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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Mainers Jump in Frigid Waters to Fight Global Warming

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Friday, December 29, 2017   

PORTLAND, Maine – Intrepid runners will be ringing out the old year this Sunday by taking a dip in icy waters to raise money for the fight against climate change.

With temperatures expected to be right around zero-degrees Fahrenheit, it promises to be the coldest Polar Bear Dip yet. The annual event is held every December 31 to raise money to support the work of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the state's leading environmental advocacy organization.

According to Stacie Haines, the group's membership director, the 5K jog to the water's edge makes this event unique.

"A lot of runners come out for a fun-filled, sometimes slippery, sometimes snowy run around the Back Cove in Portland, and then we all meet at the beach at noon to jump into the ocean," she says.

So far, 140 Mainers have registered to participate in Sunday's Polar Bear Dip and Dash.

Haines says the funds raised will help the work they do with lawmakers and local communities to protect clean water and promote clean energy in the state.

"We're working to get proactive environmental bills passed and stop rollbacks to the environment," she explains. "We're working a lot right now on pushing solar energy in Maine."

They also work to protect wildlife and promote sustainability projects such as promoting alternatives to plastic bags.

Haines points out that being separate from the federal and state government allows independent organizations to concentrate on what's needed to protect, preserve and restore the environment.

"Organizations like ours are able to watchdog what's happening and take a non-biased approach at bringing light to these issues," she adds.

She says Sunday's event is already close to meeting its $25,000 fundraising goal.


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