Solar Now Provides Twice As Many Jobs As the Coal Industry, Co.Exist
While the coal industry faces a sharp decline, solar power is growing at record levels — adding jobs at a rate 17 times faster than the overall workforce. The industry is also a more lucrative option for people without higher education. As one advocate puts it, “This is just an incredible example of the opportunities that exist for people that need these opportunities the most.”
Building Trust Cuts Violence. Cash Also Helps. The New York Times
A radical approach to gun violence has helped reduce the homicide rate by nearly 60 percent in Richmond, Calif., formerly one of the nation’s most dangerous cities. Spearheaded by DeVone Boggan, a NationSwell Council member, the program identifies those most likely to be involved in violent crimes and pays them a stipend to turn their lives around. Aside from the cash benefits, participants receive mentoring from “neighborhood change agents” who have come out of lives of crime themselves.
Iceland Knows How to Stop Teen Substance Abuse but the Rest of the World Isn’t Listening, Mosaic Science
In the last two decades, Iceland has implemented an ambitious social program that’s nearly eliminated substance abuse among teens. After research showed that young people were becoming addicted to the changes in brain chemistry brought on by drugs and alcohol, experts decided to “orchestrate a social movement around natural highs,” offering extensive after-school programs in sports, dance, music — anything that could replicate the rush of drugs. This, coupled with stricter laws and closer ties between parents and schools, led to a huge societal makeover. Proponents of the program hope to recreate it in the U.S., but funding and public opinion remain obstacles.
Continue reading “Solar Trumps Coal When It Comes to Jobs, Cash Handouts Deter Crime in California and More”
Tag: coal industry
Ex-Cons Find Support at College, Struggling Coal Country Aims to Diversify Its Economy and More
Building a Prison-to-School Pipeline, The New Yorker
Former prisoners studying at the University of California-Berkeley have a complicated relationship with their classmates: In many ways, the previously incarcerated are more worldly, yet less scholarly, than younger students who enroll straight out of high school. That’s why ex-cons formed the Underground Scholars Initiative, a group of former inmates who help each other navigate Cal and recruit those still in the penitentiary to apply to college.
In Life After Coal, Appalachia Attempts to Reinvent Itself, Governing
In all of Eastern Kentucky, there are barely 4,000 coal mining jobs left, down from 30,000 positions just 15 years ago. Undercut by natural gas prices and tough environmental regulations, those in Appalachia are echoing one solution: diversification. This fall, Harlan County hired its first full-time economic development manager to drum up business — a major step on the way to rebuilding a functioning economy.
The Urban Playground That Builds Kids’ Brains, CityLab
On average, a wealthy child hears 30 million more words than a low-income peer. To reduce the gap, why not put words wherever kids are? Even at playgrounds. That’s the theory behind the illustrated sentences adorning the jungle gym at Officer Willie Wilkins Park in Oakland, Calif. “Let’s talk about sunshine,” “Let’s talk about food,” one can read on the playground, a helpful reminder nudging parents to talk with their children more.
Meet the Millennials That Are Looking for Ways to Leave Coal in the Dust
When most of us think of the Appalachian region, we probably conjure up images of mountains and coal, which has been mined in the region for over a century.
However, coal has been battling fierce competitors lately due to declining reserves of the substance, cheap natural gas alternatives and fewer available jobs because of machines, making it no longer the mega industry it once was. Take Boone County, West Virginia, for instance. Since the end of 2011, 40 percent of its coal jobs have been lost. And this is not an isolated occurrence as other Appalachian counties are experiencing the same phenomenon.
With all of these changes, the region needs to look forward to a life not dependent on coal. Enter the Appalachian Transition Fellowship — a group of young adults working to create a new future for the region.
Started by the Highlander Center, which operates as a social movement training center, the Fellowship’s purpose is to act as mentors for 14 young fellows who will be working on economic development projects for a full year in Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
The ultimate goal of the program is to ease and hasten the transition from dependency on the coal industry to a more diverse economy consisting of other industries that can be supported by the region’s assets.
This year is the inaugural year of the program, which runs from June 2, 2014 until May 2015. While fellows don’t have to be from the Appalachian region, they must be familiar with the region. (Click here to meet a few of them.)
Armed with creativity and innovation, these young fellows are looking to dig the tunnel to a better future for the Appalachian region. It’s all in a day’s work, so hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to work they go.
MORE: These Towns Show What Even Temporary Urban Renewal Can Bring