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Hi,
in 2006 Julia Whitty wrote a powerful article called The Thirteenth Tipping Point - Twelve global disasters and the one powerful antidote. For her, the thirteenth tipping point was humanity taking action, which she believed could happen as quickly as the twelve global warming tipping points.
There certainly seems to be significant action on all fronts if you look at this week's news:
Europe's $38 billion carbon-trading market is starting to significantly rein in carbon emissions, some 13 years after it was created. Read more here
California is banning hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that trap heat in the atmosphere at a rate thousands of times that of carbon dioxide. Read more here
For the first time ever in Australia, renewable energy generated more electricity than brown coal this summer. Read more here
London's congestion charge is working, with the number of private cars entering the zone during charging hours 30% less than it used to be, and the 3 reasons why. Read more here
Scientists studying the seas around the UK find an estimated 30% drop in plastic bags on the seabed in the same timeframe as plastic bag charges were introduced in European countries. Read more here
Market analysts are calling 2018 the year of mainstream veganism. Read more here
Major supermarkets in Australia have begun the phase-out of single-use plastic bags. Read more here
Waitrose, the British supermarket chain, will stop using and selling plastic straws in all its cafes by the end of April 2018, and in packets at all supermarkets by September 2018. Read more here
For action to continue, of course, corruption also needs to be tackled.
The journalists who initiated the Panama Papers helped recover more than $500m in unpaid taxes and penalties as a result of their investigation. They believe the only solution to international corruption is for lawmakers to work in the public interest and create public beneficial ownership registries and public property registries now. Read more here
That's what I'd call a big week!
The rest of this e-news looks at even more actions being taking across the whole system by people in every sector.
There is also a listing of events helping to grow community at the bottom of this email.
Email eve...@thebigfix.org if you'd like your solutions-focused event to be included in our calendar.
If you’d like more stories between weekly digests, you can follow The Big Fix on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn or visit our website for our Daily Solutions Digest.
We'd love you to share these stories far and wide so that we can all be part of changing the story!
Lis Bastian
Editor
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David Benscoter, a retired federal investigator in the U.S., has been searching for lost apple varieties in old orchards and homesteads over the past five years. Recently he rediscovered five more heritage apple varieties considered to be extinct, and seven others that were rare or lost, and these are now being grafted onto rootstock saplings and distributed. Read more here
Jim Cochran became the first organic strawberry farmer in the U.S. to provide full dental, health care, and stock options for farmworkers. View here
Fay Alford has fostered 90 children over 30 years! Read more here
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Lifelong friends in Texas have built their own row of tiny houses so they can all live together. Read more here
In Paris, volunteers are rallying to feed, house and provide other assistance for young migrants who have travelled to France on their own. Read more here
A village in Morocco used permaculture to help it rise out of poverty and its influence has now spread. Read more here
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Moroccan NGO, Dar Si Hmad, has installed 15 honeycomb-shaped nets that have the capabilities of turning fog into water - as much as 5000 gallons a day - more than enough for all the local villagers. Read more here
AIME mentors Indigenous students through school to university, to try and close the huge literacy and education gap that exists between indigenous and non-indigenous Australian students. It has now helped 20,000 students and has refined a cost-effective scalable model which is now also launching in Uganda and South Africa. Read more here and watch their inspiring video 'Cogs' here
Cass Community Social Services is making affordable housing available in a tiny home community in Detroit. Residents on as little as $10,000 a year can own their home within seven years. View here
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An award-winning bio-toilet developed in India, generates power and doesn't need refilling for 15 years because it recycles its own water. Read more here
Employees at New Zealand trustee company Perpetual Guardian are working four days a week but getting paid for five. They are halfway through a six-week long trial which could have profound implications for the future of labour. Read more here
Hotels around the world have set up bee hives and wild bee hotels on their rooftops and they're collaborating to manage them. Read more here
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Toronto has become the first city to make new buildings safe for birds. The Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) was born 25 years ago out of a desire to prevent night-migrating birds from flying into the lights shining from office towers. Through tireless advocacy and community engagement, and a network of devoted volunteers, FLAP Canada has accumulated invaluable data on the bird/building collision issue both during the day and night. Through strong partnerships, they are developing municipal and national standards and policies, and helping to create effective bird-collision deterrent solutions. View here
Recent research has indicated some frogs are showing increased resistance to the pathogen that has ripped through frog populations around the world, giving biologists and conservationists hope that infected populations may be able to recover. Read more here
Researchers are working to help ships avoid whales by using a buoy, containing a sophisticated hydrophone, to transmit data in real time to alert ships to the location of whales. Read more here
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Philadelphia is tackling its stormwater problem by building an extensive network of rain gardens, green roofs, wetlands, and other infrastructure to capture the water and prevent polluting runoff. It's seven years into the multi-billion-dollar 25-year intitiative and has already greened 1,100 acres and captured 1.7 billion gallons of stormwater annually. Read more here
Reef sharks, driven away by illegal fishermen from a remote reef off Western Australia's northern coast, have started to return, thanks to a crackdown by Border Force officers. Read more here
Mexico is building vertical gardens along its highways, and using recycled water and recycled plastic to do so. Read more here
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Hundreds of public libraries around the U.S. are collaborating with local seed saving groups and offering free seeds to library-goers, with Phoenix Public Library alone distributing an average of 1,000 seed packets per month across nine of its 17 branches. Read more here
147 men, women and children were rescued from bonded labour slavery in a single Indian brick kiln, thanks to the diligent work of lcoal government officials, police and the International Justice Mission (IJM). Read more here
How Surfers Against Sewage and the three sporting events in south-west England have collaborated and pledged to go 'plastic free' and hope to inspire large scale sporting events to do the same. Read more here
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Intangible Goods vending machines are serving conveniently-packaged consumables for the mind - packets of calm, purpose and connection. On display until the April 8, this installation is a City of Sydney Art & About project, with profits going to mental health non-profits. Read more here
A new film 'Sanctuaries of Silence' has been produced by acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, in one of the quietest places in North America, the Hoh Rain Forest. He believes that silence is on the verge of extinction and hopes viewers will come away with a new perspective toward sound and the power of silence. Read more here
The Accountability Institute is utilising creative approaches to transform global accounting. 'Dating an Accountant', by interdisciplinary artist Bek Conroy, is an upcoming performance investigation that explores the uncertainties of accounting procedures - especially in relation to measuring what matters most. Read more here
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Community Consultation Workshop on the future of the Lawson Golf Course on Saturday 7 April 2018, at Lawson Mechanics Institute (284 Great Western Highway, Lawson). Read more here
Katoomba Live and Local - a multi-venue micro Festival from 2pm - 8pm, Saturday 7 April. Read more here
Senor Cabrales in Concert at Blackheath Golf and Community Club. 6pm Saturday 7 April. Read more here
Build a Worm Farm free workshop at Blackheath Community Farm. 10am Sunday 8 April. 60 Thirroul Ave, Blackheath. Read more here
Benefit Concert for Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group, 2.30pm Sunday 8 April. Read more here
Book launch of Small is Necessary by Anitra Nelson by Cameron Tonkinwise at School of Design, UTS, Sydney. 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm, Thu. 12 April 2018 Small is Necessary places contemporary models of 'alternative' housing and living at centre stage arguing that they are outward-looking, culturally rich, with low ecological footprints and offer governance techniques for a more equitable and sustainable future. Read more here
Australasian Permaculture Convergence in Canberra, 15 - 19 April. Read more here
MORE EVENTS in The Big Fix Calendar
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