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Reflections from my Legislative Program Internship
As the Minnesota Legislative Program Intern for Clean Water Action, I delved into the democratic process more than I ever had before. Prior to this, of course I voted. I read the news but I had not realized how much my knowledge of state affairs was lacking. My presence at the capitol covering committee meetings and hearings opened a window that I hadn’t known existed—one that showed me the public’s role in government. Initially, taking notes at these meetings seemed like a daunting task. With my laptop balanced on my knees I tapped furiously against the keys, trying to transcribe complex and
Raw Deal
There’s only one way to describe the recent revenue package (HB 118 & 542) that passed the Pennsylvania State Senate and is supported by Governor Wolf, which trades off enacting one the nation’s weakest severance taxes on natural gas drilling for inclusion of the most damaging set of environmental provisions we’ve seen in a long time, a raw deal. Is this situation giving you a feeling of déjà vu? It’s probably because our state legislature has made sticking anti-environmental provisions into bills meant to deal exclusively with the state budget an annual tradition because they know these
People Are Going Wild About Reducing Plastic Pollution
Catch up on the Plastic Free July news from Berkeley...
ReThink Disposable - The Problem
Unless we prevent packaging at the source it will continue to flow down the watershed to the ocean, requiring constant and costly management and removal, and will continue to disproportionately impact environmental justice communities near waste facilities. Packaging prevention in food service businesses and institutional dining operations is a win-win by saving them thousands of dollars and preventing large amounts of waste and litter prone packaging.
Michigan’s Outdated and Dangerous Combined Sewer Systems
Many of Michigan’s urban and suburban areas expanded rapidly between the 1920s and the 1950s — an era with different priorities for water management. Many of Michigan’s water systems were originally built as combined systems, meaning the pipes carried both stormwater and wastewater. These systems simply discharged all water directly into local lakes, rivers, and streams, without treatment. Wastewater treatment centers were built later, and the combined sewer pipes were redirected there for the water to be processed before being released back into the water table. Starting in the mid-1950s
