No Plastic Straw Day – Preucil Students (17 July 2018)

Posted on July 17, 2018 by 100 Grannies

On 17 July 2018, Preucil Preschool Students Proclaimed “No Plastic Straw Day” at the Iowa City Council Meeting! The 100Grannies were there to congratulate them. [More…]

 

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“Make Investments for a better future,” The Gazette, Charlene Lange

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Charlene Lange

 “Make Investments for a better future,” The Gazette, 13 July 2018, Charlene Lange

I have done some easy things to help make the world better. Now to tackle a difficult thing.

One of the difficult things to do is to invest my time, energy and money. Time to learn about problems facing the oceans, water, land, air, plants and animals. Time to learn about solutions.

I need to invest my energy into joining a group and becoming active.

Many international, national, state, county and local groups are trying to save the world we live in. Examples include The Ocean Cleanup, Iowa Audubon, PSR/Iowa, EHS, Iowa Citizens Climate League, Good Neighbor Iowa and 100 Grannies.

I need to invest what little monetary resources I have to help others to develop solutions and educate and stop the destruction of decades-old legislation that protected parks, water and land.

I will learn. I will join and participate. I will donate my time, energy and money. I will sign petitions on issues that threatened the land, water and air.

I need to start now. There is no Planet B.

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Reduce your carbon footprint by going solar (11 Jul 2018)

Posted on July 11, 2018 by 100 Grannies

To the future generations:

I am trying to do my part to make a better world for you by reducing my carbon footprint. I have done my research. Johnson County is offering a program called Solarize Johnson County. There are great incentives and tax credits to do this now. Installing solar will give you 30 percent federal tax credit and 50 percent of fed tax credit for Iowa State tax credit. If you sign up before Aug. 31, you get at least 20 cents per watt equal to $1,000 for a 5 kW system. You also get discounts the more kilowatts they install.

But most important, if you install just five solar panels you reduce carbon footprint of 5 or more tons of waste sent to landfill or three or more passenger cars emissions.

Now is a good time to change to solar. So check out Solarize Johnson County or your local county.

I am going solar for my electricity. I am trying to make this better world for you, the future generations.

— Charlene Lange, Iowa City

[Source: Press Citizen, 11 Jul 2018]

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Iowa City preschoolers want to spread the word:

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Charlene Lange

Iowa City preschoolers want to spread the word: plastic straws hurt baby turtles

Nick Rohlman

Tricia Windschitl’s class at Preucil Preschool sits during a group interview on Thursday, July 5, 2018. The class wrote a proclamation to the Iowa City City Council calling for restaurants and individuals to reduce plastic straw use. (Nick Rohlman/The Daily Iowan)
Katelyn Weisbrod, katelyn-weisbrod@uiowa.edu July 10, 2018 A preschool class of 3- to 5-year-olds is listening to the Earth and saying no to straws. This class at Preucil Preschool in Iowa City was inspired by a project by a University of Iowa student called Prompt for the Planet, which called for young people to give a voice to the world. Louisa Haley, age 6, thought if the ocean had a voice, it would say, “Please don’t put straws in me, baby sea turtles are trying to grow here.” Tricia Windschitl, the students’ teacher, said the kids realized they use a lot of straws when they go to restaurants, but they could say “no, thank you” to the server to reduce their straw use. Now, they want to tell everybody. Allexis Mahanna, an incoming junior at the UI happened to be working on her own project to decrease straw use in Iowa City when she heard about the preschoolers’ “Strawless Initiative.” As the Earth’s youngest occupants, these kids are not the ones who created the plastic-pollution problem, Mahanna said, but they are going to have to deal with its effects. “At that age, they’re so idealistic, they’re finding out about these issues, and they want to have ways to fix them,” Mahanna said. “A lot of people say, ‘Oh, you’re a child, you can’t do this,’ but I’m trying to hear out what they say and empower them to do things.”

