Solar Sister works to both empower women and bring solar energy to remote parts of Africa by recruiting, training, and supporting women in establishing their own clean energy businesses. The Solar Sister entrepreneurs sell and deliver solar lighting and clean cookstoves to their communities, which increases their income and business skills and gives them greater […]
Rainwater harvesting supplies water and income in Kenya
With guidance from the Africa Sand Dam Foundation, villages in Kenya’s Makueni County are creating rain catchment systems to take action against drought. People in the Kikumbulyu village built rock catchment systems for rainwater, which divert water into large concrete tanks. The catchment systems required community collaboration during the planning and building process, and they […]
BlocPower Finances Energy Efficiency in Underserved Communities
A startup called BlocPower is providing financing for energy efficiency upgrades to small businesses and organizations in underserved communities with aging, inefficient buildings. Small businesses, especially those located in low income communities, typically find it difficult to gain financing for energy upgrades, so BlocPower bundles those businesses into a larger and more diversified group to […]
Conserving water also saves energy and carbon emissions
One silver lining to the ongoing drought in California is that the water conservation measures undertaken by the state have also saved energy and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Los Angeles Times, “During [Governor] Brown’s initial emergency conservation program that stretched from June 2015 through February, energy savings from water conservation totaled 922,543 megawatt-hours — […]
How To Create Good Jobs at Fair Wages – And Help the Climate
Transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable energy is a way to both mitigate climate change and create jobs. We are collecting resources to spread the word and help this process benefit as many people as possible. Multisolving won’t happen by accident, and our goal is to make it a more accessible and widespread practice. […]
From Empty Homes to Green Space & Flood Prevention in Detroit
In Detroit, abandoned homes are being turned into “bioretention” rain gardens. These gardens soak up storm runoff, which reduces the flow of sewage into nearby rivers and lowers the risk of street flooding during storms. Each garden will reduce stormwater runoff by 300,000 gallons every year. The gardens also sequester carbon emissions, improve water quality, […]
Car sharing Creates Connections while Fostering Disaster Recovery
The 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan swept away 60,000 cars in the city of Ishinomaki. Residents had a difficult time replacing their cars due to car shortages, lack of parking, and lack of money. In response, the Japan Car Sharing Association was created, making donated cars, along with free maintenance by a local university, […]
The UN Poverty-Environment Initiative brings poverty & environment to the forefront of policymaking
The United Nations Poverty-Environment Initiative works in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America to help governments and other stakeholders manage the environment in a way that also improves livelihoods and leads to sustainable growth. Their overall goal is to link poverty and environmental goals and integrate them into national development planning, policymaking, and budgeting. Their projects […]
Rwanda Solar Installation Increases Electricity and Jobs
Helping Rwanda move toward its goal of delivering electricity to half the population by 2017, a new 8.5MW solar farm has increased power generation by 6% and added 350 local jobs. The project had an impressively fast turnaround, going from contract to connection in one year, providing an example for other countries eager to increase […]
New building designs integrate nature for greater efficiency
Many architects, planners, and designers are taking ideas from nature when constructing new buildings, a concept known as biomimicry. For example, a building in Harare, Zimbabwe, uses air channels and tunnels inspired by anthills to keep the building cool passively, without the need for air conditioning. Other innovations include covering buildings with vegetation to cool […]