Solutions Journalism Network

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For two decades, the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds has restored native trees on ​​São Miguel Island to increase the food and nesting habitat available for the Azores bullfinch. As a result, the population of the bird increased enough to be downlisted from critically endangered to vulnerable.

Federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act and added incentives from the state of Colorado and its municipalities is drawing in clean energy companies, creating new jobs, and helping the state meet its decarbonization goals.

ElectrifyPDX educates residents of Portland, Oregon, about the importance of decarbonizing their homes and the rebates and tax breaks available to do so. The nonprofit hosts events, webinars, giveaways, and open houses at local electrified homes.

As a part of its journey to 100% clean energy, California is banning the sale of gas-powered landscaping equipment in 2024. The ban has done little to transition landscapers to electric tools. They cite the need for clients to understand that the tools might not leave a yard immaculate, better battery-powered options, and funding assistance as more helpful steps for the transition to electric.

SOS Búsqueda y Rescate (or SOS Search and Rescue) is a woman-led border and migrant search-and-rescue group that braves the elements — like extreme desert temperatures — to locate migrants who get lost or left behind along their journey from Mexico to the U.S. Since 2020, the volunteer group has found 60 survivors and the remains of 65 others, allowing them to offer closure for families searching for their loved ones.

Students in Porterville’s Climate Action Pathways for Schools program participate in paid internships that teach them how to lower their community’s carbon footprint and help prepare them for careers in the green jobs industry. Through student-led energy audits and schoolwide efficiency competitions, the program has helped the district save roughly $850,000 in energy costs over the past several years.

The Omaha City Council’s Master Plan’s Environment Element report of proposed strategies and goals related to climate action was left largely forgotten and ignored for two decades. Experts say the city’s new plan should be more actionable, a real commitment, and have a dedicated staff.

Locals in Lima, Peru, are combating severe water scarcity by stringing up nylon netting on hills to capture moisture from fog. The water runs down the net, into gutters, through filters, and into collection tanks.

Automated indoor farming harnesses technology like artificial intelligence, robotics, and climate-controlled systems to limit the negative environmental impacts of growing food while maximizing nutrients and yields.

Thanks to a government-funded electrification project, Modhera is the first solar-powered village in India, and as a result, nearly all of the residents pay nothing for electricity. Instead, they earn money from selling unused power back to the grid.

Cool roofs — or roofs that are bright white, reflect sunlight, and radiate heat instead of absorbing it — can help keep indoor temperatures lower and reduce the urban heat island effect.

Minnesota-based Tree-Range Farms is teaching farmers to practice regenerative poultry farming. The chickens are raised in two fenced-in plots of land alongside trees and perennial plants, switching locations when the plants in one plot are grazed down. The practice improves soil health and, therefore, water and carbon sequestration.

A Cup of Cold Water is a volunteer collaboration between four local Episcopal churches that has been providing assistance to residents who lost their homes in the recent wildfires through the group’s community outreach program. Since a day after the wildfires started on August 8, volunteers have driven a van around the island to distribute supplies like toiletries, food, clothing, bottled water and other necessities.

The Fish Friendly Farming (FFF) program aims to alleviate the impacts of farming and ranching on local waterways, specifically local salmon and trout populations. The program works with area farmers to become certified and enact the best practices regarding soil health and erosion management to prevent too much sediment from entering nearby waterways. So far, the program has certified more than 280,000 acres of farms across 10 counties. In Napa Valley alone, about 90% of all vineyards are now FFF certified.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology’s RainReady program is creating flood mitigation projects most suitable for Illinois communities in need by ensuring community members have input. The program designs nature-based solutions, like widening creeks and installing rain gardens, based on demographics and flood data. And community committees are involved throughout.

Several villages are establishing no-take zones, or tengefus, to address issues of overfishing, allowing fish to repopulate. With the help of several local organizations and government authorities, there are currently 22 tengefus in various stages of development across the country.

Virtual power plants are emerging in the United States and partnering with utility companies to manage energy demand during extreme weather and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These plants are actually a portfolio of energy resources, anything from smart appliances in homes to solar panels and electric vehicle infrastructure outside of homes, that are tracked and managed digitally. This enables virtual power plants to encourage minimal peak energy use, increase the amount of renewable energy sent back to the grid, and decrease the use of peaker power plants that rely on fossil fuels.

St. Martin’s Episcopal Church went carbon neutral. After installing an eclectic heat pump system, the California-based parish regained momentum on a years-long renewable energy path, updated all its appliances to eclectic, and installed another solar array.

In Nigeria, the Arewa Women Initiative For Climate Change Advocacy And Environmental Sustainability works to educate people on climate change and empower them to make informed, environment-friendly decisions. Through events like tree planting campaigns, the initiative spreads awareness on a variety of issues while coordinating action.

New Jersey schools are working to make climate education widespread by implementing general education standards that include climate change education in every grade and subject. These new education standards have been inspiring students to brainstorm solutions to climate-related issues like reducing food waste and increasing coastal resiliency. The state has also earmarked $5 million to help local teachers attend professional development sessions to teach them how to create new climate change-focused lesson plans.

Cool roofs — or roofs that are bright white, reflect sunlight, and radiate heat instead of absorbing it — can help keep indoor temperatures lower and reduce the urban heat island effect.

After decades of planning and development, Sacramento’s R Street corridor went from an area full of abandoned warehouses to a flourishing, walkable neighborhood. The city planners’ prioritization of building high-density housing, bringing in new businesses, ensuring access to a light rail transit line, and safe, pedestrian-friendly streets helped this project succeed.

All We Can Save Circles are decentralized, 10-course book clubs aimed at helping participants develop communities around climate solutions by inspiring action and allowing them to talk through climate anxieties. More than 3,000 people have formed Circles around the country and 90% of those who participate have taken some kind of climate action on their own, like advocating for change in their communities or taking a climate-focused career.

A neighborhood group and a roofing company in Los Angeles, California, painted streets, parking lots, and a schoolyard with a “cool pavement” coating that reflects the heat from the sun. The coating keeping the surface cooler and providing relief from the urban heat island effect.

The SeaStore Seagrass Restoration Project in Kiel, Germany, is teaching locals to harvest and replant the underwater grasses. The project is restoring areas these plants used to inhabit because they store large amounts of carbon.