Lucas Stone, age 4, displays a draft of the class’ proclamation for a “Strawless Initiative Day” on July 5. (Nick Rohlman/The Daily Iowan)
The kids are even getting local leaders involved. They met with Iowa City Mayor Jim Throgmorton to discuss creating a proclamation for a “Strawless Initiative Day.” “I had a great, great meeting with the kids; they were so fun, so excited to greet the mayor, and they really understood what they were doing,” Throgmorton said. “I’m excited and so proud of the kids. It’s great to see the energy even out of preschoolers.” The kids wrote out a proclamation, pointing out that straws end up in the Iowa River, the Iowa River leads to the ocean, “baby turtles are eating them and getting sick,” and “we want baby turtles and other animals to be happy.” This proclamation will be made at the July 17 City Council meeting. “The word ‘initiative’ came because the mayor used it, which isn’t usually in their vocabulary, and he used it, and they like using it,” Windschitl said. Though the kids can’t write yet, they drew lots of pictures to serve as signs to hang in local restaurants to encourage servers to make straws optional and patrons to decline straws. Turtles are a common theme in the drawings. The Daily Iowan 10 July 2018

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Connie Mutel op ed 8 July 2018

Posted on July 8, 2018 by 100 Grannies

What’s climate change doing in Iowa?

It is late June in east-central Iowa, but it feels more like August. Temperatures run into the 90s, with heat indices over 100. High humidity soaks everything. Flood warnings speckle weather maps: Swathes of Iowa received 8 to 10-plus inches of rain in recent weeks, about one-fourth of a normal yearly average. In places, intense storms have dumped nearly that much rain in a few hours. The oppressive weather feels relentless.

Are these normal weather variations, or might the climate be changing? What happened to June’s enticingly crisp, clear, comfortable days? By examining long-term statistics, we can begin to answer these questions.

Between 1901 and 2016, Iowa’s annual average temperature rose about 1 degree Fahrenheit — half the global average rise of 1.8 degrees — the greatest increase occurring since 1980. Virtually all trained scientists agree this warming is caused primarily by the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels. And that today’s small average temperature rise is already affecting weather events around the globe.

Our weather is becoming less predictable, less dependable. This year June’s heat and rain followed the coldest April on record, and one of the warmest Mays.

Most of Iowa’s warming is occurring during winter and at night, mercifully excluding more extreme summertime highs, at least for now.

One degree average rise. Not much, but the implications are profound. Higher temperatures naturally increase water’s evaporation from lakes, rivers, and soils. And warmer skies can hold more moisture than cooler skies. Thus, Iowans might expect increases in atmospheric humidity, and we are getting them.

Monitoring stations have recorded an increase of 2 to 4 percent in absolute humidity per decade since 1971, with the greatest rises in the eastern half of Iowa. Increases are largest in the springtime months of April, May and June. During these months, between 1970 and 2017, Dubuque measured an amazing 23 percent increase in absolute humidity.

More humidity, more rain. Iowa’s annual precipitation has gone up about 5 inches, from a statewide average of 31 or 32 inches at the beginning of the 20th century to around 36 inches today. Most of the increase has occurred since 2000, and (like humidity) higher rainfall is concentrated in the spring months of April, May and June.

Heat is a form of energy. So, our hotter, moister skies are producing more intense extreme weather events. In the Upper Midwest, very heavy precipitation increased 37 percent between 1958 and 2012. Today’s intense gushes of rain increase erosion of soil, pesticides and fertilizers.

Intense rains and other extreme weather events are expensive. Nationally, extreme weather events cost $306.2 billion in 2017, which was the highest annual such expense on record.

Since 1980, damages from increasingly frequent extreme-weather events have exceeded $1.5 trillion. Add other factors to economic stresses — climate-related health problems, agricultural upsets, infrastructure failures, effects on nature — and it’s clear that climate change touches everything.

More humidity and heat, bearing down on us with increasing intensity. These are the signatures of Midwestern climate change.

In addition, our weather is becoming less predictable, less dependable. This year June’s heat and rain followed the coldest April on record, and one of the warmest Mays.

What if we fail to rapidly and dramatically address climate change? Predictions state that by 2050, Iowa’s greatest summertime once-per-decade heat waves will be 13 degrees hotter. By 2100, if we continue with business as usual, our global average temperature is predicted to rise between 7 and 9 degrees, making the effects of today’s world-average 1.8 degree rise seem like child’s play.

