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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Regenerative Agriculture Protects the Land and Its Inhabitants
Regenerative agriculture is a type of farming that sequesters CO2 while improving water retention, soil health, and rainfall conservation. It uses techniques such as agroforestry, crop rotation, and …
The Netherlands Recycles Toilet Paper to Pave Bike Paths
The Dutch province of Friesland is innovating by recycling toilet paper and using it to enhance the safety of asphalt, which is used to pave bicycle paths. Normally, toilet paper is filtered out at …
Learning Conservation in Prison
The Sustainability in Prisons Project is partnering with inmates to develop and advance conservation efforts in prisons in the United States. Some of the conservation programs include zero-waste …
Clam Gardens Restore Coastal Health and Indigenous Cultures
Coast Salish tribes in British Columbia, together with The Clam Garden Network, are reviving ancient clam gardens using traditional First Nations methods. These coastal gardens, maintained without the …
Solar-Powered Gardens in Benin Reduce Poverty & Food Insecurity
The Solar Electric Light Fund is providing solar-powered pumps that combine with drip irrigation systems to women farmers in Benin. These pumps allow women to farm year-round despite the 6-month dry …
Sweden Incentivizes Repairing instead of Buying
Sweden is implementing tax breaks and refunds on repairs in order to incentivize consumers to repair broken objects rather than replace them. This measure is intended to reduce waste and greenhouse …