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University of Notre Dame converts tons of dining hall leftovers into energy

Catherine M. Odell

February 25, 2020 |

EarthBeat |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Notre Dame, Indiana

The University of Notre Dame installed three Grind2Energy systems, which aims to reduce the amount of food waste from the campus’ dining halls. The systems process the waste and send it to a local dairy farm where they break down the material to produce biogas that is used to generate electrical power for 1,000 homes each day in Plymouth, Indiana. While not everyone at the university has committed to the sustainability efforts, these systems can be scaled to be used on other college campuses.

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Beer Waste Helps Montana Town Save Money On Water Treatment

Rachel Cramer

February 12, 2020 |

NPR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Havre, Montana

Finding ways to reuse brewery waste can save water treatment plants money. In Havre, Montana, Triple Dog Brewing has entered into a partnership with the town’s wastewater treatment plant, supplying discarded barley to feed the plant’s microbes. The barley replaces commercial bacteria feed, which would have cost the plant thousands of dollars. The town was also able to avoid having to do costly upgrades to its water treatment plant. Other towns are looking to this process for inspiration.

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Havre's Wastewater Woes Solved By Beer

Rachel Cramer

February 10, 2020 |

Yellowstone Public Radio |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Havre, Montana

Upcycling spent barley helps to ease wastewater treatment. In Havre, Montana, the town’s wastewater treatment plant uses barley from a local brewery, Triple Dog Brewing, to feed bacteria. The nutrients from the barley give the bacteria a boost, helping to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous levels in the water. The collaboration means that Havre can save on expensive solutions and upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.

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Soulardarity: A community's success in energy democracy

Brooke Bowser

January 29, 2020 |

Planet Forward |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Highland Park, Michigan

After DTE Energy removed streetlights from Highland Park, Michigan when utility bills went unpaid, local residents teamed up to form Soulardarity, a community-owned organization that installs solar-powered street lights throughout the city. The lights are more cost-effective, but beyond that, Soulardarity offers a platform for residents to join the environmental justice movement in advocating for more clean energy options for their neighborhoods and at scale.

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Making Yellow School Buses a Little More Green

Ellen Rosen

January 22, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Public school districts are gradually transitioning to electric buses. Electric utilities, concerned about environmental impacts and overloading the grid, are helping to cover the high price tag.

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Are you pouring hundreds of dollars a year down the drain?

Angela Ross

January 15, 2020 |

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Australia, Melbourne, Victoria

The use of rain gardens and rain tanks - which capture rainwater runoff, clean the water, and reuse the water for plants and gardens - helps to reduce water waste and toxic runoff. One Australian man built a rain garden to cut back on his waste (and his water bill) and estimates that he has cut down water consumption in his house by one third.

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Flint's Water Crisis Spurs Other Cities To Remove Lead Pipes

Monica Eng

December 23, 2019 |

WBEZ |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

As cities and states across the United States begin to remove lead water pipes, some communities are looking for cost-effective ways to fix them because of the risk of contaminated drinking water. Three cities in the Midwest have started the process and have used innovative ways to raise the funds to replace the aging service lines, which could be a model for other cities like Chicago to follow.

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Power Struggle

Mitch Anderson

December 07, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Humboldt County, California

The Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe in California installed its own small-scale electrical supply grid using solar panels and Tesla batteries to make their community more resilient to energy disruptions and lower carbon dioxide emissions. This proved useful during the 2019 wildfire season when utility companies shut down power for millions of residents. The tribe is now helping other Native reserves to build their own microgrid systems.

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This single shipping container can start powering a small renewable grid in less than a day

Adele Peters

November 18, 2019 |

FastCompany |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Grass Valley, California

Solar microgrids can improve community resilience to natural disasters by quickly restoring power. California-based startup, BoxPower, has developed an easy-to-install solar panels, packaged in a cargo shipping container. Housing the units in a shipping container allows for easy transport to disaster zones, such as the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and to communities in California left without power due to wildfires.

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Holland Aims to Bring Back Its Starry Nights

Sophie Knight

November 18, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Amsterdam

To address the harm - both to human psychology as well as natural ecosystems - of artificial light, The Netherlands calls on its citizens to turn their lights off and feel the effects of a natural darkness. The awareness of negative consequences of artificial light has helped residents reduce light consumption, though turning the lights off is an uphill battle with international corporate powerhouses.

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