What can we do to prevent this? Let’s start by recognizing the science of climate change is accepted by virtually all trained climate scientists. Then let’s act accordingly on all levels, focusing on speeding the switch to renewable energy sources that can power our world without multiplying climate change. This means changes in policies and regulations — just as other nations are invoking.

China, now the poster child for manufacturing and installing solar arrays, is working toward banning the manufacture and sale of fossil fuel cars, as are Britain and Norway. Costa Rica was almost totally powered by renewable energy in 2017, and New Zealand has committed to carbon neutrality by 2021, with other nations joining the lineup.

Here in America, we need to talk about climate change more, vote accordingly, advocate strongly and praise the businesses, state and local governments, churches and other entities that are lowering their greenhouse gas emissions. And each of us needs to consider the greenhouse-gas emissions and climate impacts of our own choices — our cars, diet, home size and energy efficiency, consumption patterns.

We are now in a race between rising fossil fuel emissions and efforts to reduce these emissions and moderate their spinoffs. The switch to renewable energy is happening, even as global temperatures continue to rise. The benefits of renewables are many: cleaner air and water, improved human and environmental health, economic stimulation and more jobs (8,000 to 9,000 in Iowa’s wind energy alone), a better-functioning and more intact natural world. Which forces will win the race? We don’t know. But we do know this: All people on the planet at this crucial time will own the results.

Will we continue to allow current trends to slide us toward a less dependable globe that degrades life’s abundance, beauty, and health? Or will we work for a self-renewing, healthier, more stable planet fueled by the sun, wind, and other renewables? The choice remains ours.

• Connie Mutel, with IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering at the University of Iowa, is author of several books on nature in Iowa including “A Sugar Creek Chronicle: Observing Climate Change from a Midwestern Woodland,” and editor of the 2010 “Climate Change Impacts on Iowa” report prepared for the Iowa Legislature and governor.

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/opinion/guest-columnist/whats-climate-change-doing-in-iowa-20180708

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Pruecil pre-school kids – no straw day.  

Posted on July 7, 2018 by 100 Grannies

​Pruecil pre-school kids came to IC city council and Mayor Throgmorton declared a no straw day.

  (Note: Click on small photos to enlarge)

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Too many hogs, too much corporate greed (3 Jul 2018)

Posted on July 3, 2018 by 100 Grannies

(Photo/Above) Pigs in a CAFO (concentrated animal feed operation). — photo via the United States Geological Survey, public domain

[By Sandra Alper and Miriam Kashia of 100 Grannies]

Two thousand four hundred ninety-nine. That is the magic maximum number of hogs allowed to construct a new confined animal feeding operation (CAFO, or factory farm) in Iowa without notifying local or county officials or adhering to state government regulations. Only a cursory review and approval by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and filing a plan for manure management with the county auditor, are required. There are no minimum requirements for acreage or distance from residences, schools, parks and sources of water unless the CAFO contains 2,500 hogs or more.

Currently, there are approximately 11,500 CAFOs that have been approved by DNR, and another 5,000 operations never approved but detected by DNR satellite photos, according to a September 15, 2017 Des Moines Register article. Representatives of the state, Farm Bureau and meat packing corporations estimate that Iowa should be able to handle 45,700 CAFOs. CAFOs produce lots of cheap pork (one-third of which we export) and the vast majority of the chickens and eggs consumed in Iowa. CAFOs also provide jobs in many economically distressed areas of the state. So what is the problem?

First, we have a huge manure problem. CAFO manure is stored in concrete lagoons under the hog sheds that can and have leaked raw manure into our water supply. Farmers also spray liquified manure onto fields. Runoff and farmland tile drainage systems pollute our water supply and contribute to Iowa’s current ranking as the state with the third most contaminated water.

Particulate matter from all this manure pollutes our air and soil. Nationally, CAFOs produce three times the amount of feces produced by the entire human population of the United States according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hog manure releases methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, phosphorous, heavy salts and minerals into our atmosphere, contributing significantly to global warming. And this concentrated quantity of manure stinks! Just ask those who live close to a CAFO or drive around the countryside yourself on a warm, breezy day.

