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

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  • Blockchain technology to boost power access in rural areas

    July 14, 2020 |

    Nation Africa |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Kenya

    A micro-grid system has been paired with blockchain technology to easily sell and buy affordable and clean energy in rural Kenya. Residents living in the countryside don't generally have access to reliable and affordable electricity but this new technology allows rural Kenyans to install solar panels on their homes and easily sell surplus electricity to neighbors. The pilot program is a result of a collaboration between an NGO and a local tech company.

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  • Going ‘Deep Green,' Office Buildings Give Back to the Planet

    July 14, 2020 |

    The New York Times |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

    More and more commercial real estate projects are popping up around the United States that are focused on “deep green” building. This movement suggests that it’s not enough to just make a building out of renewable materials, but they can also be self-sustaining. For example, the Watershed, an office building in Seattle, has a slanted roof that collects rainwater that is then used in toilets. These types of projects can be more complicated and expensive to build, but developers can save money in the long run with the improvements.

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  • The coronavirus effect on Pakistan's digital divide

    July 13, 2020 |

    BBC |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Pakistan

    The Pakistani government uses technology, like a state-owned TV channel that broadcasts content for grades 1-12 and apps sourced for free by ed-tech companies, to help the over 50 million school children without broadband internet or digital device access. The TV channel has over 54 million subscribers and there is a text-messaging service that allows its 250,000 subscribers to talk to professional teachers. Despite the digital divide, the use of educational apps has also skyrocketed since the Covid-19 pandemic. However, technology is not a silver bullet to solve the country’s deep education inequalities.

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  • Former D.C. inmates use virtual meetings for support, encouragement as they adjust to life outside prison

    July 09, 2020 |

    The Washington Post |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

    Freed from prison after serving at least 15 years, often much longer, for crimes committed when they were teens, a group of men holds twice-monthly Zoom meetings to lend structure and peer support to their lives during a time when COVID-19 restrictions foreclose other face-to-face meetings. Under Washington, D.C.’s Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act, 42 men have been released. At least 22 of them meet regularly to share leads on possible jobs, discuss their frustrations, and encourage each other to stay focused on the positive.

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  • After the pandemic, doctors want their new robot helpers to stay

    July 09, 2020 |

    The Verge |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Covid-19 has accelerated technological innovations and robots are being used to minimize the virus’ transmission. Mobile disinfectant units using UV light to break apart the virus’ genetic material are in use at some hospitals, airports, hotels, and food banks. They clean surfaces faster and with less risk than humans. Robots are also doing initial patient in-takes at hospitals to minimize transmission and identify critical cases, and telepresence bots, essentially i-pads on wheels, allow patients to explore outside their quarantined spaces. Users do have to contend with occasional technological glitches.

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  • Investors say agroforestry isn't just climate friendly — it's also profitable

    July 08, 2020 |

    Mongabay |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    With the growing trend in regenerative agriculture, Propagate Ventures is working with farmers to transition them from conventional agriculture to agroforestry. This technique focuses on incorporating trees into farmland which can improve soil health and crop production, and reduce carbon emissions. The company offers farmers help to build the system and connections to investor financing. While implementing an agroforestry system can take time, Propagate Ventures is seeing the interest grow: They’ve expanded to eight states and recently received $1.5 million in capital funding.

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  • In Migrant Worker Camps, Wifi Is a Basic Utility

    July 08, 2020 |

    The Daily Yonder |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, Wasco County, Oregon

    To expand wifi access during the coronavirus pandemic for those who work in the agricultural community and in migrant farmworker camps, the City of The Dalles partnered and collaborated with Google and other community businesses to purchase hot spots and Chromebooks for farmworkers to use. The hot spots don't work in all areas of the county, but in the orchards with cell service where they have been installed, they have been helping to provide access to telemedicine and educational services.

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  • ‘When Someone Hires Me, They Get the Boss Herself'

    July 07, 2020 |

    The New York Times |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    A new model for cooperatives guarantees a living wage for house cleaners, removing the uncertainty and exploitation typically associated with the gig economy. Up & Go is an app that brings entrepreneurs together as owners of the cooperative - sharing offices and customer service representatives. Wages for their work have almost doubled in comparison to the jobs they found through fliers. Training has also given workers the knowledge to stay safe in addition to keeping their clients from exposure during the pandemic.

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  • The problem with Facebook's plan to sign up 4 million voters

    July 03, 2020 |

    FastCompany |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    In the past decade, Facebook's US voter engagement campaigns included registration and election-day reminders for its 61 million 18+ users and sharing friends’ voting behavior. One study attributes hundreds of thousands of more votes to these election campaigns, with friends’ voting behavior the strongest influencer. The California Secretary of State credits the 4th highest voter registration daily total to Facebook’s same day reminder. Criticisms include not releasing data for independent review and negative aspects of its influence like potential liberal biases and the 2016 Russian disinformation campaign.

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  • Can direct air capture make a real impact on climate change?

    July 03, 2020 |

    Public Radio International (PRI) |

    Radio |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: Switzerland, Zurich

    Climeworks is focusing on pulling carbon dioxide directly out of the air to store or reuse in some capacity as a way to lower global greenhouse gas emissions. The Swiss company has 16 plants around Europe, with their biggest one in Switzerland that removes 900 tons of carbon dioxide a year that is then sold to Coca-Cola Co. to put in soft drinks or to local industrial greenhouses for plant growth. Scaling the operations to capture more carbon is costly, but the startup recently raised $76 million from investors.

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