This is why. Republicans in Congress are planning to take “at least” $880 Billion over ten years out of Medicare and Medicaid to pay for extending tax cuts for the wealthy. There are also ads in the opposite direction raising alarm about this. They say they’ll make the cuts without reducing benefits, and by that they generally mean they’re going to pay doctors even less for caring for those patients.

The Coalition to Strengthen Healthcare has some resources to facilitate grass roots advocacy if you’re interested!

There is definitely some invasive bamboo in the forests near me that’s spreading and taking over the native habitat

Plants are actually pretty sensitive to soil compaction, which can take a lot of time to reverse. the composition clay/sand in the soil can changed the time it takes to resettle, and it might even just erode down to rock.

It varies a lot by UU congregation. Mine has more focus on Earth based traditions, as in we’re celebrating Earth Day this Sunday instead of Easter. Although we’ve been known to celebrate the high holidays from several major religious traditions.

There are people out there taking action, go find some. Collective action is always stronger than individual action. If you don’t currently have a community that is engaged, consider joining a Unitarian Universalist congregation. Unitarians in the US and Europe resisted the German Nazis by creating documents and providing refuge for Jewish people fleeing the Holocaust. Many congregations today have active social and environmental justice groups, often focusing on local action with low barriers to entry. Nobody is expected to believe any particular scripture, but UUs have a common set of principles, the first being everyone has inherent worth and dignity. The sermons at my congregation lately have been about trans visibility, rising to the moment and processing the chaos, which I’ve found inspiring.