Second, CAFOs are making us sick. Hogs living in overcrowded sheds and standing on metal grates directly over the manure pits are fed antibiotics to prevent disease and promote growth. We ingest these antibiotics when we eat pork. Research from the University of Iowa and other universities has linked antibiotic resistant diseases such as the deadly MERSA virus to CAFOS. In addition, headaches, nausea, respiratory illnesses and developmental delays in infants and children have been reported for those living close to CAFOs. (Jefferson County Farmers and Neighbors, Inc. has several excellent reports on the research documenting the harmful effects of CAFO manure on children’s health and the environment.)

Third, consumers have little to gain economically from CAFOs. Farm record data indicate that the costs of industrial factory hog farms are only slightly lower than costs of average commercial producers. And the lion’s share of profits from the sale of pork go to the corporate owners, not to the individual farmers. Corporations are locating CAFOs pretty much wherever they want and most of that is in rural areas where they meet less resistance, regardless of the economic or social consequences for citizens. Small rural communities surrounded by factory hog farms and manure odors are hardly attractive to new businesses and young productive people who might be considering moving into the state.

Fourth, CAFOs are cruel and inhumane to both workers and pigs. The meat-packing industry employs many poor and immigrant workers who may not have legal papers. These workers are exposed to harmful fumes and chemicals from all the manure and often work dangerous jobs with unpaid overtime and no benefits in the packing plants. The threat of losing their income and deportation always looms, so they cannot complain. When ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) does show up, the corporate owners typically never pay a penalty or change their exploitative practices. Only the workers suffer.

Pigs are forced to live out their lives in overcrowded, stressful pens and breathe ammonia fumes. CAFOs that use farrowing crates are particularly cruel to the sows who spend most of their lives in cages so small they cannot walk or turn around. The industry has even found an ingenious way to deliver electrical shock to the sow who has the misfortune of lying on her piglets. When it’s time for the pigs to go to market, their torture continues. They are herded into crowded semis using electrical prods, often applied to the rectum, if they don’t move fast enough. Transported without food or water, they must suffer under diesel fumes, ammonia and extreme heat in the summer and are subjected to freezing temperatures in the trucks in winter. There are documented cases of hogs whose skin has frozen to the metal truck trailer side.

After herding into the packing plant, again with the aid of the electrical prods, the animals are supposed to be put out of their misery with stun guns applied to the brain. But, evidence from outside observers and employees reported by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) indicate that the stun guns may misfire due to equipment failure or lack of employee training. The result is that some pigs are dunked in the scalding tank while still alive! These plants operate 24 hours per day, seven days a week and may kill 1,000 hogs per hour.

So, what can we do? Both rural and urban Iowans must become active in shaping the destiny of our communities and state. Factory farming is not just a problem for poor, rural communities. The current Iowa state legislature has killed our precious Iowa value of local control. Like Big Tobacco, Big Oil and Big Pharma, Big Ag has the money and the power to influence the majority of our state legislators and government officials. They become complicit as their hefty campaign chests assure reelection. We cannot allow self-interest economics and corporate greed to continue to destroy our land, water, air and rural communities.

In his book, The Essentials of Economic Sustainability, John Ikerd observed that just as the South gave birth to the civil rights movement, it can be the predominantly rural states that save our land, air and water. So we must be active. You may choose to not eat pork. If you enjoy meat, ask your grocer or restaurant where their meat comes from. Although roughly 90 percent of pork sold in grocery stores and restaurants comes from CAFOs, there are many remaining farms that produce quality meat under healthy, humane conditions. Ask before you buy.

Call, email or write your legislators and government officials. Sign petitions. Talk to your neighbors, friends and family. Ask your county board of supervisors how they intend to promote sustainable and responsible farming methods. Ask candidates who are running for office their position on these issues. And VOTE! Vote in every local, county, state and national election for which you are registered. The point is, DO WHATEVER YOU CAN, BUT JUST DO SOMETHING!! And do it now.

