1953.

As of 2017, more than 130 California-based construction companies have created Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) as a way to ensure the future viability of a small business and ensure stability and buy-in for their employees. While ESOPs are rare, support for the strategy is growing - and the model has both progressive and conservative champions who see it as a way to make business run better.