Climate change has entered the forefront of national dialogue. In government, in organizations, and across sectors, people are talking about climate change. Systems thinking suggests that conversations about climate policy and climate action will be most productive if they are based on a full accounting of the costs and benefits of particular actions. However, too […]
Green Infrastructure Project in Jordan Combats Environmental & Social Challenges
More than half a million Syrian refugees have fled to neighboring Jordan since the armed conflict began eight years ago, straining the host country’s water, housing, and electric sectors, as well as social relations. The Jordan Green Building Council and Habitat for Humanity jointly lead a green infrastructure pilot program in Dhlail, Jordan, a city […]
Hurricane Maria Inspires Resilience & Adaptation in Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico: demolished homes, food and water shortages, and a decimated power grid characterized daily life for months. While millions of people began the process of rebuilding what previously existed, a couple in Puerto Rico took an unconventional approach and decided to build an Earthship. Developed 50 years ago, Earthships are sustainable […]
Resources Legacy Fund Multisolves for Resilience & Climate
The Resources Legacy Fund is a philanthropy organization that works in the western United States to fund land, watershed, and marine conservation, as well as other multisolving policies that increase resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among other benefits. As part of their work, they focus on helping organizations build capacity, uniting diverse coalitions to empower […]
Elderly Kenyan Entrepreneurs Preserve Forests & Livelihoods
The Theraka Green Gold Group, made up of women over the age of 60, is a group of Kenyan entrepreneurs who weave baskets and harvest baobab and tamarind fruits to make juice. These income-generating activities have replaced the practice of making and selling charcoal, which deforests the area and degrades the local environment. The planting […]
California Requires New Homes Have Solar Panels, Energy Efficiency
In mid-May, the California Energy Commission voted unanimously to approve building standards that will require new California homes to have rooftop solar panels, greater energy efficiency, better ventilation, and lighting standards for commercial buildings. All in all, these rules will lead to a reduction of 493 million pounds of carbon emissions every year. The commission projects that the […]
Lakota Solar Grows Native-Owned Renewables in Tribal Communities
Lakota Solar Enterprises is a Native-owned and operated renewable energy company located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Its aim is to help tribal lands reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and achieve energy sovereignty. In doing so, it also creates jobs and reduces energy bills in remote and energy-poor communities. Lakota Solar […]
Urban Mining Turns Waste into Value
Urban mining, or recycling and reusing everything from buildings to electronics to household waste, is a way to preserve the value of goods that would otherwise be thrown away. Nearly everything can be recycled: “Paint is dried up to make chalk, the rancid oils are processed into cosmetics, and old devices dismantled to recycle materials such as paper, plastics, metals […]
Turning Mountaintop Coal Mines into Farms
Coalfield Development, a nonprofit social enterprise in West Virginia, is working to turn former coal mining areas and mountaintop removal sites into farmland and forest, using farm animals to root out invasive plants and fertilize the depleted soil. These efforts have created dozens of full-time jobs, and residents are offered training and stipends to work on their […]
Helping Refugees Start Urban Farms
Plant It Forward Farms trains refugees in the city of Houston to set up their own urban, organic farming businesses. Although Houston resettles the highest number of refugees in the USA, many are unable to find meaningful work. This initiative helps them settle in their new home and earn good livelihoods. It also provides the […]