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Small changes in Schools = Big Impact on Sustainability

July 10, 2026 | By Amber Schmidt
Every day, public schools in the U.S. generate about 14,500 tons of municipal solid wasteand approximately 42% of that is food packaging.” The waste crisis in America is costing taxpayers more every year as landfills close and old incinerators shut down. It’s a massive problem, but the Arlington, Massachusetts school district is piloting some creative zero waste solutions!
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Boy holding folk, forks, utensils on plate and cafeteria with server handing food to kid
Kids holding sign that says We Want a Plastic Free World

Stop Trash Before it Starts: ReThink Disposable’s Growing Impact

July 7, 2026 | By Dianna Coleman, Mercedes Forsyth, LaTrice Harrison, Morgan Schafer, Amber Schmidt, Julie Wedge, and Marta Young
Let this sink in! The world produces hundreds of millions of tons of plastic every year, with up to half created for single-use purposes. These are items designed to be used for only minutes before becoming waste. That’s the equivalent of hundreds of Empire State Buildings’ worth of plastic entering our environment each year.
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A Response to “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance” Rule Making

June 29, 2026 | By Mac Glackin
Smack dab in the middle of June 2026, we get word that the federal government of the United States of America has proposed a new federal rule that will impact nearly all federal funding recipients. The emblem of this proposal is that recipients of federal funding will be required to deny the rights, safety, dignity, and even the very existence of transgender, nonbinary and gender queer individuals in order to receive financial support.
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A progress pride flag being held up in a public event among other pride flags
Group with Shut Down Line 5 t-shirts on Mackinac Island

Millions of Gallons of Lake Michigan Wastewater Per Day: Testimony Against The Proposed Line 5 Tunnel

June 23, 2026 | By Nichole Keway Biber, Jennifer Schlicht, and Emily Woodcock
The proposed Line 5 tunnel in Michigan is being sold as a reasonable replacement to the dangerous and aging twin pipelines running between Lakes Michigan and Huron in the Straits of Mackinac.It is anything but. One of the final opportunities to speak out against this fossil fuel threat in our Great Lakes is right now. Submit your comment before June 30th.
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