a collaboration for good
Until recently, areas contaminated by industrial operations were either left alone or bulldozed with the contaminated material hauled off to a landfill. But the former was wasteful and the latter was expensive and dangerous, so a California ecologist found an inexpensive way to turn those areas into flowering meadows – by planting mushrooms Mushrooms Help…
If poor people could rent self-charging e-bikes for a dollar a day, would it help bring them mobility? Early experience indicates it definitely would, so the idea is beginning to take root. Can These Self-Charging E-Bike Libraries Bring Mobility to Low-Income Communities? https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/self-charging-e-bike-libraries-metro-mobility-massachusetts Related Reading
Colombia is solving its severe housing shortage by using the Crane WASP (World’s Advanced Saving Project), which is known as “the infinity 3D printer.” The WASP, employing technology used by the Mason Wasp, an insect that uses mud to build its nests, uses locally sourced materials, such as clay, mud, sand and even agricultural waste…
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Linhares, Brazil, is a world-renowned surfing destination, so when local surfers complained that the waves were changing, the city listened — and did something that has never been done before. It granted the waves legal personhood, complete with all the protections that infers. For the First Time, Part of the Ocean Has Been Granted Legal…
Read More “If Corporations Get the Rights of Personhood, …” »
It has been proven that having more cyclists on our cities’ streets makes the streets safer for everyone. Here are five simple ways your city can create a bike-friendly environment. 5 Steps to Building a Bike-Friendly City https://sustainableamerica.org/blog/five-steps-to-building-a-bike-friendly-city/ Related Reading
Cats are the number one killer of birds, but not far behind in second place, and gaining fast, are glass buildings. Birds breaking their necks by smashing into those buildings account for over 600 million bird deaths each year, which has helped shrink the U.S. bird population by almost a third since 1970. Cities are…
Read More “Cities struggle with glass buildings and bird deaths problem” »
Many times, perhaps most times, the lack of healthy, fresh, nutritious foods in certain neighborhoods is the result of structural racism and unjust penal systems that keep people impoverished and hungry. Feed Black Futures is a community-based food sovereignty organization in California that is battling that by connecting Black and brown farmers with Black mamas and…
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Pavement prevents water from reaching the soil under it; instead, it causes the water to run across it, collecting pollutants and biological contaminants along the way that make their way into waterways, plants, animals — and ourselves. But there is a solution, and a Portland-based nonprofit called Depave has put together a guide that explains…
Rooftop gardens and solar panels can play a significant role in helping cities meet their needs for vegetables and electricity, but it must be one or the other — not both. So how does one decide which is the best choice? What should we do with the world’s rooftops…produce food or energy? https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2024/10/what-should-we-do-with-the-worlds-rooftops-produce-food-or-energy Related…
Countless studies of what policies work best to improve the climate have concluded there is no single answer, no one silver bullet that could solve all our problems, but scientists have concluded that there is a single best solution: adopting a combination of policies. What climate policies work best? A new study has answers https://grist.org/economics/climate-policy-emissions-study/…