The CAFOs are coming to Johnson County.

This article was originally published in Little Village issue 246.

[Source: Little Village, Issue 246, 3 Jul 2018]

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Andy Douglas op ed PC 6-20-2018

Posted on June 20, 2018 by 100 Grannies

Be a good neighbor: Avoid using pesticide on your lawn

A few summers ago I was watching neighborhood kids playing in the backyard of my apartment complex. They rolled on the grass and ran barefoot. Suddenly, I realized the lawn had been sprayed; a little warning sign perched on the yard’s edge. These kids paid no attention.

I advised the children not to play there, but the incident illustrates one of many problems with spraying chemicals on our grass.

The poisons that kill dandelions also affect microbes, earthworms, birds, bees and fish. In humans, toxins like glyphosate and dicamba cause nerve damage, cancer and reproductive disorders. Children and pets are most easily exposed to these chemicals, and not only through direct contact. Pesticides seep into the water table, they drift in the air, they’re tracked indoors, and they may be applied in public places.

Such exposure should be limited as much as possible, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. A 2012 study shows a positive relationship between pesticide exposure and the development of some cancers, particularly in children. Pesticides include herbicides, fungicides and bug sprays. And studies show that they last longer than you’d think. Those little signs don’t reflect an accurate longevity. There are other effects. Pesticides are likely the reason for Colony Collapse Disorder, the great disappearance of bees. We face the real danger of losing our pollinators. Without bees, there’s no food.

We also know that Iowa has a serious water quality problem; any toxic addition to our water system is troubling.

Many people are working to spread the word about lawn chemicals. A subcommittee of the 100 Grannies organization has affiliated with a state-wide group called Good Neighbors, linked with the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Backyard Abundance and New Pioneer Co-op are also active.

Linda Quinn is chair of the local Good Neighbors group. “This brings the issue of climate change, which can seem so big, down to the local level,” she says. “It’s something people can do to make a big difference.”

The group has been tabling and asking people to pledge to make their lawns pesticide-free.

Free yard signs are available, which proclaim “Good Neighbor — No lawn weed killers used here.” I like this emphasis on neighborliness. We all want to be good neighbors, and indeed, this is the reason many people spray their lawns. But with a little reflection, it becomes clear we can do better by not spraying.

Adds committee member Jan Stephan, “A lot of people are already chemical- free. It’s mostly landlords, condos and developers who are not. Our mission is to educate. Many say they had no idea they were hurting their kids or pets.”

The Iowa City Community School District has stopped spraying their properties (except for athletic fields). Ditto the Iowa City parks. The Iowa Department of Public Health has issued a “best practices” statement for day care centers to stop using outdoor pesticides and indoor insecticides.

Developers and condo boards, here’s your chance to market your properties as truly forward-thinking!

Says Quinn, “People think they must have manicured lawns. But how much nicer it is to have some diversity, with clover, dandelion, purslane, violet. These are all edible, too.”

Alternatives to spraying? You can ask lawn services for organic treatment, which may cost more. Or you can use appropriate grass seed, aerate and add compost, caring for your lawn yourself without chemicals. You could also plant fruit trees, a vegetable garden or prairie grasses. I once lived in a house with a rock garden out front. The possibilities are many. Some have suggested our climate crisis demands a mobilization like that during World War II, when everyone had a victory garden.

Stephan suggests we move past the idea that a lawn has to look like a golf course. “People worry about impressing the neighbors. But it’s better to figure out who you are and be true to that.”

Writers Group member Andy Douglas is author of “The Curve of the World: Into the Spiritual Heart of Yoga.”

Andy Douglas

Writers Group Iowa City Press-Citizen USA TODAY NETWORK

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Be a good neighbor: Avoid using pesticide on your lawn, 20 June 2018

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Charlene Lange

Be a good neighbor: Avoid using pesticide on your lawn by Andy Douglas and Writers Group Iowa City  published in Press-Citizen

A few summers ago I was watching neighborhood kids playing in the backyard of my apartment complex. They rolled on the grass and ran barefoot. Suddenly, I realized the lawn had been sprayed; a little warning sign perched on the yard’s edge. These kids paid no attention.

