In today’s edition of Squirrel News, preventative measures help fight homelessness, empathy reduces all forms of school violence and a gardener makes sustainable bricks from invasive seaweed.
Preventative measures found to be the best solution to beating homelessness
A Portland shelter found that helping at-risk individuals with small rent payments helped keep them away from homelessness, helping limit potential future rehousing costs.
Schools with better student care have less overall violence
Case studies have found that schools, where students feel more cared for by teachers and staff, have reductions in every category of violence, including fewer weapons brought to campuses.
Turning washed-up seaweed into construction materials
Sargassum, an invasive seaweed, is being turned into bricks for construction by an enterprising Mexican businessman. The United Nations Development Program now sees it as a carbon-neutral solution for buildings.
Two US States have achieved record-high rail passenger numbers
Virginia and North Carolina are using federal infrastructure grants to scale up their rail networks, which have seen the highest ridership in the last 32 years.
US clean infrastructure investments reach $150 billion in last nine months
Since the Inflation Reduction Act came into effect last year, US clean energy growth has gotten more capital investment in under a year then in the previous five all together.
A proposed plan to make fossil fuel producers ensure net zero
A ‘carbon takeback obligation’ could force fossil fuel producers to invest resources into the energy transition and to compensate for the emissions they create.
This Kenyan teacher recycles old batteries into power sources for bikes
Paul Waweru takes discarded laptop batteries and retrofits them to power electric motorbikes that are cheaper and more sustainable than gas-burning alternatives.
Nigerian school accepts plastic bottles instead of school fees
Moritz International School in Lagos has a unique method for families to pay for schooling. They will accept recyclable bottles as an alternative to funds, taking the trash out of the street and getting it processed at the same time.
Regenerative wool, a clothing material that could reach net-zero
The fashion industry has a sizable carbon footprint, between 8-10% of global emissions. A ‘carbon negative’ fashion brand aims to provide an alternative by limiting and capturing emissions across the entire value chain.
Dominica’s quest to become the world’s first climate-resilient nation
Dominica, in the Caribbean plans to build resilience into every part of their infrastructure. This includes early warning systems, anti-flood walls and disaster-proof buildings.
