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  • In Medellin, cable cars transformed slums—in Rio, they made them worse

    January 10, 2018 |

    Apolitical |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Colombia, Medellín

    In the 20th century, Colombia’s city of Medellin was a center for drugs and violence. Then the city developed a cable car system that enabled cheap transportation for people to find employment. The cable car system revitalized the economy of the city and made it much safer. However, other cities have tried cable cars for revitalization and found less success, even failure.

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  • Gwadar's Growing Water War

    January 04, 2018 |

    Pak Voices |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Pakistan, Gwadar District, Balochistan

    When Gwadar’s dams ran dry in May 2017, the government began trucking in water. But the solution is costly, the water isn’t clean, and the trucking companies protested in November, claiming they weren’t paid on time. Desalination is an alternative, but it’s expensive too and fatal design flaws have crippled prior attempts at desalination in the province.

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  • Officials patched and prayed while pressure built on Houston's dams

    December 15, 2017 |

    Houston Chronicle |

    Multi-Media |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

    Following Hurricane Harvey, Houston officials are taking steps to better prepare the city for flooding. Two damns, Addicks and Barker, have long been in need of repairs to increase their capacity and resilience, and after decades of putting it off – and thousands of homes flooded – the city is hoping to invest in one of the large-scale remedies that have been recommended in the past.

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  • Harvey overwhelmed some levee systems. Future storms could do worse.

    December 14, 2017 |

    Houston Chronicle |

    Multi-Media |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

    The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey left many Houston residents questioning the efficacy of one of the city’s only protections, the Levee Improvement Districts (LID), responsible for providing flood protection. In neighborhoods prone to flooding, there has been much debate about the actual protection the current levees provide, leading many to call for solutions like the expansion of the LIDs through elections (rather than appointees) or raising the levees.

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  • Meet India's dam-building grandmother

    December 12, 2017 |

    BBC |

    Multi-Media |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: India, Rajasthan

    In Rajasthan, India, the Aakar Charitable Trust is building dams in previously drought-ridden areas using traditional practices that use the contours of the land to retain water. These check dams are cost-effective, partially owned by local communities, and do not displace residents; the trust builds an average of 30 dams each year, but they hope to ramp up construction in the future while cautioning that the method will not work for every topography.

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  • Re-connecting With A Healthy Lifestyle: Replacing Soda With Water

    November 03, 2017 |

    KNME-PBS |

    Broadcast TV News |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Leupp, New Mexico

    In the town of Leupp, a Navajo community, the school and community members are working to educate kids to drink water rather than sugary drinks and sodas. Part of their effort includes increasing availability to water—and gently keeping each other on the right path.

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  • Italy's pollution-eating cement

    May 25, 2017 |

    Al Jazeera |

    Broadcast TV News |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: Italy, Milan, Lombardy

    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.

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  • Ladakh's Ice Stupas

    May 17, 2017 |

    Al Jazeera |

    Broadcast TV News |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: India, Leh, Kashmir

    Nearly a billion people living in the arid regions of the Himalayas depend on glaciers for their water supply. But with climate change, glaciers have been retreating drastically every year, threatening the life source of villagers like those in the Ladakh region of Kashmir. One engineer, Sonam Wangchuck, has come up with an ingenious feat of engineering to help the villages store glacier water by constructing stupas - or towers - using thorn branches that retain ice in tall structures, which melts and provides clean water for drinking and agriculture during the dry season.

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  • Can plastic roads help save the planet?

    April 25, 2017 |

    BBC |

    Broadcast TV News |

    3-5 Minutes

    Response Location: Scotland, Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway

    Even with such increasingly popular trends as reusable grocery bags and biodegradable food containers, 70% of plastic products end up in landfills; but with the help of a local start-up, MacRebur, several townships in Scotland are cutting back on this quantity while simultaneously servicing and improving the quality of their transportation networks.

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  • Oslo Is on Track for a Car-Free Future

    April 13, 2017 |

    Bloomberg CityLab |

    Multi-Media |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: Norway, Oslo

    In the heart of one of Europe’s fastest growing capitals, cars are rapidly disappearing. To reduce pollution and build a people-first city center, Oslo has promised to ban all cars in downtown by 2019. The multi-pronged effort includes making public transportation services more efficient, building 60 kilometers of new bike lanes, and transforming parking spaces into pedestrian-friendly areas.

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