What others can learn from Bonner's success in revitalizing its old mill site

Fly ash bricks help reduce construction waste by utilizing the powdery by-product of burning coal. They are a green replacement for red clay bricks, which contribute to 5-15% of India’s emissions. They also utilize waste from coal-based thermal plants, which often gets disposed of by being dumped in water bodies and on roadsides. In comparison to red clay bricks, fly ash bricks are less expensive and the production process doesn’t emit smoke or use the more fertile top soil. Their use has been mandated by some regions and about 150 small fly ash enterprises have emerged.

A biogas facility in Dunga, Kenya, takes in the invasive water hyacinth plant and other organic waste, shreds the material, breaks it down with bacteria in an anaerobic digester, and uses the gas produced to provide cooking fuel to locals. The biogas is a cheaper, cleaner alternative to other fuels like wood and charcoal.

LINI for Reef to Aquarium, works with local villagers to implement sustainable fishing practices and restore reef habitats damaged by neurotoxins used to catch fish for the saltwater aquarium fish trade. LINI, with the community’s help, installed cement domes to provide refuges for ornamental fish in 2008. These alternative spots for collecting fish effectively removed pressure from natural reefs and by 2011, live coral cover had increased by 35% and continues to do well today. Villagers also started a land-based breeding program to take pressure off of the coral reefs.

VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, are a type of pollutant that can be found even in homes and small businesses, but across Utah, small businesses are finding creative ways to reduce their emissions. A mix of mandatory rules at the state level as well as supplementary grants to pay for the cost to switch to more environmentally-friendly machinery and materials has fueled this shift. Businesses including coffee shops, lawn care companies, and furniture stores are stepping up.

A decades-old principle called “just transition” has made international headway in the fight against climate change and toward equity and sustainability. Fundamental to the principle is transitioning from a capitalist system to a localized one that prioritizes cultural inclusion, local economies, decarbonization and environmental justice, and food sovereignty. But as this idea reaches prominence on the global stage, those that have been involved for years worry that its core meanings, morals, and actions will be co-opted.

Respiratory diseases caused by air pollution now account for more premature deaths in people worldwide than malaria and HIV combined. To address increasing contamination levels, particularly in cities, scientists have developed a new kind of cement that absorbs pollutants like CO2. The special cement is being manufactured in Milan, and used around in the world in cities like Paris and Chicago.

With little action happening to reverse or prepare for climate change at the federal level, local communities have taken initiative on their own. From voters in Flagstaff passing a $10 million bond to bolster forest management to the city of Tulsa buying over 1,000 flood-prone properties, across the United States people are taking non- or bi-partisan steps to increase their towns’ resilience. Core to each initiative is not a parachute, one-size-fits-all approach, rather, it’s taking a hyper-local approach, centering community strength, and moving disadvantaged populations to the forefront.

With investor backing, the utility company Nuru built a 1.3-megawatt minigrid that, due to its interconnectivity with a hydropower grid, can power streetlight, phone, and internet services, plus a private company that pumps, treats and distributes water to the Congolese community of Goma. Residents report financial savings and greater feelings of safety.

Oakland Unified School District's transition to 74 electric school buses has eliminated diesel exhaust exposure and noise pollution for 1,300 students—particularly benefiting those with special needs like autism—while reducing behavioral incidents and saving an estimated $440,000 annually in fuel and maintenance costs.

Green Islam is an Indonesian grassroots movement combining Islamic teachings on environmental stewardship with community-driven actions such as eco-boarding schools, green-certified mosques, and interfaith dialogues to address climate change and ecological crises.