Just ask your plan custodian or account administrator to make a “Qualified Charitable Distribution” to ClassACT, c/o George Putnam, Treasurer, 13 Elm Street, Suite 2, Manchester, MA 01944.

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2) Submit comments to the Federal Register in opposition to the November 2025 proposed amendments to the Clean Water Act by the 5 January 2026 deadline.

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Our Environment & Climate Change working group has issued two urgent calls to action.

1) Submit comments to the Federal Register in opposition to the November 2025 proposed amendments to the Endangered Species Act by the 22 December 2025 deadline.

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Why is it so difficult to discuss eating less meat? Michael Schechtman says it's emotional and cultural. People who move into the middle class start eating more junk food and more meat. It's difficult to tackle.

With the USDA moving away from research, there will be a greater reliance on large companies to fund it. That will affect the breadth of projects that are funded.

There are a select amount of gene edited crops approved in various countries. In addition, animal breeders are using it to breed better stock.

GMO is becoming less popular, due to practical and financial considerations in creating useful crops and testing GMOs.

What's the difference between genetic engineering and gene editing? Engineering usually involves inserting DNA from a different organism, while editing is a more direct process of editing DNA, generating a mutation.

Rules-based and science-based decisions are now going by the wayside, as trade becomes even more political than it has been in the past.

Technology allows scientists to detect very very small amounts of substances in a large shipment. Since each country approves particular varieties of crops separately, there can be a delay or even a temporary shutdown of trade.

Consuming animal protein is not the most efficient way to feed the earth's population, and beef is one of the least efficient.

While Schechtman is not a vegetarian, he suggests that much of the land taken up by corn and soy could be used to promote crop diversity.

Wheat, corn, and soy dominates the majority of agriculture. Of those, only wheat is consumer-focused. 40% of corn and 70% of soy is grown to feed animals.

How do we balance agricultural needs with the need to preserve the environment? Michael Schechtman, former Biotechnology Coordinator for @usdagov.bsky.social discusses.

Kids Care Everywhere is not stopping their work, but they need help from all of us, via volunteering in local communities, advocating, and donating to KCE and other healthcare nonprofits. www.kidscareeverywhere.org/donate

Ultimately, Kids Care Everywhere's ability to continue their mission is dependent on their donations. The vast majority of their budget comes from small donors--and none comes from government funding.

www.kidscareeverywhere.org/donate

Dr. Dieckmann shares a horrifying statistic: Over 3 million young people are expected to die as a result of the withdrawal of US AID.

There is crisis in the background of Kids Care Everywhere's work all of the time, but it has been exacerbated by the withdrawal of US AID and other orders from the current president ending essential programs.