Earth Day is Every Day: Six Simple Actions You Can Do to Protect Water!
At Freshwater Future, every day is Earth Day. To help you keep the celebration going, here are six simple actions you can take that support efforts to ensure people have access to safe, clean, and affordable water for drinking and recreating:
- Learn how to keep you and your family safe from lead in drinking water by checking out Freshwater Future’s lead toolkit.
- Get involved in community advocacy for safe, clean, and affordable water – Freshwater Future is honored to support many amazing grassroots organizations protecting the people and waters of the Great Lakes!
- Everyone deserves access to safe, affordable water. Sign the Water Affordability Pledge to support this issue.
- Sign the petition to tell the White House that our drinking water is not for sale.
- Treat water like it is sacred – Conserve your water use!
- Donate to Freshwater Future!
You Can Still Virtually Attend the Great Lakes Harmful Algae Conference May 1-2!
While registration in person attendance is closed, it’s not too late to virtually attend the Great Lakes Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) & Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations’ (CAFO) Conference! Register here to participate in the virtual components of the Conference on May 2, 2024.
Save the Date: Wonders of the Great Lakes 2024 Online Auction
From May 17th-31st, join Freshwater Future’s 2024 Wonders of the Great Lakes Online Auction! Get ready to bid on unique items and experiences that celebrate the Wonders of the Great Lakes! From delicious food, handcrafted art and gifts, and performance recreational gear to wine and beer tasting tours, museums and events, and boat, kayak, and train tours, this online auction is your chance to support Freshwater Future and experience the best the Great Lakes region has to offer. Thank you to the following businesses and organizations for their generous donations to our online auction. To learn more, just click on the links to visit their websites.
- American Spoon
- Baabaazuzu
- Chicago Shakespeare Theater
- Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants
- Field Museum
- Founders Brewing Co
- Lake Art
- Lake Geneva Cruise Line
- Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua
- National Museum of the Great Lakes
- North Shore Scenic Railroad
- Patagonia
- Striker Rainwear
- Superior Coffee Roasting Co.
- Susan P. Gateley, Author and Publisher
- Taylors Falls Scenic Boat Tours
- Waters View Inn Beach House
- Widmer’s Cheese Cellars
Are you a part of an organization or business in the Great Lakes region that would like to donate an item, tickets, or service to the auction? Please email leslie@freshwaterfuture.org for auction questions or further information regarding sponsorship opportunities.
Sign the Petition and Stand with Pennsylvania: Our Water is Not for Sale
Recently, Freshwater Future shared concerns about increasing sales in Pennsylvania of public water systems–drinking and wastewater–to private, for-profit companies. We are pleased to share that a package of bills in the Pennsylvania House aimed at curbing the privatization of municipal water and sewer systems were approved by the Pennsylvania House Committee on Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities. The legislation seeks to safeguard against unfair rate increases and the mis-valuation of water systems. We will keep you posted on these bills. Sign the petition below to tell the White House that our water is not for sale!
Forested Wetland to be Destroyed for Landfill After Years-Long Fight
An administrative law judge ruled in favor of a landfill company to uphold a permit to expand a wetland into a 44-acre wetland in Wayne County, Michigan. The permit was contested by the Wayne County Conservation District that argued the special type of forested wetland is rare and one of nine left in the state. Granting of the permit means the loss of the ecological value of the wetland, which provides critical habitat for amphibians and Massasauga rattlesnakes. Wetlands provide important other values including removing pollutants from runoff and flood protection.
