water

We are halfway through the Minnesota 2018 legislative session and it’s been made clear that some of our lawmakers are not willing to put our environment and public health first. They are placing policies that ignore science and weaken protections for our land, air, and water before people.

If you have read the news recently, you have probably seen an article or two about a recent study of the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”.

Clean water and public health are top priorities for us over at Clean Water Action which is why we are at the frontlines fighting for these issues in our State Capitol. We believe that access to clean, healthy and safe drinking water is the basis of health and wellbeing for everyone. For us, it all begins with water.

In order to put our drinking water first, we need our elected and appointed government officials to get on board by making smart decisions that protect our drinking water sources. However, this hasn’t been the case in our beautiful state.

We're only 12 days into the New Year, and we've celebrated some major victories for our health and environment. It's all because Clean Water Action members like you took the time to take action! Whether you called, emailed, or wrote to your legislators, you helped us accomplish the following:

Forest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” This quote is particularly true in the world of canvassing. Every single door is a new opportunity for someone to get involved in the work we do. You never know who’s going to open up the door you just knocked on.

Hello! My name is Kate Triggiano and I am the new Rethink Disposable Coordinator for Clean Water Action's ReThink Disposable program in New Jersey! Rethink Disposable's goal is to minimize the use of single use products: from shopping bags and food and beverage packaging, to plastic straws and water bottles. ReThink Disposable assists businesses by helping them reduce their dependency on single use disposables, while saving money through lower waste collection and supply costs.

I am a canvassing intern for the summer here at Clean Water Action in Rhode Island. In addition to knocking on doors, I got the opportunity to shadow State Director Johnathan Berard for one day to learn how the organization operates on the policy and lobbying side. It was incredibly informative and fun! 

Every day in the U.S., people use 500 million straws a day - enough to circle to planet more than two-and-a-half times! Straws are now one of the top 10 marine debris items found on our beaches. And by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean.

So, what do we do about it?

I am a canvasser. For four months, I have been knocking on doors and talking to folks about environmental and public health issues with Clean Water Action. I recently graduated from Salve Regina University where I majored in biology with a focus on environmental sciences.

I always pictured myself doing research for an agricultural company or becoming some sort of laboratory technician, but I didn’t imagine I would be a community organizer for a nonprofit. I can honestly say I can’t imagine working for any other organization.

We lost the Pinelands.

Just like that; the Pinelands Commission in lockstep with Executive Director Nancy Wittenberg, struck down 40-years of carefully crafted protections last month that would keep industry out of the fragile forest preserve.

One wonders if those who voted in favor of the 22-mile, high speed gas pipeline even know the definition of the word “precedent,” which four past governors and the architects of the comprehensive management plan tried to drive home in letters to the commissioners.