President's Notes

Happy July 4th !

Annual Meeting

Thank you to all of you who were able to attend the meeting. Your support, encouragement and involvement in LWVBCC provides invaluable education and leadership for our communities. The Board appreciates the suggestions we received

and will consider them in our planning at the July meeting. Professor James (above) was a dynamic, inspiring and knowledgeable speaker. He helped us all to understand that creating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a complex task but one that brings great rewards. Part of the educational role of the League is to help us learn not only about

political and social issues but also learn about ourselves and how our decisions impact the lives of others.

It was a pleasure to introduce two new Board members – Carlotta Ripley and MaryBeth

Mullenholz. Carla is taking over as Secretary, and she is planning our July meeting on Micro-

plastics. MaryBeth is monitoring what we need to know to be ready for voter registration in the fall. The tech updates are in the works. Mike Schnable is working on the websiteF and FaceBook, and Gene Schoon is researching the best tools to use for Zooming and recording our meetings.

Belle Ringer Awards: The Belle Ringer Awards are named after Florence Belle Brotherton, the first president of the League of Women Voters of Michigan. Each local League may nominate one person in each of four categories, and each person does indeed receive a small bell!

Congratulations to the following League members who received a Belle Ringer Award at the annual LWVMI convention.

Financial Management/Fundraising; John Ripley

Christiana Zilke – Advocacy

Voter Services – Jane Raymond;

Member Recruitment and Engagement – Amy Scrima

July Meeting

A topic that has been in the news and is the subject of much research and discussion is Microplastics in our environment. If you walk the beaches or woods of Berrien/Cass Counties, you will see that plastic is everywhere. (I once picked up 98 Mylar balloons off a 4 mile stretch of beach near Bridgman) (see above).

We are excited to be able to present Art Hirsch on

Microplastics in Lake Michigan Monday, July 31, at 1:30PM. The presentation is at Lincoln Township Library – 2099 John Beers Rd., Stevensville, MI 49127.

Microplastics in the Great Lakes 

Art Hirsch will discuss the sources, impacts, legislation and mitigation actions to address Microplastics . Microplastics (above) in the Great Lakes are an emerging water quality issue that has the potential of impacting human health and the aquatic environment. It has been estimated that Microplastics are consumed by the US population at a rate of 5 grams per week -- about the weight of

a credit card. Microplastics are found in our food, water, and even beer along the Great Lakes. Fish are ingesting Microplastics that causes them to starve. Over 22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes every year, and Lake Michigan is the #1 source.

Art Hirsch is a former environmental consultant with over 30 years of experience. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, and spends his summers in Pentwater, Michigan. He is originally from North Muskegon. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from

Michigan State University and a Master of Science from the University of Colorado. His expertise is in the area of water quality, storm-water management, sustainability and environmental impact assessment. He is a member of the Climate Reality Project founded by former Vice President Gore -- also known as the For the Love of Water organization, located in Traverse City and the Great Lakes Plastic Pollution Solutions Coalition.

He is currently working on the Enbridge Line 5 Shutdown, GHG reductions associated with transportation, oil and gas operations, and Microplastics.

We are hoping you will save the date and attend the meeting in person. But if you can’t, a separate announcement with a Zoom link will be sent to the membership about two weeks before the Microplastics meeting.

Enjoy the following articles on the environment and LWVBCC Book Club. The newsletter is taking a summer vacation in August but will be back in September.

In League,

Faith Schoon - president

Environmental News

1) Make a difference by going plastic-free for the month of July. We can all be a part of the solution by reducing the use of plastic in our daily lives. Learn more about what you can do with this Plastic Free July Calendar 2022 from the Great Lakes Plastic Pollution Solutions Coalition. Find additional information on ways to curb the use of plastics from

the Plastic Free Foundation.

2) There seems to be no relief to the air quality alerts even this far from the wildfires in Canada. This morning I can actually smell the smoke in the air. These fires have been raging since March. It is hard to imagine the extent of the devastation, and there appears to be no end in sight. How do we begin to replace what's being destroyed?

Fortunately, in lovely Berrien County, we're not being affected by the extreme heat raging across the south of the U.S. We ARE fortunate. We have miles and miles of trails to enjoy, lovely parks throughout the area, the best beaches in the entire United States, few tornadoes, no cyclones, and rare flooding events. Let's continue to protect,

enhance, appreciate, and enjoy all that's available here.

3)LWVLMR

Lake Michigan Region has had a busy year, culminating "locally" with the tour on the research vessel D J Angus out of Grand Haven just last weekend. Starting in Spring Lake and venturing out into Lake Michigan, taking water samples, and learning about water testing and other environmental issues was the purpose of this "cruise."

If you missed the forum, "Developments in Climate Change Science and Policy: "Code Red" in the Great Lakes and Beyond" hosted in April of 2022 in Chicago, you can watch the video of the hybrid program at www.lwvlmr.org. You'll find it is well worth your time.

Our next Annual Climate Change Forum will take place this Fall.

The Environmental Education and Advocacy Speakers Bureau was busy throughout 2022 and into 2023 and offers programs on invasive species, PFAS, coal ash and Line 5. Continued operation of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac has been legally contested since 2019.

Will have more news for you after our quarterly Board meeting next month.

---------------------------------------------------Chris Zilke

Book Club News

The three most recent book selections focused on a theme to better understand the political, personal, and societal dimensions of racism in the US. There was a lively discussion of Horse by Geraldine Brooks at our last meeting. This historical fiction work opened our minds and hearts to the complexities and challenges of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the effects of that Proclamation, even now in 2023.

Our next selection is The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic by Stephen

Vladeck. This book focuses on a very important topic and is a deep study of the issue. It can be a daunting read so the following two books are

suggested as companion reads that will add to the discussion: The Nine Robes: Inside the Supreme Court by Joan Biskupic and The Super Majority

How the Supreme Court Trumped America by Michael Waldman. Book Club is scheduled for Monday, July 17 at 10AM. As we go to press, due to a family tragedy, the location of the next meeting is yet to be determined. A special notice will be sent to let membership know about further details.

----------------------------------------------------Judy Scully