By Eliot Allen* Solar energy panels stand in the middle of the lush Green of the largest urban rain forest in the world: The Tijuca National Park, in Rio de Janeiro. Those solar panels stand on top of houses whose residents also manage to produce biogas from organic waste and also work on a prototype for a small hydraulic generator. All of this happens in a name with a … [Read more...] about Green favelas: a sustainable approach in three steps
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Getting Rural Electrification Right: Lessons from Northern Haiti
Español | English A couple of years ago, during one of my first trips to Trou-du-Nord, a bustling town of about 45,000 people in Northern Haiti, I met Emmanuel, a mason who spends much of his team in the Dominican Republic working construction. The day I met Emmanuel, he was busy at work finishing up a new home for his mother. What struck me most was that he was using … [Read more...] about Getting Rural Electrification Right: Lessons from Northern Haiti
Can technology help us cook a better meal?
Español | English Cícera is a Brazilian single mother who works as babysitter for Ms. Silva. Every day, Cícera leaves her home at 6:00 am and spends two hours in traffic before she arrives at Ms. Silva’s house. There, she takes care of baby Carlinhos, until 6:00 pm when she goes back home to take care of her own children. During one of my business trips to Brazil last year, … [Read more...] about Can technology help us cook a better meal?
How can we manage flood risk?
English | Español Houses at risk on the Río Turrialba, Costa Rica. Photo: Shanna Edberg Imagine if your city was flooded in a storm, and 80% of the land in your entire province was left under water. This nightmare occurred in reality in the Mexican state of Tabasco in 2007, when three days of nonstop rains caused a flood that lasted for 100 days in the city of Villahermosa. … [Read more...] about How can we manage flood risk?
COP20: A catalyst for local climate action?
Español | English Every year, country delegates from all over the world meet at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference to negotiate a deal to protect our planet from global warming. The 2014 summit—or 20th Conference of the Parties (COP20), currently taking place in Lima—is a key forum for developing a framework that will … [Read more...] about COP20: A catalyst for local climate action?