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Monday, May 29, 2023

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Advocates call for a climate peace clause in U.S.-E.U. trade talks, negotiations yield a tentative debt ceiling deal, an Idaho case unravels federal water protections, and a wet spring eases Iowa's drought.

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Gold Star families gather to remember loved ones on Memorial Day, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says the House will vote on a debt ceiling bill this week and America's mayors lay out their strategies for summertime public safety.

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The growing number of "maternity care deserts" makes having a baby increasingly dangerous for rural Americans, a Colorado project is connecting neighbor to neighbor in an effort to help those suffering with mental health issues, and a school district in Maine is using teletherapy to tackle a similar challenge.

“Polar Bear Plunge” Makes a Splash on Walden Pond

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Friday, December 5, 2008   

Concord, MA – An extra-chilly swim is in the weekend plans for about 100 Bay Staters, who will be taking a "polar bear plunge" in Walden Pond. It's one of hundreds of such events around the world to draw attention to climate change.

While the water temperature will be in the mid-30s, Roger Shamel, president of the Global Warming Education Network, says that's quite a bit warmer than the Walden Pond Henry David Thoreau knew.

"When Thoreau was there, it would have been frozen by now. And there are studies that talk about how the flora and fauna have changed quite a bit since he was there because of the temperature change."

Shamel calls the plunge a "call to action" on reducing the types of pollution scientifically linked to climate change.

"Climate change is not just a feel good topic to talk about; it's a serious and urgent matter that we need to act on quickly."

Some scientists dispute the human-produced pollution connection to climate change, and say it's the result of natural, cyclical processes and solar activity.

Shamel notes 2008 has been a year of extreme weather, from massive wildfires in California and the West, to record heat waves and historic flooding. Those are types of weather events forecast for a changing climate, according to Shamel.



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