Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Amid Devastating California Fire Season, One Small Community Saved Itself. Here's How

    After years of debate and education, the residents of the tiny community of Rock Haven, in the Sierra National Forest, found the will and the money to "treat" the forest around their homes: removing dead trees and brush that made the land extremely vulnerable to wildfire. When the massive Creek Fire in 2020 arrived, it wiped out the trees in the part of the property that had gone untreated, but left unscathed the treated land and the cabins on it. The costly preparation made firefighting safer and more effective while slowing the wildfire's spread.

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  • The world's first 'infinite' plastic

    There are several chemical recycling methods being tested throughout the world, including one of the latest ones in the United Kingdom. Mura Technology is building the world’s first commercial-scale plant that can recycle all kinds of plastic and turn them into oil. Their method aims to process 80,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year once the plant opens in 2022. While some criticize that the chemical recycling process is very energy intensive and is not always profitable, the new Mura plant already has partnerships lined up with some plastic manufacturers.

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  • How Bakersfield, California Ended Chronic Homelessness

    Bakersfield became the first California city to all but abolish a category of homelessness using the Built for Zero campaign's tactics of combining the use of data with a sustained, communal effort. From 2017 to 2020, Bakersfield identified and then housed all but two of the 72 people it identified as chronically homeless. Working from lists of people, the Bakersfield Kern Regional Homeless Coalition met regularly to whittle down the caseload. The county housing authority helped by leasing a bloc of eight units to sublet, easing landlord worries about dealing directly with people experiencing homelessness.

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  • As Formerly Incarcerated People Return to Their Communities in W.Va., This Network of 'Resource Brokers' Is There to Guide Them

    The West Virginia Council of Churches formed a network of community reentry councils to help people leaving prison line up basic necessities, from housing to employment. The councils use their members' community connections as a bridge between prison officials, who won't release people if they lack plans for a place to live, and returning citizens, whose housing, counseling, and employment needs can determine the difference between success and another stint in prison on a technical parole violation. Grants from two foundations helped the Council of Churches expand its network during the pandemic.

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  • Turning oil platforms into reefs

    After oil and gas platforms reach the end of their working lives, some are being turned into artificial reefs that can create new ecosystems in the ocean. Since the 1980s, 550 platforms have been reefed in the Gulf of Mexico and programs are springing up to help industry make the switch. These reefs can be home to fish and birds, and studies have shown that some species prefer these structures over their natural habitats. While not all environmentalists agree with leaving the platforms in the water, scientists are working to understanding how similar programs can be implemented in other parts of the world.

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  • Homeless Oaklanders were tired of the housing crisis. So they built a ‘miracle' village

    A group of people experiencing homelessness have created Cob on Wood, a place where members can access free hot showers, food, shelter, clothing, books, a health clinic, gardens, and even an outdoor pizza oven. Most importantly, Cob on Wood provides a sense of community and dignity for the almost 300 unhoused people who live there. Local artists and organizations came together to create structures and provide the resources needed to bring the vision to reality.

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  • How Australia kept COVID in check, and what lessons the world can take from it

    Strict and early knockdowns and consistent public health messaging have helped Australia effectively eliminate Covid-19. Now, the country and its residents have largely returned to business as usual, despite many citizens still waiting to receive the Covid vaccine.

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  • What to Do With Piles of Plastic Waste?

    From collecting plastic to transforming it into infrastructure, communities all over the world are implementing solutions to tackle the growing amount of plastic waste. In Malawi, women are separating garbage from plastic and creating new products like fire briquettes, doormats, and organic compost that they can sell to others. A town in Tasmania turned their plastic waste into a road made of recycled asphalt that is expected to last 15 percent longer than regular asphalt. And Zimbabwe is employing youth to recycle plastic into eco-friendly construction materials.

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  • How Jos Neighbourhood Watch Makes Christians, Muslims Their Brother's Keeper

    Following years of religious-based violence throughout Plateau State, Christians and Muslims in the Dutse Uku area of Jos formed a neighborhood watch program to intervene before one killing turns into many. Elders on both sides of the divided community agreed to take responsibility for violence in their area and to help the other side seek justice. Places of worship are guarded by members of the opposite faith, in a show of solidarity that has not completely erased fears and suspicions, but has bred a calmer atmosphere. People now mingle freely at the marketplace and business has improved.

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  • Huge success for Mother's Day bailout, as annual Philly effort blows past fundraising goal

    The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund freed more than 400 people from jail in 2020, thanks to $3 million donated amid the COVID-19 crisis and racial justice protests. Organizers of the Black Mama's Day Bailout, an annual targeted campaign that gave rise to the community bail fund five years ago, expected donor fatigue this year might limit their work. But they exceeded the 2020 Mother's Day campaign, freeing 25 women, in part from sales of art made by formerly incarcerated women in a partnership with an arts co-op. Cash bail penalizes people too poor to afford to remain free before trial.

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