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This startup is using geo-tagging and blockchain to fight deforestation in Africa

Paul Adepoju

December 24, 2019 |

CNN |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa

The My Roots in Africa Project is an initiative of a group called the Most Influential People of African Descent, which seeks to build connection between Africans in Africa and elsewhere around the world through the act of having trees planted in their honor to combat deforestation, especially in West and East Africa. The project will complement the mission of the Great Green Wall and the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, both of which also aim to plant large numbers of trees across Africa.

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Chasing Secrets

Jessianne Castle

December 01, 2019 |

Mountain Outlaw |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Montana

Scientists are working with houndsmen and houndswomen to track mountain lions in Montana to understand their behavior and to better estimate their population. By forming this partnership and using GPS collars, the team is learning about these animals’ habitat use and where they rest, hunt, and feed. Houndsmen and houndswomen have been crucial in the success of cougar conservation in the state.

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GPS for Air Travel Came With Big Downsides: Noise, Then Lawsuits

Amy Zipkin

November 18, 2019 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Scottsdale, Arizona

To enhance air travel, the F.A.A. rolled out a system that enables airplanes to fly closer together using GPS, rather than the traditional radar locators. But residents near these new flight paths have risen up to contest the air pollution created by the lower, more frequent flight patterns. With impending lawsuits, the F.A.A. has to work with local officials to create a joint solution.

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High-tech mapping, apps fight deadly dengue outbreak in Honduras

Anastasia Moloney

November 14, 2019 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Honduras

Mobile phone apps allow NGOs to track public health threats. In Honduras, the medical charity, Medicine Sans Frontiers (MSF) uses GIS technology and mobile phone apps to assist in their efforts against dengue fever outbreaks. Apps allow residents to report outbreaks, which helps the charity apply its efforts where they are most needed. MSF also uses apps to learn about conditions in the communities it serves.

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There's No App for Getting People Out of Their Cars

David Zipper

November 13, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Though apps that provide a common platform to view various transit, bike, and pedestrian routes have become more popular, they're not the only way to get people out of their cars and onto more sustainable transportation modes. This story addresses the limitations of mobile apps as well as the successes of integrating more reliable and frequent transit methods in reducing regular car use.

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Safer at sea: The unexpected benefit of traceability for small-scale fishers

Laura Villadiego

November 12, 2019 |

Mongabay |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Philippines, General Santos City

Efforts to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing also make fishermen safer at sea. Vessel Monitoring Mechanisms (VMM) and electronic catch documentation (eCDT) track the origin of fish headed to market, part of an international effort to ensure sustainable and equitable practices. Data transmission also makes fishermen safer, relaying their locations from hundreds of miles out at sea. In the Philippines, a partnership between Futuristic Aviation and Maritime Enterprise (FAME) and USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership helps cover subscription fees for FAME radio transmitter service.

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The Navajo Nation is getting addresses, thanks to an open-source mapping program used in urban India

Zak Podmore

October 24, 2019 |

The Salt Lake Tribune |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Navajo Nation, Utah

The Navajo Nation will have the option of having physical addresses with the help of the Rural Utah Project which partnered with Google to implement open-source mapping technology. The technology was successfully implemented in India, where some residents who have never had home addresses were finally able to access government services, create bank accounts and receive mail for the first time. Navajo Nation members approached Google after hearing about the possibility at a conference where the technology was being hailed a success in refugee camps and slums across the world.

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What Baltimore Gets Right about Urban Trees

Christine McLaren

October 17, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore has become a leader in maintaining and growing the city’s trees by monitoring their health more closely. Using a new mapping technique, city officials can analyze its current tree canopy and see how it affects other city data like temperature, health, and crime. While growing the green space has been slow and revealed areas of income inequality, their successes could be a model for other communities that want to grow their urban forests.

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CU Anschutz unveils out-of-home gun storage map to help improve safety, prevent suicide

Stephanie Butzer

August 26, 2019 |

KMGH-TV |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Aurora, Colorado

For individuals wanting to store their guns outside of their homes, they can now find a space using the Colorado Gun Storage Map. The interactive tool was developed in collaboration between the Colorado School of Public Health, the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and the Colorado Safety Coalition, with the goal of helping those in crisis situations find spaces like law enforcement agencies and special storage facilities to store their firearms.

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KCPD uses new strategy for predicting, fighting crime

Nathan Vickers

August 23, 2019 |

KCTV-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Kansas City, Missouri

Using a method of targeting trouble-prone locations called "risk terrain modeling," Kansas City police saw double-digit declines in crime in the targeted areas. The method uses crime data to show where crime flourishes. Then police, working with community members, determine what about that location could change to reduce risk, such as improving street lighting or moving a bus stop that acts as a magnet for trouble. The program suggests that focusing on places, not just people, can prevent crime rather than just reacting after the fact with arrests, although the results are only preliminary.

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