Solar Trumps Coal When It Comes to Jobs, Cash Handouts Deter Crime in California and More

 
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.
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Who Needs Gasoline When You Have the Sun?

What’s greener than an owning an electric vehicle (EV)? Owning one that’s powered with your home’s solar panels.
There’s a growing number of these extra eco-conscious do-gooders. The Associated Press reports that more people own both panels and an electric car, based upon findings on the growth of electric and plug-in hybrid car sales (97,563 were sold in the U.S. last year, up 83 percent from the prior year), as well as the sharp increase in residential solar installations (up 21 percent in the second quarter of this year).
This new trend is encouraging because it might convince more people to make the switch to solar or purchase an EV, or both. The biggest reason why people don’t buy electric cars or install panels is because it’s expensive. But as the AP illustrates with the story of Chevrolet Volt owner Kevin Tofel, having solar on his roof and also an EV in his garage pays for itself over time.
MORE: This Amazing Home Creates More Energy Than It Uses
Tofel, a Telford, Penn. resident, powers his plug-in hybrid with his home’s 41 solar panels. He tells the AP that he paid $51,865 for his solar array, but that expense was reduced to $29,205 after state and federal tax credits. He found that his panels can generate 13.8 megawatt hours of electricity, but since he only needed 7.59 megawatt hours for his household, he decided to trade his gas guzzling Acura RDX for a Volt to help suck up that excess solar power. The $250 he used to spend each month on gasoline for his Acura is now down to only $50, which he only buys when he’s not near a charging station for his EV. Tofel adds (we imagine very happily) that his Volt will help reduce his break-even point on his solar investment from 11.7 years to only six years.
Naturally, he says he and his family “will never go back to an all-gas car.”
We’ve said before that home solar systems have hit the mainstream: the number of homes and businesses in the United States that are powered by the sun’s rays is now more than 500,000. And now that more consumers are open to eco-friendly cars (and the fact they’re about to get much cheaper), the future looks brighter than ever.
DON’T MISS: Going Solar Is Cheaper Than Ever. Here’s What You Need to Know About Getting Your Power From the Sun

After Major Grassroots Efforts, This State Has Dealt a Huge Blow to Big Coal

Here’s another sign that coal could be going the way of the dodo in the United States.
Officials in the state of Oregon have rejected a permit that would have allowed the export of 8.8 million tons of this dirty fossil fuel each year to South Korean and other Asian countries.
Oregon’s Department of State Lands recently blocked Australia-based Ambre Energy’s plans to construct the Morrow Pacific coal export terminal on the Columbia River, Oregon Live reports. In a statement, the state agency said the project “would unreasonably interfere with the paramount policy of this state to preserve the use of its waters for navigation, fishing, and public recreation.”
Although the project isn’t officially kaput (since Ambre Energy can appeal the decision), it’s clear that they would have an angry public to contend with if they did. According to a press release from the Sierra Club, more than 20,000 citizens pressed Governor John Kitzhaber to nix the permit, and about 600 Northwest businesses and business leaders either expressed concern or outright opposition to coal export. Not only that, 3,000 medical professionals and public health advocates and 165 physicians have voiced their concern about the dangers of coal to human health, the release says.
MORE: In a Battle Between College Students and Coal Companies, Who Do You Think Won?
The state has also said that the project would destroy protected tribal fishing areas on the Columbia River. “Coal exports would devastate my business and jeopardize many other family operations and industries that depend on a healthy, clean Columbia River,” Mike Seely, of Seely Family Farms, said. “[The] decision shows that Oregon communities and leaders agree: The threats of coal exports are far too risky for our economies and natural resources.”
And while we should all hail Oregon’s decision as a major win for the environment, it’s really just the beginning. As Vox reports, there are two major projects being proposed in Washington that would export a lot more coal than the amount that Oregon just prevented. If approved, the Gateway Pacific project would ship 48 million tons annually and the Longview port would ship 44 million tons per year.
Looks like we still have some work to do to stop coal for good.
DON’T MISS: Meet the Millenialls That Are Looking for Ways to Leave Coal in the Dust

Do Ants Hold the Key to Reducing Pollution?

Ants — some bite, some eat wood and others just come crawling when there’s food left out on the counter. Turns out, however, that these insects (that most of us find downright annoying) could be helpful in reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
How so?
A recent study from Arizona State University, conducted by geology professor Ronald Dorn, found that the presence of ants can cause certain rocks to capture carbon dioxide, therefore preventing it from going into the atmosphere. This CO2 absorption isn’t small either. Ants can increase the natural amount a rock takes in by up to 335 times.
What’s the secret to this powerful partnership? Well, even Dorn doesn’t quite seem to know yet. In fact, he basically discovered the connection by accident. Back in the early 1990s, he was conducting a study about the weathering of minerals, and one of the rocks he was studying happened to become ant-infested. The bugs were annoying to him, pouring out whenever he tried to drill for a sample. Over time, however, he realized their effect on capturing carbon dioxide.
Even without the help of insects, though, rocks absorb a lot of carbon from the air.
The dangerous polluter seeps into calcium and magnesium deposits found in many rocks, which then transforms into limestone or dolomite. If it weren’t for rocks taking in carbon, our earth would be a whole lot warmer and air dirtier than it already is.
“When I take students on field trips, I make them kiss the limestone, because that limestone is just CO2 that’s just locked up in rocks and how Earth has remained habitable,” Dorn told Scientific American.
With carbon-rich rock already having contributed so much to our environment, the effect of ants speeding up the process could be huge. After all, there’s an estimated 10 trillion of the tiny insects on earth at our disposal. Even better would be if researchers could figure out exactly what the ants do to the rock to make it absorb carbon faster. Then, the solution could be mass-produced.
Until that’s the case, we’ll just have to settle for welcoming ants into our yards and enjoying our little patch of cleaner air.
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