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How Bogotá's Waste Pickers Reinvented Their Jobs for a Modern City

Peter Yeung

July 05, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Colombia

In Colombia, there are about 50,000 waste pickers, they collect and sort through trash to findrecyclabless to make a living. Their livelihood was threatened in the 1990s after Colombia adopted neoliberal policies that privatized trash collection. However, in 2016 the government officially recognized wastepickers as recycling service providers under a decree. That same year, the government introduced a "second payment," that supplement the income of waste pickers. Coupled, these two policies have improved the livelihood of wastepickers.

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Farmers Trying To Save The Ogallala Aquifer Face Tension From Peers, But Their Profits Are Improving

David Condos

May 05, 2021 |

High Plains Public Radio |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Hays, Kansas

Once Kansas formed its first local enhanced management area — or LEMA — where a certain land area had strict irrigation limits, many farmers weren’t happy about it. But a research study found that instead of cutting their water usage by 20 percent as required by the law, many decreased it by 31 percent. While they do have slightly smaller harvests, one farmer said they were making more money inside the LEMA than before. “It seems really encouraging because it seems like the program has both increased profits and increased water savings,” said one researcher.

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The climate solution adding millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere

Lisa Song James Temple

April 29, 2021 |

MIT Technology Review |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

A decade after California established its forest offset program as a way to incentivize saving trees to store carbon, a new analysis shows that it might not be working. Loopholes in the program allow for people to claim credits for trees that aren’t delivering the carbon benefits they should and ultimately results in companies emitting more pollution than is being stored. While this program has provided economic benefits for several Indigenous tribes, some argue that “the program creates the false appearance of progress when in fact it makes the climate problem worse.”

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In Dallas' food deserts, community gardens ease — but don't end — food insecurity

Nazarene Harris

April 27, 2021 |

Dallas Morning News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Austin, Texas

A resolution in Austin, Texas, allows community gardens to use public land. It also created the City of Austin Community Garden Program to help people find partnerships and apply to create a garden. The government support allowed more community gardens to open and help fight food insecurity across the city.

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Laws We Can Actually Understand

Jemille Q. Duncan

April 20, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India

Law Rewired, run by law students and an advisory board of legal scholars, translates complex laws and landmark court decisions into plain language so people can understand them. Real-world examples, easy to read bullet-points, videos, and a glossary of legal terms make the legal explanations more widely accessible. Summaries also explain why a law was enacted, when it can be applied, and any amendments that were added to it. The materials are available for free online and via social media and the organization answers 10 to 25 questions from readers every month about a variety of legal issues.

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Could a Citizens' Assembly Help Fix Your Democracy?

Joe Nerssessian

April 19, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France

France is among a growing number of countries piloting "citizens assemblies," in which a randomly-selected sample of citizens is tasked with reviewing and recommending potential responses to a pressing societal issue. The country's assembly on climate change resulted in more than 100 proposals for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, but because they were nonbinding, only about 40 percent of the recommendations were forwarded to parliament.

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How Madison County Residents Successfully Lobbied Legislators Over Pollution Concerns

Jared Gilstrap

April 09, 2021 |

Grady Newsource |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Colbert, Georgia

After Georgian residents raised concerns about a pollutant that was being emitted by a nearby biomass plant, they banded together to pass legislation that effectively put an end to the practice. These concerned residents founded the Madison County Clean Power Coalition to raise awareness of the effects of creosote burning, which, when breathed in, has shown to increase the risk of lung and heart disease. Their lobbying efforts resulted in the governor signing into law a ban on burning creosote-treated wood.

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The Return of the Polish Wolf

Krzysztof Story

April 08, 2021 |

Tygodnik Powszechny |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Poland

Scientists, NGOs, conservationists, and the government worked together to bring the Polish wolf back from the brink of extinction. Methods like GPS tracking and genetic sampling have helped politicians made decisions about how to reduce human-animal conflict and ensure human development didn’t interfere with their habitats. As a result, over the last 50 years the wolf population in Poland has increased 50-fold.

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In France, Accents Are Now Protected by Law

Peter Yeung

April 02, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France

The French National Assembly overwhelmingly passed “the Law to Promote the France of Accents,” which criminalizes discrimination against someone based on their accent. The bill makes linguistic discrimination, or “glottophobia,” an offense punishable by up to three years’ jail time and a fine of up to €45,000 (USD$54,000). Early indications of the law's impact include the normalizing of native accents in national discourse, the appointment of a Prime Minister with a strong accent, and the French national broadcaster FranceInfo’s naming “glottophobia” one of the words of 2020.

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Michigan caregivers got a $2 hourly boost in COVID. Should it be permanent?

Robin Erb

March 22, 2021 |

Bridge Michigan |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Michigan

The Michigan state legislature temporarily boosted the pay of direct caregivers working with seniors and people that have disabilities by $2 an hour in recognition of their essential and sometimes risky services during the coronavirus pandemic. With about half of direct caregivers living at or near poverty, the pay bump was temporarily renewed at the slightly higher rate of $2.25 an hour, but it is set to expire again in September 2021. The governor has proposed making permanent a pay raise of $2 an hour, which helps the caregivers meet their own basic needs a little better.

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