I advised the children not to play there, but the incident illustrates one of many problems with spraying chemicals on our grass.

The poisons that kill dandelions also affect microbes, earthworms, birds, bees and fish. In humans, toxins like glyphosate and dicamba cause nerve damage, cancer and reproductive disorders. Children and pets are most easily exposed to these chemicals, and not only through direct contact. Pesticides seep into the water table, they drift in the air, they’re tracked indoors, and they may be applied in public places.

Such exposure should be limited as much as possible, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. A 2012 study shows a positive relationship between pesticide exposure and the development of some cancers, particularly in children. Pesticides include herbicides, fungicides and bug sprays. And studies show that they last longer than you’d think. Those little signs don’t reflect an accurate longevity. There are other effects. Pesticides are likely the reason for Colony Collapse Disorder, the great disappearance of bees. We face the real danger of losing our pollinators. Without bees, there’s no food.

We also know that Iowa has a serious water quality problem; any toxic addition to our water system is troubling.

Many people are working to spread the word about lawn chemicals. A subcommittee of the 100 Grannies organization has affiliated with a state-wide group called Good Neighbors, linked with the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Backyard Abundance and New Pioneer Co-op are also active.

Linda Quinn is chair of the local Good Neighbors group. “This brings the issue of climate change, which can seem so big, down to the local level,” she says. “It’s something people can do to make a big difference.”

The group has been tabling and asking people to pledge to make their lawns pesticide-free.

Free yard signs are available, which proclaim “Good Neighbor — No lawn weed killers used here.” I like this emphasis on neighborliness. We all want to be good neighbors, and indeed, this is the reason many people spray their lawns. But with a little reflection, it becomes clear we can do better by not spraying.

Adds committee member Jan Stephan, “A lot of people are already chemical- free. It’s mostly landlords, condos and developers who are not. Our mission is to educate. Many say they had no idea they were hurting their kids or pets.”

The Iowa City Community School District has stopped spraying their properties (except for athletic fields). Ditto the Iowa City parks. The Iowa Department of Public Health has issued a “best practices” statement for day care centers to stop using outdoor pesticides and indoor insecticides.

Developers and condo boards, here’s your chance to market your properties as truly forward-thinking!

Says Quinn, “People think they must have manicured lawns. But how much nicer it is to have some diversity, with clover, dandelion, purslane, violet. These are all edible, too.”

Alternatives to spraying? You can ask lawn services for organic treatment, which may cost more. Or you can use appropriate grass seed, aerate and add compost, caring for your lawn yourself without chemicals. You could also plant fruit trees, a vegetable garden or prairie grasses. I once lived in a house with a rock garden out front. The possibilities are many. Some have suggested our climate crisis demands a mobilization like that during World War II, when everyone had a victory garden.

Stephan suggests we move past the idea that a lawn has to look like a golf course. “People worry about impressing the neighbors. But it’s better to figure out who you are and be true to that.”

Writers Group member Andy Douglas is author of “The Curve of the World: Into the Spiritual Heart of Yoga.”

Andy Douglas

Writers Group Iowa City Press-Citizen USA TODAY NETWORK

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take responsibility for the planet 3 June 2018 quadcities times

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Charlene Lange

Letter to the future generations

I am sorry. I apologize. The landfills are filling up. There are many large floating trash islands in our oceans. Water levels are becoming low and/or contaminated. Icebergs are melting. Breathing problems are increasing. I need to change.

It’s 2018. I am sorry I am so late. I am on board now. I had plenty of excuses for not realizing the impact of my life on others. Time, knowledge, life in general made me uninformed, clueless and careless.

I have done some things so far but all was really for my benefit. Save money, save gas, save time. It was done to benefit me.

This along with everyone else have led us to the current crisis. I am sorry.
My personal quest:

Become informed. Become observant. Become aware. Become helpful. Become inventive.

I start now. I can help. There are things I can do. The first step is to see the problem. To the future generations: There is a problem. I am trying and I will change.

— Charlene Lange, Iowa City

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